Jesus Saves - Luke 15:1-7
May 29, 2011

When I was in college, I remember seeing this particular fellow on campus every other day: He had a rundown jacket, old and ragged jeans, a grungy hat, and an overall mannerism more fitting of the homeless and, as a result, had nothing special about his appearance or notable about his demeanor -- save one thing: he carried with him a large white sign that said "Jesus Saves."

The man would walk throughout campus, simply smiling at everyone who would pass him by -- some would mock him as they passed, others would curse him as they passed, while others seemed to have this mysteriously predicted preconception of the man and his case that they would pass by him with disinterest, not turning a single eye towards him, brushing him aside like any of the thousands of people traversing to and fro classes.

But one day, I saw a small group of guys approach the man and begin talking with him. I originally thought that the group of young men were being hostile to the man but as I neared their conversation, I heard what sounded like an actual discussion on what the man's sign meant: who does Jesus save? Why does He save them? Why is it Jesus and not someone or something else that saves?

I believe that church sometimes turns into something so similar: there are thousands of churches across out city alone and yet when people pass by them -- even this one -- they often do so with mocking intentions, cursing hatred, or simple disinterest.

Some of you here, even, may side with the mockers and find that Christianity is simply a waste of time or an illogical system of beliefs that only crazies and the illogical believe in. Perhaps some of you dislike Christianity, having witnesses the hypocrisy and hurt many Christians relentlessly pour out onto others. And still others of you may simply not care about the church, about Jesus, and about why, how, or who He saves.

But a few of you do care -- like that small group of young men who approached the rugged man with the sign, some of you might actually care about what it means to hear and see that "Jesus Saves" which is why, hopefully, you have decided to come here and give me your attention.

Therefore, for the few who genuinely care and are willing, who would seek after the answers, I want to answer those same questions those guys asked the homeless evangelist (let's just call him that for name's sake); let's spend some time today talking about:

A. Who is Jesus and who does Jesus save?
B. Why does Jesus save?
C. How does Jesus Save?

First: Who is Jesus and who does Jesus save? Let's see how good our memory is: in this parable (hopefully we remember from last time that a parable is an illustration of God's love for us), Jesus says that He is like… (a) Sheep (b) Shepherd (c) Neighbor (d) Friend

If you said (b) Shepherd, you're right! Jesus is using this parable to teach us that He is like a Shepherd. How about you and I? Who or what does Jesus say we are like? (a) Sheep (b) Shepherd (c) Neighbor (d) Friend

If you said (a) Sheep then you're right! Jesus is teaching us through this parable that as He is a Shepherd, you and I are sheep.

What do the sheep do in this parable? They get lost. Now if this seems confusing to you, consider something I saw on the Discovery Channel some time ago: I saw a nature show that exhibited the behavior of sheep, who apparently have one of the smallest brains of all land mammals. These animals are so stupid that they are driven only by one thing -- food. So they start in a beautiful meadow with lots of food but suddenly catch a glimpse of a small patch of grass on the side of what seems to be the Himalayas and from that moment, all they can think about is that small patch of grass. So they leave their flock of other stupid sheep and climb up this enormous cliff just to eat from this small patch of grass … even though they just left an enormous meadow of grass just to get to it. Once they've had their fill, they try to get down from this enormous mountain side they foolishly worked so hard to climb and 9 times out of 10, end up falling to their death.

And if you think about it, that's no different from you and I: The Bible says that when God created mankind, a man named Adam and a woman named Eve, He gave them this wonderful garden full of delicious foods. But one day, stupid stupid Adam and stupid stupid Eve, saw this one tree and decided to eat from it, even though they were surrounded by trees galore!

And when that happened, they got themselves into a place where nothing but death awaited them -- that's what God said: Adam, I know you're not the sharpest tool in the shed but this one, single tree is a no-no, okay? And if you eat from it, you will surely die, just like a stupid sheep that gets itself stuck on the side of a mountain.

But the death that God was talking about wasn't just bodily death (since Adam and Eve did eventually died); more importantly, it was a spiritual death where your spirit would never be able to live in Heaven but it would die, eternally, in hell -- which is way worse!

But what does the Shepherd do in this story? The Shepherd goes out of His way to seek and save the lost sheep -- including stupid Adam and stupid Eve and include stupid you and stupid me.
Jesus goes out and saves all those sheep who have gotten themselves into an eternal mess of a situation and are on the brink of falling into eternal death and brings them back home, to the place they belong: with God in Heaven instead of with Satan in Hell.

So who is Jesus and who does Jesus save? Well, among other things, Jesus is the Shepherd who saves not just lost but condemned sheep and brings them home.

But why does Jesus save them?

Well, verse 5 has the key: "…he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home." Jesus the Shepherd saves you and I, the lost sheep, because it brings Him joy!

Now, for myself, some things that make me happy are … pho on a cold day, froyo on a hot day, puppies, The Office, irony, lime Tabasco on everything… But what makes me full of joy (not just happy but genuinely full of joy) is when I spend quality time with my closest friends and family -- why? Because I love them -- I really like pho and froyo but I don't love pho and I wouldn't give up my life for froyo (hopefully…) but I do love my mom and my dad and my brother.

Some of you may have heard people call little infants "bundles of joy" because for a parent, nothing in this world (yes, even froyo or pho) brings a parent more joy than their little son or daughter, simply because there is nothing in this world that a parent loves more than their little child.

Which is why you don't hear stories of women lifting cars for a cheeseburger or why you don't hear of people protecting a picture of Justin Bieber from a collapsing building and dying in the process… but you do hear of such stories involving parents and their children.

So when Jesus uses the word "joy" here instead of the word "happy" or "pretty excited," Jesus is saying that there is no greater joy for Him than to seek and save those lost sheep and bring them home -- simply because Jesus loves those sheep that much! In fact, the Bible says in John 3:16 that God so loved, not merely loved but so deeply loved those lost sheep that He gave His only son to save them.

Imagine if I got married and had a beautiful little girl and in order to save your life, I killed her -- that sounds extreme but that's the measure of how much God loves you: He gave up His one and only Son to die for you. Or what if you were going to die from liver cancer and I died and gave you my liver so you could live? Well that's the measure of Jesus' love for you -- He gave Himself for you so you could live, not die like a sheep on a cliff.

And that's how Jesus saves: this is the hardest part of today's lesson to understand but it is the most important.

There is a story of a train-track worker who was in charge of switching the rails of various trains as they passed through his station. One day, a desperate call came in from an incoming train and the conductor yells over the radio that the brakes on the train have gone out and they are heading straight for the station. So the track worker quickly looks down the tracks and sees that the train has only two possible ways to go: it can continue on its route and eventually hit a broken bridge, sending everyone in that train to their death -- or, the track worker can switch the rails and send the train in a different direction, saving everyone. So, as the speeding trains approached the station, the worker got ready to switch the rails when he noticed that on the other track was his deaf son, playing on the rails with no idea that a speeding train was coming his way. And in the single moment, the worker had to decide whether to send this train-full of people like you and me to their doom, off of a broken bridge or switch the rails and save them, killing his only son. Then, just as the train was about the hit the station, the worker switched rails and send the train towards his son… saving everyone but him. Like sheep on a cliff, you and I were meant to die an eternal death as a result of our disobedience to God and as a result of Adam's disobedience to God.

But because God loved us so much and because Jesus loves you and I so much, the rails were switched and instead of sending us to our death, God sends death upon His one and only son that through Him, everyone on that train can be saved. That is why Jesus was tortured and crucified on a cross instead of jailed or fined -- because we deserved death and that is what Jesus wanted to save us from. Therefore, Jesus had to die.

I'm not sure where each of you stands with Jesus: like I said in the beginning, some of you hate Him and want nothing to do with Him, others of you don't care about Him -- yet still others of you might be genuinely seeking Him.

Well, for those of you who are, my encouragement for you today is to remember that Jesus sought and saved you -- not the other way around. And did this because it makes Him happy. And it makes Him happy because He so deeply loves you. And He loves you to the point that He died for you.

And if that idea just churns your heart or really challenges your mind, then I want you to pray, while I close in prayer, asking Jesus to come into your life and to show you just how much He loves you and to teach you how to love Him in return -- even if you've prayed that prayer before, pray it again because it isn't a prayer that saves you, it's a Shepherd, and knowing this Shepherd is what matters most.

For those of you who either dislike or are disinterested in Him, my challenge for you is to begin questioning everything and everyone in your life: Why do you do the things you do? How do you know the things you do are right or good? What is good? What will happen to you when you die? And in the meantime, what is the meaning and purpose of your life? And hopefully, at the end of all your questions, it will be God (and no one and nothing else) who gives you the answers. Let's pray.

Delivered at Denver New Vineyard Church