WORSHIP VIDEO LINK (linked after 10:45 AM Service)
WORSHIP AUDIO LINK
SERMON AUDIO LINK
BULLETIN
SERMON TEXT BELOW
Pentecost 14 2025 Proper 19
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
September 14, 2025
Ezekiel 34:11-24, 1 Timothy 1:12-17, Luke 15:1-10
Sermons online:
Text and Audio: immanuelhamiltonchurch.com click “sermons”
Text: pastorjud.org
Audio: pastorjud.podbean.com
itunes: bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio: bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship
Christianity is the largest religion in the world with approximately 2.5 billion people saying they are Christians. There are many different church bodies and Christianity takes many different styles and forms and traditions. There are so many different things going on in the name of Jesus it can become confusing as to what is the main thing. What is Christianity all about?
In our reading today from Luke, Jesus gives us a clear and convicting truth. Luke 15:7 (ESV) 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”
This statement comes at the end of the parable of the lost sheep. So, what does Jesus mean? Who is the one sinner who repents, and who are the ninety-nine that need no repentance? What does it mean to repent?
This scene is one filled with tension. Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem to be sacrificed on the cross and rise from the dead for the sins of the world. As He journeys He teaches. People hear the Word of God and respond. Some respond with scoffing and ridicule and seek to discredit Jesus and destroy Him. Others hear Jesus’ teaching and are convicted, and they come to Jesus to hear more and eat with Him.
The Pharisees and the Scribes believe they are the good people in society and they are offended that sinners are coming to hear Jesus and eat with Him. They grumble because sinners are convicted by the law of God and come to Jesus to receive forgiveness. But, this is what Christianity is all about. Sinners hear the law and gospel of God… and the Holy Spirit convicts them of their sins and points them to forgiveness in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Christianity is all about repentant sinners receiving forgiveness of their sins.
In response to the grumbling Jesus tells a parable to illustrate what is happening. Luke 15:4–7 (ESV) 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”
At the end of this short parable we have one lost sheep who is found; one sinner who repents. Ninety-nine sheep are left in the wilderness; ninety-nine “righteous persons” who “need no repentance.”
Repentance is equal to being found. Being found is not a work that you do but is all the work of the shepherd who finds you… and picks you up… and carries you back to celebrate.
The tax collectors and sinners following Jesus and eating with Him are the lost sheep who have been found. They have heard the Word of God spoken by Jesus and have received the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit convicts them of their sins and points them to Jesus as their Savior. They know they are sinners and are convicted by this knowledge. They know they are not good enough. They are saddened by their sin and helplessness. They know they need Jesus so they come to Jesus.
Jesus reaches out to the Pharisees and Scribes. He preaches convicting law to them. These are the ninety-nine sheep left in the wilderness because they think they are righteous persons who don’t need to repent.
The Pharisees are lost sheep but they will not accept that they are lost. They will not accept that they need to repent. They will not accept that they need a savior. They are the sheep Ezekiel is talking about in our Old Testament reading today. The sheep that tread down the pasture, muddy the waters, and push away the weaker sheep. They resist the Holy Spirit of God as Jesus calls them to repentance.
After Jesus is crucified, buried, raised from the dead and ascended into heaven, a follower named Stephen is appointed a deacon and is teaching people in Jerusalem about Jesus; bringing them God’s truth. Some religious leaders bring charges against Stephen that he is teaching that Jesus will destroy the temple and change the customs of Moses. So Stephen is brought before the high priest and the council and he teaches them. He concludes his speech by calling them out for refusing the Holy Spirit, Acts 7:51–53 (ESV) 51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.” The religious leaders do not want to hear this and so they silence Stephen… by throwing rocks at him until he is dead. Saul of Tarsus, later called Paul, is there… approving of the men stoning Stephen, and watching their cloaks. Saul is a lost sheep who will not admit that he is lost. He is an enemy of God. This is not someone whom you would expect Jesus to go after as a lost sheep.
And yet, in his letter to Timothy, Paul writes about how he was brought from being a blasphemer, persecutor and insolent opponent of Christ to being a believer in Jesus because of the overflowing grace of the Lord.
Paul is a lost sheep found by the Good Shepherd on the road to Damascus. Jesus appears to Paul in a bright light, Acts 9:4 (ESV) 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
Ananias, a follower of Jesus in Damascus, is directed by God to go to Saul, and lay his hands on him to restore his sight and bestow the Holy Spirit. Saul is then baptized and he begins to proclaim Jesus. Jesus finds his lost sheep and carries him home to celebrate. There is great joy in heaven.
The Pharisees and Scribes see Jesus perform miracles that only God could do, but all they care about is that He does them on the Sabbath day; breaking their rules. They hear Jesus’ teaching, but are only concerned that sinners are coming to hear Jesus. They believe they are good enough. They follow the rules that they made up. They have given up on God and trust in themselves.
There is a danger that you can start to trust in yourself and think you are good enough. It is very tempting when thinking about sin to rationalize, “Well I’m not perfect, but I am not as bad as those people…those really sinful people. There is a great temptation to not admit that you were a lost sheep found by the good shepherd who has given you the gift of the Holy Spirit who convicts you of your sins and points you to the grace of Jesus poured out in Baptism, in the Word of God and in Holy Communion.
There is a great temptation to not talk about sin so that no one feels bad about their sin. There are so many today who claim to be followers of Jesus but do not want to talk about sin; they do not want to talk about repentance. They do not want to talk about Jesus dying on the cross for their sins. They want to silence God’s law so they can feel good about themselves just the way they are. They want the church to be all about affirming them in their sin.
There are many in our society today who are offended by God’s law and gospel. They reject God’s truth, and like the religious leaders who stoned Stephen, they try to silence anyone who dares to speak Jesus’ truth publicly. This past Wednesday, the danger of speaking the truth in love was clearly shown with the assassination of conservative Christian commentator Charlie Kirk while he was engaging in civil public debate and discussion. Lawless, disobedient, ungodly, immoral people want to silence God’s law.
You know you were lost, but now you are found, so each day give thanks that the Good Shepherd has found you; His lost sheep. He picked you up and washed you clean and carried you home into His Kingdom where you live as a sheep in the flock of the Good Shepherd. Despite threats and hatred, continue to speak the truth in love to bring God’s Word to a hurting world.
Paul writes to Timothy, Timothy 1:8–9 (ESV) 8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient…”
God’s law is good but they do not want to hear it. They don’t want to hear about sin, they don’t want to admit that they are lost, they don’t want to admit they need a savior. They are the ninety nine who believe they do not need to repent. The Good Shepherd wants them to be found, He is reaching out to them, but too often they do not admit that they are lost.
You know you were lost, but now you are found, so each day give thanks that the Good Shepherd has found you; His lost sheep. He picked you up and washed you clean and carried you home into His Kingdom where you live as a sheep in the flock of the Good Shepherd. Despite threats and hatred, continue to speak the truth in love to bring God’s Word to a hurting world.
We have been blessed as a congregation to have a number of people join our fellowship who have come out of a place of unbelief as adults. These are lost sheep who were found by the Good Shepherd, given the Holy Spirit, and brought into the Kingdom of God. There is great joy in heaven.
Rejoice! You know that you were lost and now you are found. You know that you are a sinner who needs a savior. You know Jesus is your savior. Praise the Lord! Jesus found you. Amen.