Luke 2:15-16
This whole week, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about a story Jesus told that fits almost too perfectly with the story of the shepherds on that first Christmas night. It’s found in Luke 15. Jesus said,
“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?” (Luke 15:4)
If you’ve ever paused long enough to picture that scene, it should feel a little reckless. A shepherd leaving the ninety-nine behind. Walking off into the dark. Searching through ravines and shadows. Risking the whole flock for the one.
It hit me that this is exactly what the shepherds did on Christmas night. When the angels appeared, the shepherds didn’t stay safely in the fields. They didn’t reason it away. They left their flocks, left the ninety-nine, to go find the One. They stepped into the dark and walked toward a promise. Toward a manger. Toward hope.
However, Jesus’ parable goes even deeper because in Luke 15, Jesus isn’t talking about shepherds like them. He’s talking about Himself. In the parable, Jesus is the Shepherd who leaves heaven’s safety to come after the one who is lost. And the one? That’s you. That’s me. Do you see it? Christmas is not just the story of shepherds going to find Jesus; it’s the story of Jesus coming to find us.
And when the shepherd in Jesus’ story finds the lost sheep, He doesn’t scold it. He doesn’t shame it. He lifts it onto His shoulders and rejoices. “Rejoice with me,” He says, “for I have found my sheep that was lost.” Now listen again to the shepherds’ response in Luke 2: “They returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.” (Luke 2:20) Rejoicing again.
The shepherd in Jesus’ parable rejoices because the lost one is finally on his shoulders. The shepherds in Bethlehem rejoice because the One who came to carry us has finally arrived. This is Christmas. Heaven’s joy spilling into earth. A God who goes after us until He finds us, in the darkness, the quiet, the pain, the shame, and the fear.
You are not just searching for God. You are being found. Merry Christmas.
Pastor Ryan Paulson