How do you know what something is worth? What determines its value? I feel like I’ve had this conversation with my kids a couple of times recently. Sorting through old baseball cards in my basement—why is this one worth more than it used to be, and that one’s price went down? Well, it depends on what people are paying for it them. Talking after a news story on NFTs—non-fungible tokens, those certified digital commodities like the first-ever tweet on Twitter—why are those pixels worth millions of dollars? Because someone was willing to pay that much. I don’t get it (but I suppose others don’t get why I’m hanging on to those old pieces of cardboard in my basement, either). Why is your car worth more now than it was about two years ago? Supply is down, demand is up, which means people will pay more to get a car. Things are worth what people are willing to give to get them.
It’s not just true for cards and cars. The two stories of Jesus that we’re going to study today are both about value—the value of every soul.
The first story Jesus told was about a sheep that got lost. “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’” A shepherd with 100 sheep was a wealthy man. You and I might think he could handle the loss of 1% of his flock, especially if he would have to leave the rest behind to go find it. But people in Jesus’ day knew that every sheep mattered to a shepherd. That one sheep was worth leaving the rest to search for and find, carry it all the way home on his back, and then throw a party over it!
The second story has a similar point. “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’” In contrast to the shepherd, this was a poor woman. She had ten days’ wages saved up. You can understand why she would do whatever it takes not to lose 10% of her savings. That coin was valuable to her! It was so valuable, in fact, that when she found it, she invited her friends and neighbors over to celebrate, even though that probably meant paying for a meal for them. But that’s how happy she was, how much that coin mattered to her.
So, what’s your worth? You might wonder, especially when people in your life ignore you or treat you poorly, or when you see the influence or talents other people have that you don’t. But it doesn’t matter what they think. The one who decides is the one who made you. What are you worth to God? Well, what was he willing to give to get you? Ask the man telling the parables. He’s not just a teacher from Galilee. He’s the Son of God from heaven. He left that glory to become one of us, to live in this world under the same expectations his Father has of us, under the same hot sun and cold rain, under the same curse of sin that covers this world, even though it wasn’t his sin. Poverty, persecution, pain—he experienced it all. He was abandoned by his friends, condemned by his people, crucified like a criminal. He was punished by his Father like the worst of sinners for the worst of sinners. He gave up his life. And he did it all for you. He gave everything to get you—to have you with him for all eternity. This is what you’re worth to him.
Some of you here today may not have heard much about Jesus before. Some of you may know about him but may not have a place where you’re regularly reminded of how much he values you. If that’s the case, I want you to leave here knowing two things. First, know how valuable you are to God, that he would come here to die to call you his own. When you believe that, the angels in heaven throw a party. Second, know that if you’d like to become a part of this group of believers here, they would welcome you like Jesus does and probably even throw a party for you, too.
That’s how valuable you are to God. That’s how valuable everyone is.
That second statement is harder for us. We passed over the reason Jesus told these stories in the first place, so let’s go back. Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” These religious leaders placed plenty of value on themselves. People with a bad reputation like the tax collectors, or people who just weren’t as religious as they were—the Pharisees and law teachers looked down on those people, and they couldn’t understand why Jesus would spend time on them, spend time with them. Again, it was a question of value. In their minds, those sinners weren’t worth the effort.
I think those of us who follow Jesus can sometimes fall into the same temptation. We wouldn’t be as obvious about it as the Pharisees and law teachers. But let me ask you a few questions. Is there a certain kind of person you’d rather not be seen with? Have you ever thought to yourself that some people just don’t seem like Christian material? How eager are you to leave the safety of your bubble of believers to reach people? Jesus went out of his way to find the lost sheep. He wants us to have the same attitude—to spare no effort to bring in those who don’t know him or bring back those who are wandering from him. That’s not easy. Those can be tough and awkward conversations. But if we don’t have them, aren’t we sending the message that those people aren’t worth the effort? We love to hear how much God values us. We don’t always live the truth that he values everyone else just as much.
Maybe it would be good to remind ourselves where that value comes from. Think about the story Jesus told. What quality of the sheep prompted the shepherd to look for it? Nothing other than the fact that it was lost! What about us made God want to come here and die for us? Nothing other than the fact that we were lost! It was a decision God made, not some quality in us—no goodness or potential or anything. We have value simply because God values us. That’s what we call grace.
That kind of love both builds us up and humbles us. On the one hand, there’s no question how valuable we are to him. If God decides we’re worth it, we are! If he came here to live and die for us, even for our failures to value others, and then works everything out in our lives to make sure we were baptized or came to hear about him, and then even had his angels celebrate it, who could question our value? At the same, time, there’s no question that our value doesn’t come from special inside us. God values all sinners equally. Jesus says, “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” No one in heaven is impressed when I pat myself on the back for being a Christian. But they go crazy up there every time someone becomes one!
Many of you have been Christians all your lives. God found you before you were even aware that you were lost. You might be members of this congregation or another one. God wants you to see how much he values you and every other human being so that you look at others the same way he does. God still works through people to reach people, the same as he did for you. What person could you reach with the good news? What part could you play in the work of your church and school to get to the souls that Jesus died for? There’s no effort too great to be worth it. When you take part in the work, you get a front-row seat to see Jesus welcoming people into his kingdom. And you get to join the angels in rejoicing.
Here's another way to look at it, to sum things up: Wherever you are right now, Jesus doesn’t want you to stay there. If you’re one of those wandering sheep, he doesn’t want you to stay out there. He is looking for you, calling to you, and wants nothing more than to bring you home with him. Remember what you’re worth to him—what he did to be able to make you his. If you believe in Jesus, if you’re already safe in his fold, he doesn’t want you to be complacent while other sheep are still out there. He wants you to go out with eagerness and energy to find them, because you know how much they are worth to him.
If a things’ value is demonstrated by what a person is willing to give to get it, then it’s clear: every soul is precious to Jesus, and to us.
May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.