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THE FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST September 6, 2026 Pastor Tom Steers Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto Our Bible Readings: Old Testament – Ezekiel 33:7-9 Psalm 32:1-7 Epistle – Romans 13:1-10 Gospel – Matthew 18:1-20 Our Hymn for the Day from Lutheran Service Book is LSB 820, “My Soul, Now Praise Your Maker” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xkk0WI9tlL4&list=RDXkk0WI9tlL4&start_radio=1 The Sermon – “The Shepherd Who Seeks the Lost” The disciples ask Jesus, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” It’s a question that reveals something about the human heart. We’re often concerned about our place, importance, our standing in the eyes of others. Jesus replies in a way they don’t expect. He calls a little child and places him before them. Then Christ says, “Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus isn’t telling us that children are naturally innocent or sinless. Rather, He points to the child’s helplessness and dependence. A little child knows that he depends upon his parents for food, clothing, protection – everything necessary for life. And so it is with the Christian and God. Faith is not based on or gauged by self-assuredness. It is not pride, but repentant, humble trust in our Redeemer. A recognition that we bring nothing to God upon which we can base our salvation. We cannot make ourselves worthy of His forgiveness. We can’t earn our place in His kingdom. We cannot repair the damage caused by sin. Put simply – we can’t make ourselves righteous before our Holy God. We depend entirely upon His mercy. This is the great confession of the Christian faith. It is the restored truth of the Bible recovered by the Lutheran Reformation. Salvation is not something we accomplish. It’s something God gives – unmerited grace. Christ alone has earned our redemption through His suffering and death upon the cross. He did not die for His own sins, because He had none. He died for ours. The righteousness by which we stand before God is not our holiness, but the sinless Lamb of God’s righteousness, given to us through faith. And even that faith is God's gift, worked in us through His means of grace—His Word and Sacraments. Therefore, there is no room for boasting. There is only room for thanksgiving. The Christian says, “Lord, have mercy.” God answers that prayer with Christ. That is why faith makes us humble. We are not great because we have accomplished something for God. We are blessed because God has accomplished everything for us in His Son. But having shown us the humility of a child, Jesus then speaks very seriously of sin. “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” Then Jesus speaks of the hand, foot, and eye that may cause us to sin. These are hard words. They are meant to be. Yet Jesus is not commanding or suggesting self-mutilation. He is revealing the deadly seriousness of our transgressions. We live in a world that often treats sin lightly. Our culture may call sin a mistake, a weakness, an alternative lifestyle, or simply something that everyone does. But Jesus doesn’t speak that way. Sin destroys. It separates us from God. Sin leads to death. And if we are honest, we must confess that our own eyes, hands, feet, and even thoughts have all participated in sin. Who among us can stand before these words of Jesus and claim innocence? The Law of God leaves us with nowhere to hide. But notice where Jesus points. He doesn’t direct us to ourselves. He directs us toward Himself. Our eyes have looked upon things they should not have seen. But Christ's eyes looked upon us in our sin with mercy and compassion. Our hands have done things they should not have. But Christ's hands were stretched out upon the cross for our salvation. Our feet have wandered from God's ways. But Christ's feet walked the road to Calvary for us. His hands and feet were pierced for our iniquities. The One who had every right to condemn us bore the condemnation Himself. His holy sacrifice turned away God’s wrath against sin. “With his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) Therefore, when Jesus speaks so seriously about sin, He isn’t inviting people to despair. He is pointing us to the cross. There we see both the seriousness of our sin and the immeasurable greatness of God's love. Then, in today’s passage from Matthew, Jesus provides one of the most beautiful, comforting pictures in all of Scripture. “What do you think?” He asks. “If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?” This is the heart of the Gospel. The sheep does not find the shepherd. The shepherd searches for the sheep. The lost sheep does not rescue itself. The Lamb of God goes after it. This is the story of our salvation. Humanity wandered away from God. We didn’t find our way back by our own wisdom. We did not climb our way into heaven. God came looking for us. The eternal Son descended from heaven and became man. Jesus Christ came into this fallen and broken world to seek and save. He came to make payment for our sins. To suffer our punishment. To die our death. And He rose again so that those who trust in Him might have eternal life. “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10) That is the Shepherd's mission. And that is why the Church must never despise the little ones. Every baptized Christian is precious to God. Every wandering sinner is someone for whom Christ died. Every brother or sister who has strayed is someone whom the Shepherd desires to bring home. This brings us to the final portion of our Gospel. Jesus tells us what to do when a brother sins against us. “Go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” Notice the purpose. It is not revenge. Nor is it humiliation. It is not proving that we are right. The purpose is restoration. That is the language of the Shepherd. He seeks the lost sheep so that it may be restored to the flock. And so Jesus gives His Church a process for dealing with persistent sin: first privately, then with one or two others, and finally, if necessary, before the congregation. This is not permission for Christians to become spiritual policemen. It is a call to humble, loving, patient concern for one another. It includes discernment, not callousness. The one who confronts another Christian must remember his own need for grace. The goal is always to win back the brother or sister. Yet Jesus also teaches that there comes a point when persistent refusal to repent must be taken seriously. The Church cannot simply declare that sin doesn’t matter. To do so would not be loving. True love speaks the truth. The Prophet Ezekiel reminds us of this responsibility: the watchman must warn the wicked. But that warning must always have the goal of repentance and life. This is also consistent with Paul's teaching in Romans. “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” (Romans 13:10) Christian love is not sentimental indifference to sin. Christian love seeks the neighbor's true good. Sometimes that means comforting the brokenhearted with the Gospel. Sometimes it means patiently bearing with another's weakness. And sometimes it means lovingly confronting sin. But we do so as forgiven sinners who live by mercy. That’s why Psalm 32 gives us such a fitting confession: “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” Blessed indeed. Our sins are covered—not because we’ve successfully hidden them from God, but because Christ has covered them with His blood. The Shepherd has found His lost sheep. He has carried us home and placed us within His flock. Now He calls us to live as His humble and forgiven people. So, when the world tells us that greatness comes from power, status, achievement, or self-sufficiency, remember the little child standing beside Christ. The greatest in the kingdom is the one who knows that he needs his heavenly Father. When the Law exposes the seriousness of our sin, do not run from Christ. Run to the cross. His hands and feet were pierced for you. His blood was shed for you. His resurrection is your promise of life. And when a brother or sister wanders, do not despise that little one. Remember the Shepherd who went looking for you. Speak truth in love. Pray for repentance. Seek restoration. And remember that the Church belongs to Christ. Finally, Jesus gives His Church this extraordinary promise: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Christ is here. He is here in His Word. He is here in the forgiveness found in the absolution. He is here in His true body and blood in the Lord’s Supper. The Shepherd who came down from heaven continues to care for His flock. And because He has sought us, found us, and brought us home, we live not in pride but in humility; not in fear but in faith; not in condemnation but in the forgiveness of the Gospel. For we belong to the Saviour of the world. Amen.