Section 3
not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?" What is the wilderness into which the Son as the Shepherd came seeking the lost sheep? The wil derness signifies the world. In the sight of God the world is a wilderness, a wild, desolate place where it is easy to get lost. The Son came in the wilderness to seek us, the lost sheep. The shep herd going into the wilderness to seek the lost sheep indicates that the Son has come to the world to be with men (John 1:14).
Now we need to ask in what way the Son as the Shepherd came to seek us. In contrast to the Spirit signified by the woman with the lamp, the Son does not seek us by enlightening us. His way to seek us out is to die for us. In John 10:11 the Lord Jesus says that He is the good Shepherd who gives His life for the sheep: "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." The work of the Shepherd is to die for us. If He did not die for us, He would not have a way to seek us out. His way of seeking us is to die for us.
THE PARABLE OF A SEEKING WOMAN
In Luke 15:8 the Lord goes on to say, "Or what