Jesus' Lost Sheep Sales Pitch

Mind blowing tools handed off to Jesus' sales teams. Us too?

I found twelve references to “lost sheep” in my Bible tool.* I grouped them into a couple of areas, but one stands out — Jesus’ customer retention “sales pitch.” The lost sheep in Matthew 9:35–10:8 refers to former or latent believers in God. They’re Israeli folks off doing their own thing. In this scripture, Jesus isn’t sending folks out to the “greenfields” where God is unknown, but to wayward customers who’ve forgotten about him. Sell the message to them first, Jesus insists.

It’s a sales pitch because Jesus carefully, over three years, trains his staff of hand-picked apostles. He follows up later with a 70-person wave of eager recruits to highlight how happy and resourceful are the Christ-followers. Neither group goes out empty-handed. Jesus gives them miraculous tools for their journey. 

This Matthew reading speaks only about that first wave of the 12 apostles and their customer retention efforts. It’s read on Saturday, in the first week of Advent. The sales pitch takes place after a clever setup in the previous chapter (9) and becomes the framework for the rest of chapter 10. 

Imagine that Jesus is talking about us, modern-day Christo-centric believers out on the margins. Imagine it, because I believe we’re the ones he is talking about, whether you’re the active disciple getting trained or the lolly-gagging believer about to be re-awakened:

Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
(Matthew 10:5-7)

Jesus’ keen focus on detail for his apostle’s journey shows his total commitment to witnessing through believers. He may be enigmatic and mysterious, but he insists on including humanity in his mission. Jesus thinks like a CEO. The way to gather his lost sheep is with a slam dunk attention grabber. 

“Tell the folks that yearned for God, I am here. Their dreams are fulfilled. The safe, loving, unbelievably great life that never ends is finally within their reach.” That’s a very loose, wordy translation for, “Follow me. The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Jesus uses his iconic lost sheep language on purpose. He spells out how to engage everyone who’s forgotten that God loves them. It might seem crass to call this Jesus’ sales pitch, but everybody has a sales pitch. Don’t we? He puts his message at the top of the pile, though, not ours. 

“This isn’t an advertisement. This is the reason to come back to God,” he might say in a marketing staff meeting. 

First, Jesus cordons off his desired audience — the lost sheep — from all of creation. That’s sales 101. You know who they are, right? They’re the ones that began as his sheep but wandered off. Jesus knows his starter audience. Why focus on the lost? Two big reasons. They’re the low-hanging fruit. And, a burgeoning, caring, faithful community attracts everyone else. It has self-healing characteristics. Plus, a loving community offers satisfaction guaranteed. 

Second, Jesus’ two radical sales pitch send-offs grew a customer-building effort that took the world by storm. Lost sheep have everything to lose if they don’t come back. Many do, with shocking inclusivity into God’s upending of history. This ranks as an elite power sales plan because Jesus didn’t provide flyers, flashy lights, and closing arguments. He armed his apostles and disciples with magical juju, the indwelling of his Holy Spirit.

“Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons.”
(Matthew 10:10)

Holy sheep, that’s an impressive array of solutions to customer objections. Door-to-door vacuum sales might have changed show-and-tell techniques, but Jesus’ gifts for miraculous healing and cancellations of evil remain unmatched. 

Customer retention, however, isn’t a one-time thing. Jesus wanted to win back all of the Hebrew people while expanding into the gentile world, but he knew that wasn’t a reality. His sales pitch training remains an annual effort, even today. I’m fairly certain, however, we’ve lost most of the first wave’s confidence.

Jesus attracted scores of Jews from all corners of the faith, but the vast majority of Israel didn’t know him from a cask of olive oil. The miracles performed by him and his faithful followers astounded everyone. His message as God incarnate, however, was a big pill to swallow. In truth, half of Jesus’ followers left him, enter lost sheep land, after just one speech. (see Matthew 26:26-28) 

The implication in today’s scripture in Matthew is that the lost sheep are those on the edges, disconnected from their Israeli roots. They may be landholders and stewards of the Law. They might be indentured servants who sold or lost their legacy. Scripture, though, is rarely just about a specific group of people in time. Even in Jesus’ time. 

When we hear Jesus today, we’re all likely the audience he has in mind — landholders, stewards, the bankrupt, and the anxious. I know lots of believers who don’t know they are lost sheep. Every flock of believers chokes on their own lost members. 

The sainted aren’t lost sheep, folks. It’s us. Saints seldom perform on stage or serve from positions of religious authority. Plus, saints don’t scramble to gain popularity or notoriety. We, ardent believers, suffer huge gaps in faithful affiliation with God. At best, we’re part-time saints. Those gaps are the wandering times, the moments our lives lean into the lost category. You know what being lost looks like. It’s when you seek the stage, climb the ladder to take charge, and ferociously track your popularity.

That, not coincidentally, is the identified audience of our Homeless Catholic Community. The assumption for the bulk of us is that at some point, back when, we felt at home in our faith. Warm and cuddly, welcomed, poised upon important tasks, and eager to enjoy the benefits of our faith and the camaraderie of our fellowships. 

Maybe “at home” was just a moment. Maybe it lasted a decade. Maybe we’re still wondering if it’s possible. We might have to go all the way back to the womb to remember feeling safe at home. For most believers, it happens sporadically. Or, more correctly, when God lovingly shifts the world to comfort us.

For those of us insufferably anxious about clarity, we should note the connection later in scripture when Jesus sends out those 70 disciples. Luke records both evangelical escapades — the 12 and the 70. The apostle’s sojourn into villages wasn’t just a precursor to a larger effort. It established that the power we assign just to Jesus, indeed only to God, is now being shared with all of us. That’s a stunning bag of sales tricks. Way better than Powerpoints or beer.

Many commentators cite that Jesus dropped the “lost sheep” limitation to reveal the expanse of his redemption beyond the Jewish, Hebrew community. This is God we’re talking about here. Sure, expansion makes sense. The remarkable gifts of healing, raising the dead, and exorcism into the hands of common discipleship, though, blow the lid off of institutional control upon the Holy Spirit.

Since both groups Jesus sent were told to proclaim first the Kingdom of God, his sales pitch remains consistent. In both cases, Jesus gave the same message. 

This is our God. He provides specific details about reaching out to people who yearn for God’s word and God’s real presence. The laborers are few, but the faithful’s reach is the same today as then. Jesus’ continued campaign zooms through our cost-based culture. His first expectation, before all the advice on meeting people and approaching new villages, was to trust the Spirit. Don’t worry about compensation.

“Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”(Matthew 10:8)

Where can you find this community today? Inspirationally, here, I pray. Real relationships will be brought to you by someone else. Holy ones. Principled, dedicated, eager folks who’ve been recruited by God to form the Mystical Body. I, and others, are here for encouragement and enlightenment. Hang around as long as you like. Go in person, though, with whom God sends you to experience that Kingdom at hand.

*I use Logos Bible Software. Highly recommend it for serious scripture nerds and living room theologians alike. (https://www.logos.com)

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