The Lost Sheep
Read the parable
- Luke 15:1-7 Primary account
- Matthew 18:12-14 Parallel account
Context
Tax collectors and sinners were drawing near to hear Jesus, and the Pharisees and scribes murmured, "This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them." Jesus answered with three linked parables of the lost — sheep, coin, son. A village flock of a hundred sheep was substantial; shepherds knew their animals individually, and leaving the ninety-nine in the wilderness to search for one stray until it was found was recognizably devoted shepherding. In Matthew, Jesus applies the same story to "little ones" within the community.
Meaning
God actively seeks the lost — the shepherd goes after the one sheep "until he find it", carries it home on his shoulders rejoicing, and calls his neighbors to share the joy. Jesus is defending his own table-fellowship with sinners as the very character of God: "joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance." In Matthew's setting the parable grounds pastoral care: it is not the Father's will that one of these little ones should perish. Heaven's arithmetic prizes the recovered one.
Go deeper
Two free lessons walk through the parables as a whole: The Parables of Jesus and Interpreting the Parables.