The Parable of the Lost Sheep in the Bible

The Parable of the Lost Sheep is told in two settings. In Luke 15:4-7 Jesus answers the Pharisees who complained that He welcomed sinners, while in Matthew 18:12-14 He teaches His disciples not to despise one of His "little ones." In both, the picture is the same: a shepherd with a hundred sheep loses one and leaves the ninety-nine to seek the one that is gone astray until he finds it (Matthew 18:12; Luke 15:4). When he finds it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing, and calls his friends and neighbors to rejoice with him (Luke 15:5-6). The parable reveals the seeking heart of God. The lost sheep is helpless and cannot find its own way home; it is the shepherd who searches. This is the gospel in miniature: God does not wait for the lost to return but goes after them in the person of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. The single sheep is not written off as an acceptable loss; its value moves the shepherd to leave the many and search until the wanderer is recovered. Matthew adds a tender conclusion: "It is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish" (Matthew 18:14). Luke adds the note of heaven's joy: "There shall be joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons" (Luke 15:7). Both the Father's will and heaven's celebration center on the recovery of the one. For believers, the parable assures the straying that they are sought and loved, and it calls the church to the same shepherding heart. We are not to despise the weak or write off the wanderer (Matthew 18:12-14), but to seek the lost and rejoice over every soul brought home, sharing the joy that fills heaven in Luke 15:7.