The Lost Sheep is the first of three lost-and-found stories Jesus told when sinners drew near and the Pharisees grumbled.
What man of you,
having a hundred sheep,
if he has lost one of them,
does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country
and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?
When he has found it,
he lays it on his shoulders,
rejoicing.
There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
A sheep wanders. That is what sheep do. The shepherd does not take a vote among the ninety-nine. He goes after the one until he finds it. Until is the same word as the woman with the coin. The finding is not a shrug. He lifts the animal onto his shoulders. The joy starts on the road, not after a committee meeting. Friends and neighbors are called: Rejoice with me. Heaven agrees.
- Matthew tells a twin saying about little ones and the Father’s will that not one should perish.
- Ezekiel had already heard the Lord say, I Myself will search for My sheep. I will seek the lost, bring back the strayed, bind up the injured.
Jesus is that Shepherd in the flesh. He came to seek and to save the lost.
The grumble in Luke 15 is that He receives sinners and eats with them. The answer is a man who will not write off one out of a hundred. Shoulders are the picture of a rescue the sheep cannot perform. Repentance is the human turn. The seeking started before the sheep decided to be found.
- One of a hundred is enough to send the Shepherd out.
- Lost is not the same as discarded. The sheep still belongs to him.
- Until he finds it is the length of the search.
- Shoulders mean the return is His strength, not the sheep’s navigation.
- Joy in heaven is louder over the found one than over the settled ninety-nine.
- Those who “need no repentance” are the ones who think they do not.
- The Son of Man came for this work. Eating with sinners is the search made visible.
- One of a Hundred – The flock is not complete while one is missing.
- Gone After – The shepherd moves; the sheep does not rescue itself.
- Until He Finds – Persistence, not a single glance.
- On His Shoulders – Carried home, rejoicing.
- Rejoice with Me – Shared joy; neighbors called.
- Joy in Heaven – Angels and the Father over one sinner.
- No Vote of the Ninety-Nine – The lost one sets the agenda.
- Luke 15:3-7 – “So he told them this parable: ‘What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.’”
- Matthew 18:12-14 – “What do you think? 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? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”
- Luke 15:1-2 – Tax collectors and sinners drawing near; Pharisees and scribes grumbling that He receives sinners and eats with them.
- Luke 15:8-10 – The lost coin; joy before the angels over one sinner who repents.
- Luke 15:11-32 – The lost son; it was fitting to celebrate.
- Luke 19:10 – “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
- Ezekiel 34:11-16 – “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out… I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak.”
- Isaiah 40:11 – “He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom.”
- Isaiah 53:6 – “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
- Psalm 23:1-3 – The Lord is my shepherd; He restores my soul; He leads me in paths of righteousness.
- John 10:11, 14-16 – “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep… I know my own and my own know me… I have other sheep that are not of this fold.”
- 1 Peter 2:25 – “For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”
- 1 Peter 5:4 – When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
- Psalm 119:176 – “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant.”
- Matthew 9:36 – He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
- Hebrews 13:20 – The God of peace brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep.
He goes after the one that is lost until he finds it.
He lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.
There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine who think they need no repentance.
It is not the will of your Father that one of these little ones should perish.
The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. I Myself will search for My sheep.
All we like sheep have gone astray. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. Let Him carry you home. Then rejoice when He carries another.
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