The Parable of the Lost Sheep

Still talking about little ones. Jesus had set a little child in the midst of His disciples and taught them to humble themselves like that child (Matthew 18:2-4). He kept talking about little ones. In verse 6 He calls them “these little ones who believe in Me.” So little ones means children, and it also means everyone who trusts Jesus. Take heed. “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones” (18:10). Take heed means be careful. To despise someone means to look down on them, as if they were worth nothing. The ICB says, “Don’t think these little children are worth nothing.” A serious warning. Jesus had just said that causing a little one who believes in Him to sin is a very serious thing (18:6). He did not want anyone to treat His little ones as if they did not count. Their angels. Then Jesus gave the reason: “in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven” (18:10). Angels are God's servants. To see someone's face means to be with them, right in front of them. The little ones have angels who are always in the Father's presence. What it means. The people who seem smallest on earth are not small in heaven. God the Father pays close attention to them. Many Christians see this as meaning God gives His angels to watch over His children. What we learn. Never treat a younger kid, a new kid or a kid who seems different as unimportant. God doesn't. And if you ever feel small or left out, remember that you matter to your Father in heaven.

Who are the little ones? Jesus had set a child in the midst of the disciples (18:2), and then He spoke of “these little ones who believe in Me” (18:6). The phrase begins with children and widens to every believer who is small, weak or easy to overlook. Kataphroneo (18:10). “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones.” The Greek word is kataphroneo (say: kah-tah-fro-NEH-oh), to think down on someone, to treat them as if they do not count. Despising is often quiet: ignoring someone, leaving them out or laughing at them. A serious matter. Just before this, Jesus said that causing one of these believing little ones to sin is a very serious thing (18:6), and He told His disciples to deal firmly with anything in their own lives that leads them into sin (18:8-9). The way His people are treated matters to Him. Their angels. “For I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.” Angels are spirits God made to serve Him. To always see the Father's face is to stand continually in His presence, the way Gabriel said, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God” (Luke 1:19). The point. Those who look smallest on earth are connected to the throne room of heaven. If the Father gives them that kind of attention, no disciple may look down on them. Many Christians see here that God gives angels to care for His children. For you. It is easy to look down on someone who is younger, slower, new or unpopular. Ask God to help you see people the way He sees them. And when you feel overlooked, remember that the Father's attention is on you.

Jesus' followers had asked who was the greatest. Jesus put a little child in the middle of them. Then He warned them about how they treat little ones. He said, “Be careful.” We must never think little children are worth nothing. To look down on someone means to treat them as unimportant. Jesus said the little ones have angels in heaven. Those angels are always with God the Father. So God cares very much about every child. Little ones also means everyone who believes in Jesus. Nobody who trusts Jesus is unimportant to God. You matter to Him, and so does every kid you know.

Jesus said every child is important. Their angels are in heaven with God the Father. God cares about you very much!

Why Jesus came. “For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost” (18:11). Jesus often called Himself the Son of Man. Here He tells us why He came. What lost means. Something lost is not where it belongs. A person who is lost is far from God. Sin is what takes us away from Him, and every one of us has sinned (Romans 3:23). What do you think? Jesus asked His disciples to think about a story: “If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?” (18:12). To go astray means to wander off the right way. Only one. Ninety-nine sheep were still safe. Yet the man went after the one. Every single sheep mattered to him. Until he finds it. Luke tells the same story. The man goes “after the one which is lost until he finds it” (Luke 15:4). He does not give up. God goes looking. In Jesus' story, the sheep does not find its own way back. He goes out to find it. God is the One who seeks, and that is why Jesus came. What we learn. If you have wandered from God, He has not given up on you. Jesus came looking for you. You can also pray for friends who are far from God, because He cares about every one of them.

Why He came (18:11). “For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.” Son of Man was the name Jesus used for Himself most often. In one sentence He states His whole mission. Apollymi. The word for lost is apollymi (say: ah-POL-loo-mee), to be lost, ruined or destroyed. It is the same word translated perish in 18:14. Being lost is not a small problem. It describes people separated from God by sin and headed for ruin. Planao (18:12). “If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray.” The verb is planao (say: plah-NAH-oh), to wander or to be led off the right way. Our word planet comes from the same family of words, meaning a wanderer. What do you think? Jesus asked for the disciples' judgment: would a man not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the straying one? The answer He expected was yes. Every sheep belonged to him. Until he finds it. Luke adds that the man goes “after the one which is lost until he finds it” (Luke 15:4). The search does not stop halfway. The God who seeks. In the garden, after the first sin, “the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” (Genesis 3:9). From that day to the cross, God has been the One who comes looking. For you. Christians can wander too. If you have, you do not have to fix yourself before you come back. The One who came to save the lost is already looking for you.

Jesus said, “The Son of Man came to save lost people.” Jesus called Himself the Son of Man. To be lost means to be far away from God. Sin is what takes people away from God. Then Jesus told a story to show what He meant. A man had 100 sheep, and one got lost. The man did not stay with the 99. He went looking for the one. Every single sheep mattered to him. That is how God feels about people. He does not wait for lost people to find their own way. Jesus came looking for us. He came to bring us home to God.

Jesus came to save lost people. In His story, a man looked for one lost sheep. Jesus looks for us!

Found. “And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray” (18:13). Assuredly means truly. To rejoice means to be full of joy. More joy over one. Jesus did not say the ninety-nine did not matter. He said the one that was found brought more joy. On his shoulders. Luke says, “And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing” (Luke 15:5). The man picked the sheep up and carried it home himself. Friends and neighbors. At home he called his friends and neighbors: “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!” (Luke 15:6). His joy was too big to keep to himself. What it shows about God. God carries the people He finds. Isaiah wrote that the Lord will “gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom” (Isaiah 40:11). His welcome is full of joy. No scolding. In Jesus' story, the found sheep is carried, not scolded. That is how God welcomes a person who comes back to Him. What we learn. When you come back to God after doing wrong, He does not meet you with a frown. He welcomes you with joy. And when a friend comes to Jesus, you can share heaven's joy too.

If he should find it (18:13). “And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.” Matthew keeps the focus on the one. The one that was lost and is found brings the man more joy than all the rest. On his shoulders (Luke 15:5). “And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.” The man carries the whole weight of the way home. The sheep adds nothing to its rescue except being found. The Lord who carries. The prophets described God the same way: “He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom” (Isaiah 40:11). Rejoice with me (Luke 15:6). The man calls his friends and neighbors together. Joy over the found is meant to be shared. The leaders who complained that Jesus welcomed sinners (Luke 15:2) were standing outside a celebration that heaven was already having. Welcomed, not put on trial. In Jesus' story, the found sheep is not punished or made to earn its place back in the flock. It is carried home with joy. That is how God receives a sinner who turns back to Him. Grace. This is grace: God's kindness given to people who could never earn it. Salvation is “the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). For you. If you have trusted Jesus, you were carried home too. You never have to wonder whether God was glad to have you back.

The man found his lost sheep. He was happier about that one sheep than about the 99. Luke says the man put the sheep on his shoulders. He carried it all the way home. He did not make the sheep walk home alone. At home he called his friends and neighbors. He said, “Be happy with me because I found my lost sheep!” Jesus told this story to show us God's heart. God is not grumpy when a lost person comes back. He is full of joy! He carries us when we cannot carry ourselves. His love holds us close.

The man found his lost sheep. He carried it home on his shoulders. He was so happy, and God is happy like that!

The point of the story. “Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish” (18:14). Even so means in the same way. God the Father is like the man who would not give up on one sheep. Perish. To perish means to be lost forever, away from God. God does not want that for anyone. Peter wrote that the Lord is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Why Jesus told it. Luke tells us. Tax collectors and sinners were coming to hear Jesus. The Pharisees and scribes complained, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them” (Luke 15:2). So Jesus told them this story. Joy in heaven. “I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7). To repent means to turn from sin to God. The ninety-nine. Is anyone so good that he needs no repentance? No. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Many Christians see Jesus gently showing the complaining leaders that they needed to turn to God too. What we learn. God wants people found, not lost. If you have never turned to Jesus, you can do it today. If you have, pray for someone you know who is still far from God.

Even so (18:14). “Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” Jesus applies the story directly: the Father is like the man on the mountains. The word perish is apollymi again, the same word as lost in 18:11. The Father's will. God takes no pleasure in anyone being lost. “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live” (Ezekiel 33:11). Peter adds that the Lord is “not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9). The setting in Luke (15:1-3). “Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, ‘This Man receives sinners and eats with them.’” Jesus answered the complaint with this parable. Metanoeo (Luke 15:7). “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.” The word is metanoeo (say: meh-tah-noh-EH-oh), to change your mind and turn around, from sin to God. Jesus says the found sheep is like a sinner who repents. Ninety-nine just persons. Jesus speaks of “ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.” Yet “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Many Christians see Jesus inviting the grumbling Pharisees to see themselves: people who thought they needed no repentance and so stood outside heaven's joy. For you. No one is too far away for the Father to seek, and no one is too good to need Him. Turn to Him yourself, and then pray for the people you know who are still lost.

Jesus told what His story means. Your Father in heaven does not want any little one lost. He wants every child to belong to Him. Luke tells why Jesus told this story. Some leaders were complaining about Jesus. They said, “Look! This man welcomes sinners and even eats with them!” Jesus was kind to people who had done wrong. The leaders did not like that. So Jesus told them about the lost sheep. Heaven is full of joy when one sinner changes his heart. Changing your heart means turning from sin to God. Everyone needs to turn to God, because everyone has sinned.

God does not want any child to be lost. Heaven is glad when someone turns to God. You can turn to Jesus today!