The Parable Of The Lost Sheep

by Richard Lidh

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, and having lost one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and his neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, (more) than over ninety and nine righteous persons, who need no repentance.”

The fifteenth chapter of Luke is usually said to contain three parables; The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin, and The Prodigal Son. Though they are, indeed, three separate stories, they present a unified message. Herbert Lockyer in his book All The Parables Of The Bible refers to them as “The Parable of Lost Possessions.” All three parables in this chapter tell the story of a valuable possession which was lost, sought for, and recovered. Another commentator, Hillyer H. Straton, said that these could be referred to as “The Parables Of The Four Verbs – Lose, Seek, Find, Rejoice.” (See the August 31st and September 14th issues of “I Press…” for articles on the other two parables.)

In this parable of the lost sheep we see that a man has lost one sheep from his flock of one hundred. Though he still has the ninety-nine, he considers the lost one worth the effort to find. Note that he has lost only one percent of his flock, then note that the woman who lost the coin in the next parable, has lost ten percent of her money, and note again that the man at the end of the chapter has lost fifty percent of his sons! Yet all three took steps to recover that which they considered to have great value: the first man and the woman, actively seeking that which was lost; the second man, obviously waiting and watching for his lost son, “while he was yet afar off, his father saw him.” The amount lost was not the point, it was the value placed on that which was lost.

Why did Jesus tell these parables at this particular time? The first two verses of the chapter tell us that He was speaking with the publicans and sinners while the scribes and Pharisees proceeded to complain about this. They felt that Jesus didn’t need to be associating with these “unworthy” people. Yet Jesus had already addressed this specific complaint in Luke 5:29-32 when He said, “I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” The scribes and Pharisees failed to realize the value God has placed on the soul of each and every human, “For the Son of man came to seek and save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

Why did Jesus choose to use sheep in His parable? God uses sheep in His Word from the fourth chapter of Genesis all the way through the Bible to the second chapter of I Peter (the word is used 195 times in the ASV). In Numbers 27 Moses is speaking with God regarding a replacement for him. Moses says, “Let Jehovah, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, who may go out before them, and who may come in before them, and who may lead them out, and who may bring them in; that the congregation of Jehovah be not as sheep which have no shepherd” (Numbers 27:16-17). The context here shows that the people of God need guidance in order to carry out the tasks which they must perform. So Joshua was appointed to be their “shepherd.” Later, when kings Jehoshaphat and Ahab were discussing the invading Syrians, the faithful prophet of God, Micaiah, told the kings, “I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and Jehovah said, These have no master; let them return every man to his house in peace.” Soon thereafter, king Ahab was killed in the battle and Israel had no one to lead them.

The people of God have always needed someone to lead them in the proper way. That is why they are likened to sheep. As most of us should know, sheep are timid, herd animals. They do not do well on their own and also are influenced greatly by the other sheep around them. In secular literature, sheep are shown as the epitome of Jesus’ statement, “Can the blind guide the blind? shall they not both fall into a pit?” (Luke 6:39).

This is not to say that we, as God=s flock, are being likened by Him to stupid sheep with only half a brain that could not save themselves from the pit even if there was a fence around it. God, in His use of sheep as an example, is trying to tell us that we need to follow Him, not the crowd. He is telling us that the crowds are not necessarily correct simply because they are the majority. He is telling us that He loves us and wants to watch out for us. All of us who are parents, all who have ever taught children (or even adults), know this concept well.

We must have the attitude of David, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments” (Psalms 119:176). We must depend on God, yet we must also obey His commandments. When we do this we can be assured of God’s attitude as expressed in Ezekiel 34:11, 16, 31, “For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I myself, even I, will search for my sheep, and will seek them out … I will seek that which was lost, and will bring back that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick … And ye my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord Jehovah.” (Take an opportunity soon to read the entire 34th chapter of Ezekiel.)

This is the meaning of The Parable Of The Lost Sheep. God (represented by the man in the parable) loves us and seeks us out when we are lost. He doesn’t give up and when we are rescued (“… he layeth it on his shoulders”), He rejoices. We, the sheep of God, are His most valuable creation (cf. Matthew 12:12). We also probably give Him the most problems and pain when we take off on our own and become lost. But we can, and should, return to His fold, “For ye were going astray like sheep; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls” (I Peter 2:25). When we do abide with God we should rejoice as He does, “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven” (Matthew 5:12).