Parables of Jesus

The Lost Sheep
Loss and Redemption

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The Parable of the Lost Sheep is one of the parables of Jesus. It is about a man who leaves his flock of ninety-nine sheep in order to find the one which is lost. In Luke 15, it is the first member of a 3 stories about redemption that Jesus addresses to the Pharisees and religious leaders after they accuse him of welcoming and eating with "sinners."

The Parable of the Lost Sheep is followed by those of the Lost Coin and the Prodigal Son in Luke's Gospel and shares with them the themes of losing, searching, finding, and rejoicing. The lost sheep or coin represents a lost human being.

Most consider Jesus to be the shepherd in the parable, thus identifying himself with the image of God as a shepherd searching for stray sheep in Ezekiel 34:11–16. The aim of these parables is to lay bare the nature of the God's response to the recovery of the lost. The rejoicing of the shepherd with his friends represents God rejoicing with the angels. The image of God rejoicing at the recovery of lost sinners contrasts with the criticism of the religious leaders which with whom Jesus spoke.

Cornelius a Lapide wrote, "So we, by reason of our sinful lusts, were as wandering sheep, treading the path which led to perdition, without a thought of God or of heaven, or of the salvation of our souls. Wherefore Christ came down from heaven to seek us, and to lead us back from the way of destruction to that which leadeth to eternal life."

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Parable Art

"The Lost Sheep"

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