Looking for the Lost Sheep

Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! So Jesus told them this story: "If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won't he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.' In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven't strayed away!” Luke 15:1-7 

"If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won't he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn't wander away! In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father's will that even one of these little ones should perish. Matthew 18:12-14

 

Consider sheep wandering off as you meditate on these verses.

 

Who is the shepherd? Who are the sheep? Who is the lost sheep? Jesus is our shepherd—guiding us, teaching and directing us…keeping us safe, as that is the function of any shepherd. The sheep are all God’s children, although they originally were probably the Israelites, as David wrote this Psalm before the Gentiles were part of God’s family. The lost sheep are those who have strayed away from Jesus, Jews and Gentiles alike. Did the Pharisees see themselves as the “lost sheep?” Most likely some did and that angered them even more. They were lost—and could they see that Jesus was the Messiah? They certainly didn’t want to admit it. Lots of questions.

That one sheep was valuable to Jesus—each of His sheep has value—but He was willing to leave the others and go find that lost one. Would you do that? In the Luke text, Jesus was specifically speaking about a lost sinner and the righteous ones He trusted to stay by themselves while He went to search for the lost one. Rejoice with Him—with all the angels in Heaven. Rejoice with the Heavenly Father Himself when a sinner repents and comes to Jesus. Yes! That is a joyous time.

What do we learn about Jesus from these passages today?

 

Prayer – Lord Jesus, was there rejoicing in Heaven when I was the sinner who repented? I think so! Thank You for being my Shepherd, my Savior, my God. I will rejoice with You, our Heavenly Father, and all the angels in Heaven when a lost sinner is saved. Please rescue more today!

 

Verses of Salvation ~ But he rescues the poor from trouble and increases their families like flocks of sheep. The godly will see these things and be glad, while the wicked are struck silent. Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the LORD. Psalm 107:41-43

 

© 2026 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.