The parable of the lost sheep shows the Lord as the Shepherd and his children as the sheep. While the shepherd rejoices more over the lost and restored sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray, the parable puts all one hundred sheep in the shepherd’s loving care. The found sheep makes the flock whole again. Only when it is lost does that one sheep have priority.
This parable stresses the value of each individual believer. Even if a shepherd has one hundred sheep, he is unwilling to lose even a single one. This parable also reveals the difficulties the church will experience, stressing the need of preserving by the grace of God, which the apostles needed to hear at that time.
The parable of the lost sheep signifies the Lord as the Shepherd and his children as the sheep. While the shepherd rejoices more greatly over the one sheep that was lost and restored than over the ninety-nine that never went astray, the parable includes all one hundred sheep within the shepherd’s loving care, making only a distinction of degree. The lost sheep is returned to the ninety-nine, making the flock whole again. It is only in that particular moment of being lost, that one sheep receives priority.1
This parable therefore highlights the value of each believer individually. Even if a shepherd has many sheep (and one hundred is presented as a large number), he is unwilling to lose even a single one. Furthermore, this parable highlights the difficulties the church will experience, emphasizing the need of preserving by the grace of God. This teaching was precisely what the apostles needed at that particular moment.2
12 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?