Where is the parable of the lost sheep in the Bible?

Luke 15:4–7, and in a shorter form in Matthew 18:12–14. In Luke it opens a trio of parables, followed by the lost coin and the prodigal son.

What is the meaning of the parable of the lost sheep?

That God goes after whoever is lost and rejoices when he finds them. Jesus told it to people who objected to him welcoming sinners, and the ending — more joy over one who repents than over ninety-nine — is addressed to them.

Who are the ninety-nine sheep?

In Luke, the "ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance" are mentioned in front of Pharisees and scribes who saw themselves that way. Many readers hear a gentle irony in it: nobody in the rest of the Gospels is really in that category.

Walking with Jesus / The parables of Jesus

The parable of the lost sheep

Ninety-nine stay, and he goes after one.

It is only four verses, and they hold a decision no sensible manager would make: leave ninety-nine sheep in the wilderness to look for one.

Luke tells us why Jesus told it. The Pharisees and the scribes were murmuring: "This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them." The lost sheep is the first answer.

The story, step by step

Luke 15:1–3The complaint of the Pharisees and scribes
Luke 15:4A hundred sheep, one is lost, and the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine
Luke 15:5When he finds it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing
Luke 15:6He calls friends and neighbors to rejoice with him
Luke 15:7The point: joy in heaven over one who repents
Matthew 18:12–14The same picture in Matthew, said about the little ones

The line the story turns on

I tell you that even so there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.

Luke 15:7

The sentence is spoken to people who counted themselves among the ninety-nine. Heaven, he says, rejoices more over the one sheep found than over the safety of the rest. Anyone complaining that Jesus ate with sinners was, in effect, complaining about the party.

What it means

The parable never shows the sheep repenting. It gets lost, is searched for, is found and is carried. All the action belongs to the shepherd. When Jesus speaks at the end of "one sinner who repents", the picture he has just given for it is being found.

And the sums are wrong on purpose. Risking ninety-nine for one is not good flock management. It is a portrait of someone for whom each one has a name — which, to his listeners, meant that the "sinners" he ate with were not an acceptable percentage of loss.

One parable a day, with the question around it

Walking with Jesus has a collection called The Parables of Jesus that takes them one a day — each with the question he was answering, a short reflection, a prayer, and one thing to carry into the day.

It is a one-time purchase, about five minutes a morning, and it never asks you to catch up on days you missed.

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Questions people ask

Where is the parable of the lost sheep in the Bible?: Luke 15:4–7, and in a shorter form in Matthew 18:12–14. In Luke it opens a trio of parables, followed by the lost coin and the prodigal son.
What is the meaning of the parable of the lost sheep?: That God goes after whoever is lost and rejoices when he finds them. Jesus told it to people who objected to him welcoming sinners, and the ending — more joy over one who repents than over ninety-nine — is addressed to them.
Who are the ninety-nine sheep?: In Luke, the "ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance" are mentioned in front of Pharisees and scribes who saw themselves that way. Many readers hear a gentle irony in it: nobody in the rest of the Gospels is really in that category.