How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?
Jesus tells this short story — called a parable — to his disciples after warning them not to look down on 'little ones,' a phrase referring both to children and to people who are new or fragile in their faith. In Jesus's time, shepherding was an everyday occupation in the region, so the image of a shepherd responsible for his flock would have been immediately familiar to his listeners. The math Jesus presents is striking: ninety-nine sheep are safe, one has wandered away — and yet the shepherd leaves everything to search for the single missing one. This parable is a picture of how God relates to even one person who has drifted, gotten lost, or wandered far from faith.
Jesus, thank you for being the kind of shepherd who goes looking instead of waiting. For the times I have wandered, thank you for finding me. Give me that same tenacity for the people in my life who feel lost right now. Help me go. Amen.
The economics of this story make no practical sense. Leaving ninety-nine sheep alone and unguarded to find one missing animal is not a smart business decision — any experienced farmer would tell you to cut your losses and protect the majority. And yet Jesus holds this up as the obvious thing a loving person would do — 'will he not?' he asks, as if the answer is so self-evidently yes that it barely needs saying. That is the entire point. God's pursuit of one wandering person is not a calculated move. It is a compulsion born from love, not logic. Maybe you are the one who has wandered — drifted so far from where you started that you have stopped expecting anyone to come looking. Or maybe you know someone like that: a friend you have quietly written off, a sibling whose distance from faith feels permanent now. Jesus's question presses on both situations. The God he describes does not stand at the edge of the herd and wait patiently. He leaves the familiar and goes into the hills. If you feel lost, that is not the end of your story. And if someone you love is lost, maybe you are the shepherd in this moment — and the real question is whether you are willing to leave the comfortable ninety-nine.
What does the shepherd's decision to leave the ninety-nine tell you about how Jesus values a single person who has drifted away from faith?
Have you ever felt like the lost sheep — like you had wandered so far that no one would bother coming to find you? What did that season feel like, and how did it end?
Is there a real tension in this parable between pursuing the one who wandered and potentially neglecting the ninety-nine who stayed? What do you make of that tension?
Who in your life might feel like the lost sheep right now — someone you have quietly given up on, stopped reaching out to, or stopped inviting?
What is one specific, concrete thing you could do this week to go looking for someone who has drifted — not to preach at them, but simply to show up and remind them they are not forgotten?
I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
Ezekiel 34:16
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
John 10:11
Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Luke 12:32
For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
1 Peter 2:25
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53:6
But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
Matthew 21:28
I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
Luke 15:7
Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
Galatians 6:1
"What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them gets lost, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountain and go in search of the one that is lost?
AMP
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?
ESV
'What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?
NASB
“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?
NIV
“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?
NKJV
“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?
NLT
"Look at it this way. If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders off, doesn't he leave the ninety-nine and go after the one?
MSG