Parable of the Lost Sheep
Encyclopedia
The Parable of the Lost Sheep is one of the parables of Jesus
Parables of Jesus
The parables of Jesus can be found in all the Canonical gospels as well as in some of the non-canonical gospels but are located mainly within the three synoptic gospels. They represent a key part of the teachings of Jesus, forming approximately one third of his recorded teachings...

. It appears in two of the Canonical gospels of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....

, as well as in the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas
Gospel of Thomas
The Gospel According to Thomas, commonly shortened to the Gospel of Thomas, is a well preserved early Christian, non-canonical sayings-gospel discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945, in one of a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library...

.

According to the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...

s of Matthew  and Luke , a shepherd leaves his flock in order to find the one sheep who is lost. It is the first member of a trilogy about redemption
Redemption (theology)
Redemption is a concept common to several theologies. It is generally associated with the efforts of people within a faith to overcome their shortcomings and achieve the moral positions exemplified in their faith.- In Buddhism :...

 that Jesus tells after the Pharisees
Pharisees
The Pharisees were at various times a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews during the Second Temple period beginning under the Hasmonean dynasty in the wake of...

 and religious leaders accuse him of welcoming and eating with "sinners." The two parables which follow (in Luke's Gospel) are those of the Lost Coin
Parable of the Lost Coin
The Parable of the Lost Coin is one of the parables of Jesus. It appears in only one of the Canonical gospels of the New Testament. According to Luke , a woman searches for a lost coin...

 and the Prodigal Son
Parable of the Prodigal Son
The Prodigal Son, also known as the Lost Son and the Prodigal Father, is one of the parables of Jesus. It appears in only one of the Canonical gospels of the New Testament. According to the Gospel of Luke a father extravagantly gives his sons their inheritance before he dies...

.

Narrative

In the Gospel of Luke, the parable is as follows:

Interpretation

The parable shares themes of loss, searching, and rejoicing with the Parable of the Lost Coin
Parable of the Lost Coin
The Parable of the Lost Coin is one of the parables of Jesus. It appears in only one of the Canonical gospels of the New Testament. According to Luke , a woman searches for a lost coin...

. The lost sheep or coin represents a lost human being.

As in the analogy of the Good Shepherd
Good Shepherd
Good Shepherd may refer to:In Christianity:* The Good Shepherd , pericope found in John 10:1-21, and a popular image in which the Good Shepherd represents Jesus...

, Jesus is the shepherd, thus identifying himself with the image of God as a shepherd searching for stray sheep in Ezekiel
Book of Ezekiel
The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah and preceding the Book of the Twelve....

 . Joel B. Green
Joel B. Green
Joel B. Green, Ph.D. is Associate Dean for the Center for Advanced Theological Studies and Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, United States, and the author of numerous books, most of which are related to the New Testament.He is an...

 writes that "these parables are fundamentally about God, ... their aim is to lay bare the nature of the divine 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 prompted the parable.

Depiction in art

The image from this parable of the shepherd placing the lost sheep on his shoulders (Luke ) has been widely incorporated into depictions of the Good Shepherd
Good Shepherd
Good Shepherd may refer to:In Christianity:* The Good Shepherd , pericope found in John 10:1-21, and a popular image in which the Good Shepherd represents Jesus...

. Consequently this parable appears in art mostly as an influence on depictions of the Good Shepherd rather than as a distinct subject on its own.

Hymns

While there are innumerable references to the Good Shepherd
Good Shepherd
Good Shepherd may refer to:In Christianity:* The Good Shepherd , pericope found in John 10:1-21, and a popular image in which the Good Shepherd represents Jesus...

 image in Christian hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...

s, specific references to this parable can be recognised by a mention of the 99 other sheep.

Perhaps the best-known hymn describing this parable is "The Ninety and Nine" by Elizabeth C. Clephane
Elizabeth C. Clephane
Elizabeth Cecelia Douglas Clephane was the author of the hymns "Beneath the Cross of Jesus" and "The Ninety and Nine"....

(1868), which begins:


There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold.
But one was out on the hills away,
Far off from the gates of gold.
Away on the mountains wild and bare.
Away from the tender Shepherd’s care.
Away from the tender Shepherd’s care.

External links

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