Lost Sheep are Terrified

Luke 15: 4 – 7 The Lost Sheep Parable

Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.”  Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

In this parable, Jesus is responding to the Pharisees’ question why he eats with and accepts sinners.

Jesus redefines repentance: Jesus equats himself with the good shepherd. In the Middle East, a lost sheep can take two to three days to find and restore. When a sheep realizes that it is lost, it freezes and can only “bleat” (cry out). Yet even when the sheep hears the voice of his shepherd, it can’t move because it’s terrified. This is why the shepherd must carry the sheep back to the fold. In the Middle East with its rugged terrain, carrying a sheep is a difficult, dangerous task. Shepherds—hired hands—would be obligated to find the sheep. But because the effort of restoring the sheep was so difficult, they would often wish the sheep dead.  However, the good shepherd finds and restores the sheep with joy.

To grasp the full meaning of this, one needs to look at all three parables together. Jesus is defending his position saying that he came to earth to find and restore his people. Through these parables, Jesus is redefining repentance to mean “accepting being found.”

Jesus declares his responsibility is to find and restore his people, our responsibility—our repentance—is “accepting being found.”