The Parable of the Lost Sheep

(Matthew 18:10–14)

15 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around to listen to [Jesus]. 2 So the Pharisees and scribes began to grumble: “This [man] welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

3 Then [Jesus] told them this parable: 4 “What man among you, [if] he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, {does} not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go after the [one] that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he finds [it], he joyfully puts [it] on his shoulders, 6 comes home, [and] calls together [his] friends and neighbors to tell them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep!’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be [more] joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent.