Parable of the Lost Sheep

The Parable of the Lost Sheep is a parable told by Jesus in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, and . It is also found in the Gospel of Thomas 107. Possible Hebrew Bible parallels are and .
From A similar parable can be found in the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas (Patterson-Meyer translation):
==Interpretation==
The new testament portrays Jesus as interpreting it that "there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." This emphasis on the lost, the hurting, the disadvantaged and marginalized is seen throughout the Hebrew and Christian Bibles. While the Pharisees and religious leaders were emphasizing the sentiments of Psalm 1:1 ("Blessed is the man / who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked / or stand in the way of sinners / or sit in the seat of mockers") Jesus instead sides with the prophet Ezekiel when he says "if I say to the wicked man, 'You will surely die,' but he then turns away from his sin and does what is just and right... None of the sins he has committed will be remembered against him." (Ezek 33:14-16)
Jesus likens a "sinner" to one who is lost. Finding him is more important than many who are not lost. In modern terms, we often see many men and women risking their lives to try to save one person. The person in peril is at that moment more important than those who are not. If the "sinners" are people in peril, then it makes sense that Jesus spends more time with them.
== See also ==
* The Parable of the Lost Coin
* The Parable of the Prodigal Son (also known as the Parable of the Lost Son)
==External links==
*The parable in the book of Luke, NIV version
*The Lost Sheep parable, comments by Dr. Kenneth E. Bailey
Lost Sheep, Parable of the
Category:Christian Universalism