The Parable of the Wandering Sheep
Matthew 18:12-14 New Living Translation
“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? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.”
This is a parable showing how much God cares for his children. We are his children. He wishes to nurture us, so we develop into mature, discerning workers for the kingdom. When one strays from the flock, as illustrated by the sheep in this parable, the shepherd heads out to find that one sheep that had gotten themselves lost. The shepherd, of course, is the Lord. Scripture even refers to Jesus as the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-18).
In John’s gospel Jesus refers to himself as the Good Shepherd who would lay down his life for his sheep. There he makes a point of saying that a hired hand would not do the same. It is only the Good Shepherd that would do this. We must remember that it is not God’s will that any would perish. (2 Peter 3:9 - “The Lord…is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”) This shows us clearly that it is not God who sends people to hell. It is their own rejection of the free gift of salvation (forgiveness) that ushers them on into hell.
How many times do we wander off the beaten path only to find we have gotten ourselves lost due to wandering aimlessly in the wrong direction? God is keenly aware of all our comings and goings and will not let us fall over a cliff. Even if we fall over a cliff due to our own ignorance and refusal to listen to the Holy Spirit, God is there to lift us up and get us going in the right direction again. The key to all this is that God cares for his creation immeasurably and is constantly looking out for us. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.
In his name & for his glory,
Richard Keller
Bread of Life Ministries
Resource: Expositor's Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): New Testament, Copyright 2004.
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