The Lost Sheep - Matthew's Version
We grew up with the parable of the Lost Sheep. The 99 and the 1 that went astray. We all picture the return - the sheep draped across the shoulder of the shepherd. The celebration of his return.
Well, if you were in my Bible study, I'd have you read ALL of Matthew 18. Don't let the parable of the lost sheep sit there without its context.
You have heard this parable a hundred times. A shepherd, a hundred sheep, one lost. He leaves the ninety-nine and goes after it. You have heard it preached as the gospel in miniature. That is Luke’s telling. It is not what Matthew wrote.
Matthew’s shepherd is not talking to Pharisees. He is talking to disciples, in a house, and they have just asked Him which of them is the greatest. The sheep that strays is not a sinner outside the fold. It is one of these little ones which believe in me. A believer. A brother. And the joy is not over a repentance. It is over a finding — and the finding is if.
Look where the parable sits. A child set in the middle of grown men. A millstone for whoever trips a little one. A hand cut off, a foot, an eye — what you reach for, where you go, what you look at. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones. Then the sheep. Then the order.
Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
Read that sentence for what it requires. A will against something has no meaning unless the something can happen. A believer strayed. The Father does not will that he perish. That sentence is empty unless he can. Matthew does not say he will. Matthew does not say he cannot. Matthew sets it in front of the disciples and tells them what to do about it.
Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
The man in the parable is not a figure on a hillside for you to admire. Verse 15 tells you who he is. He is you. The brother is astray. The Father’s will is that he not perish. And in Matthew, the Father’s will is done by people who go — or not done by people who don’t.
The stakes are simple. One of the hundred is on the mountain. The one who was sent is you. Whether the Father’s will is done in your flock this week depends on whether you leave the ninety-nine.
Don’t take our word for it. Open Matthew 18. Start at verse 1 and read to verse 20 without skipping. Search the Scriptures daily, whether these things are so — Acts 17:11.
Episode Link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/the-lost-sheep-matthews-version/
