Modern shepherding involves sheepdogs, mobile phones and quad bikes. It’s hard work, but very different from biblical times, when shepherds often had a relationship with their flock. 

Jesus tells this story in response to the Pharisees’ ongoing hostility (vs 1,2). They have just complained that Jesus is associating with sinners so, once again, he lets them have it! His listeners are all too familiar with the scenario of a runaway sheep. However, shepherds in those days – many of whom were not renowned for their integrity – might weigh up the cost and leave a lost creature to its fate, so there is a twist…

This parable should be called ‘The good shepherd’ (vs 3–7). Later, Jesus would describe himself in this way, his ministry to his ‘flock’ culminating in the ultimate sacrifice (John 10:11–18). The message is clear. God actively seeks those who are ‘lost’ and rejoices when they are ‘found’. When the lost are rescued, it leads to restoration and new life in his presence. The second parable of the lost coin reminds us just how precious we are to God (Deuteronomy 14:2).

‘... the joy of the Lord is your strength.’¹ Take some time to remember and give thanks for joyful times in your journey with God.

Jesus was under intense scrutiny. Yes, he ate with Pharisees, but he also ate with those they detested. Worse still, Jesus appears to have hosted them himself; he did not just accept their invitations (v 2). How could Jesus be holy, the Pharisees muttered, if he ate with those who were obviously not? Jesus answers them with the parables that follow. To the Pharisees, working as a shepherd meant you couldn’t both do your job and keep the Sabbath. Being told to imagine themselves as sinners who have lost a sheep was challenging. (As a hundred sheep is too many for one person, the shepherd was probably responsible for a flock belonging to a community.) The sheep was probably missed just before they headed for home. Others took the flock back to the village (which is where the shepherd himself went in verse 6) while the shepherd went to seek the lost sheep. Separated from the flock, it was vulnerable. Perhaps walking in a wide perimeter around where the flock had been, the shepherd sought and found the sheep. Swinging it on his shoulders, he rejoiced because it was found. On his return, everyone gathered to rejoice that one of the community’s flock had been found. Similarly, the woman didn’t simply shrug her shoulders because she’d lost a silver coin. Investing time and energy to recover what was lost, she, too, rejoiced with her community when it was recovered.

The Pharisees are invited to understand that, like the shepherd and the woman, Jesus sees himself as responsible for seeking and finding those who are lost. That’s why he rejoices – that’s why heaven rejoices – when they’re found. Jesus suggests, with real irony, that the Pharisees lack that joy of being found (v 7), because they haven’t realised that they, too, are lost.

Pray for those you know for whom joy seems far away. Ask the Lord to strengthen them. Pray also for those who don’t yet know they need to be found.

¹ Neh 8:10