If it were a small flock, like 5-25 sheep, missing one of them might make enough difference to the shepherd that he would really have to go look for the missing sheep. Constable’s commentary notes on Luke 15, regarding what was considered the norm in Palestine during Bible times state: This one was a pretty sizable flock of a hundred –at least it is sizeable by today’s hobby farm standards. Some are only a handful of sheep, a dozen, less than 100, or hundreds. Now, having personally shepherded a total of 75+ sheep of my own (not all at one time) having sheared a total of 200+ sheep (and counting) on my own and others’ farms having befriended dozens of shepherds both locally and outside of my state having worked with quite a few on their own farms where I’ve been exposed to a variety of shepherding practices and personalities, and at least 5 breeds of sheep here is how I answer these questions about this parable:įlocks come in different sizes. What is the full context of this parable?.What are the full meaning and implications of this parable? What message was Jesus meaning to convey about Who He is, and our relationship to Him?.Why is the shepherd so joyful? What does it really mean to a shepherd to have a lost sheep back?.Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me I have found my lost sheep.’ “ “And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. What motivates the shepherd to go look for a lost sheep? What could he be thinking?.Why would a shepherd leave behind 99 perfectly good, well behaved sheep who are right where they are suppose to be, not causing him any trouble?.Why does Jesus phrase this as if the audience knows this is a given fact? What was it about shepherding they knew, that isn’t obvious to me as a non-sheep owner in this century?.“Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” How does one go about “losing a sheep”? Is this carelessness on the part of the shepherd, or on the part of the sheep? What would motivate a sheep to get lost? What does “lost sheep” signify to a real shepherd?.Is 100 a lot of sheep? What is the size of the flock suppose to tell me?.“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.” Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Luke 15:4-7 (NIV)įor the 4 decades I studied the Bible as a city-girl, before I ever became a shepherd of my own sheep, I always had questions about this parable. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. “ Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. The parable of the lost sheep is a story told in 4 sentences:
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