The phrase “leave the 99 to find the 1” refers to the parable that Jesus told in Luke 15:3-7 about a shepherd who had 100 sheep but left the 99 in the open country to go search for the 1 that was lost. This parable illustrates God’s love for the lost and His desire to seek and save even just one lost soul. But why would God seemingly neglect or abandon the majority to pursue just one stray? What does this teach us about God’s heart and priorities?
The Background of the Parable
In Luke 15, Jesus was responding to the Pharisees and teachers of the law who were criticizing Him for welcoming and eating with sinners. To illustrate why seeking the lost was so important, Jesus told three parables – the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. All three parables highlight the value God places on even one lost soul and His joy when someone repents and turns to Him (Luke 15:7, 10, 32).
The Shepherd’s Concern for Every Sheep
The story begins by emphasizing the shepherd’s care and concern for all 100 sheep under his watch – they belonged to him and he was responsible for them (Luke 15:4, Psalm 100:3). The shepherd wasn’t careless about the 99 but he understood the urgency of finding the one lost sheep before it perished or was destroyed. Leaving the 99 would be risky and require great effort on the shepherd’s part, but his love compelled him to pursue the one. God intensely desires the salvation of every single person (1 Timothy 2:3-4; 2 Peter 3:9).
The Value of the Lost Sheep
Jesus reveals the precious value God places on every individual when He says, “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 15:7). To God, the salvation of just one lost soul is worth great celebration and joy in heaven.
Although people are sinful and straying, God sees their precious worth and sent His Son to redeem them with His blood (1 Peter 1:18-19). He cannot rest until the one – His lost child trapped in darkness and death – is found and restored to the light of His love and life.
The Owner’s Responsibility
A shepherd was completely responsible for the sheep under his care. He had to guard them from predators, find food and water for them, tend their injuries, and search for them if they wandered off and were lost (Ezekiel 34:11-12, 23). God takes full responsibility for His people’s souls to shepherd, protect, and nurture them (John 10:11-15). The one lost sheep still belonged to the shepherd – so he could not stop searching until he found it.
God’s Relentless Pursuit of the Lost
This shepherd’s decision to leave the 99 to find just 1 lamb reveals God’s heart and priorities. He views each person as precious and irreplaceable and is unrelenting in His pursuit of the lost. Jesus came “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). He told several other parables illustrating this persevering search for lost souls – the woman searching relentlessly for a lost coin (Luke 15:8-10), the persistent neighbor begging bread at midnight (Luke 11:5-8), the father looking expectantly for his prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). God risks, pursues, searches, and reaches out continually for lost souls until He finds them.
Celebration Over Every Repentant Sinner
The heavenly joy over one repenting sinner reveals that God’s heart is to see all people repent, be saved, and spend eternity with Him (2 Peter 3:9). Every person who turns from sin matters immeasurably to God. Jesus highlighted this boundless grace and said there is “joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). Even if only one out of 100 turns to God, it prompts exuberant heavenly celebration.
The Lost Sheep – A Picture of Every Unbeliever
This lost sheep represents all people separated from God by sin and needing salvation (Romans 3:23). Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way.” People are unable to find the way back to God or free themselves from the snare of sin. The sheep was doomed to die without the shepherd’s intervention. That is the helpless spiritual state of unbelievers before God seeks and saves them (Ephesians 2:1-5).
God Actively Pursues the Lost
An astounding truth is that God takes the initiative to seek for lost souls. He does not sit idly by waiting for people to come to Him on their own. Jesus said “the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). God goes out and pursues unbelievers by convicting them of sin, drawing them to Christ, sending believers to share the gospel with them, and revealing Himself through creation and conscience (John 16:8; Romans 1:19-20). God actively seeks out the one because He “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).
Contrast With the Pharisees’ Attitude
Unlike the seeking shepherd, the Pharisees had no concern for lost sinners but looked down on them with contempt and judgment (Luke 15:2). They viewed themselves as righteous and others as unworthy of their time and attention. But Jesus always showed compassion to the lost, sensing their helplessness, pain, and need for a Savior. His heart aligns with the seeking God revealed in this parable – longing for even one to repent and receive new life.
God’s Mercy Toward Sinners
This story reveals God’s compassionate heart for the lost and misunderstood. Jesus said He came to call “not the righteous but sinners” to repentance (Luke 5:32). His mercy extends to the wayward, restless, and reckless. The Lord is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love” for those who have rebelled and wandered far from Him (Psalm 103:8). He keeps pursuing sinners even when others deem them undeserving and abandon hope.
The Danger of Sin and Separation from God
For the sheep to end up lost and separated from the flock indicates the precarious danger of sin. When people wander from the Lord and His Word they quickly become disoriented. Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way.” Sin leads people into grave peril without their even realizing it. Apart from Christ, people are helpless and lost, awaiting destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). This parable underscores the critical urgency of reaching lost souls before it is too late.
We Were All the Lost Sheep
Every Christ-follower can identify at one time as the lost sheep, worthless and helpless to save themselves. As Romans 5:6 says, “When we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” It is a humbling picture of the helpless condition from which Christ’s atoning sacrifice saved us. We were “continually straying like sheep” but now have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls (1 Peter 2:25).
Believers Have a Responsibility Too
Jesus also calls His followers to seek the lost just as the shepherd pursued the stray lamb. As Christ’s ambassadors, believers are to plead with the lost to be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20). Paul said he became “all things to all people, that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). Like this shepherd, we are to expend effort, time, and resources to rescue as many as possible, not wanting “anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
God Identifies With the Most Vulnerable
Sheep are completely dependent on their shepherd for provision, guidance, and protection. Alone, they are almost helpless against predators and the elements. The Lord identifies deeply with powerless sinners in need of salvation. Psalm 82:3-4 says, “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy.” Jesus embodied this ministry to the vulnerable during His time on earth.
There is Rejoicing in Finding What Was Lost
Recovering something precious that was lost typically prompts great joy and celebration. When the shepherd finds his lost sheep, he joyfully “calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep'” (Luke 15:6). Heaven erupts in jubilation over one sinner repenting. Christ compared it to a woman who loses then finds her coin and the father who embraced his prodigal son’s return. The angels and God Himself celebrate when lost souls are rescued from darkness.
Conclusion
This powerful parable provides rich insight into God’s heart for the lost and the urgent priority He places on pursuing even one sheep who has strayed from the fold. Every person is immensely precious and valued by God. He seeks the wanderer and rejoices when he is finally found. What an incredible demonstration of God’s grace, mercy, diligence and love for each one – the Shepherd who leaves the 99 to find the 1.
