Parable of the Lost Sheep: Difference between revisions
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In the Gospel of Luke, the parable is as follows: |
In the Gospel of Luke, the parable is as follows: |
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{{quotation|So he told them this parable: "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance."|Luke 15:3-7, [[English Standard Version]]}} |
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[[File:Champaigne shepherd.jpg|thumb|130px|left|Depiction of the [[Good Shepherd]] by [[Philippe de Champaigne]] showing the influence of this parable.]] |
[[File:Champaigne shepherd.jpg|thumb|130px|left|Depiction of the [[Good Shepherd]] by [[Philippe de Champaigne]] showing the influence of this parable.]] |
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Revision as of 20:59, 25 September 2010
The Parable of the Lost Sheep is a parable told by Jesus in the New Testament, found in the Gospels of Matthew (Matthew 18:12–14) and Luke (Luke 15:3–7), as well as in the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas (107[1]). It is the first member of a trilogy about loss and redemption that Jesus tells after the Pharisees and religious leaders accuse him of welcoming and eating with "sinners."[2] The two parables which follow (in Luke's Gospel) are those of the Lost Coin and the Prodigal Son.
Narrative
In the Gospel of Luke, the parable is as follows:
So he told them this parable: "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance."
— Luke 15:3-7, English Standard Version
Interpretation
The parable shares themes of loss, searching, and rejoicing with the Parable of the Lost Coin.[2] The lost sheep or coin represents a lost human being.
As in the analogy of the Good Shepherd, Jesus is the shepherd, thus identifying himself with the image of God as a shepherd searching for stray sheep in Ezekiel Ezekiel 34:11–16.[2] Joel B. Green writes that "these parables are fundamentally about God, ... their aim is to lay bare the nature of the divine response to the recovery of the lost."[3]
The rejoicing of the shepherd with his friends represents God rejoicing with the angels. The image of God rejoicing at the recovery of lost sinners contrasts with the criticism of the religious leaders which prompted the parable.[3]
Depiction in art
The image from this parable of the shepherd placing the lost sheep on his shoulders (Luke Luke 15:5) has been widely incorporated into depictions of the Good Shepherd.[4] Consequently this parable appears in art mostly as an influence on depictions of the Good Shepherd rather than as a distinct subject on its own.
Hymns
While there are innumerable references to the Good Shepherd image in Christian hymns, specific references to this parable can be recognised by a mention of the 99 other sheep.
Perhaps the best-known hymn describing this parable is "The Ninety and Nine" by Elizabeth C. Clephane (1868), which begins:
There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold.
But one was out on the hills away,
Far off from the gates of gold.
Away on the mountains wild and bare.
Away from the tender Shepherd’s care.
Away from the tender Shepherd’s care.[5]
References
- ^ Gospel of Thomas: Lamb translation and Patterson/Meyer translation.
- ^ a b c Richard N. Longenecker, The Challenge of Jesus' Parables, Eerdmans, 2000, ISBN 0802846386, pp. 201–204.
- ^ a b Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke, Eerdmans, 1997, ISBN 0802823157, p. 526.
- ^ Walter Lowrie, Art in the Early Church, Pantheon Books, 1947, ISBN 1406752916, p. 69.
- ^ The Cyber Hymnal: The Ninety and Nine.