Luke 15:4-7 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which 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 neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

Jesus explained using a  parable to show how much will Heaven rejoice if one sinner repents. He used a sheep and a shepherd to explain the parable. But what does this parable actually  mean?

Shepherd

John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

Heb 13:20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

Shepherd is someone who guides the people in the right path. In this parable, Christ is the Shepherd.

Lost Sheep

Jer 50:6 “My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray; They have turned them away on the mountains. They have gone from mountain to hill; They have forgotten their resting place.

Matt 15:24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

The lost sheep is the house of Israel. The leaders of Israel had led the children of Israel astray and they got lost. Christ came to seek the lost sheep of Israel.

John 10:16 “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

Christ did not come for gentiles. The other sheep which is a reference to the future gentile disciples will follow Christ and they will become as one flock later. Hence, the lost sheep in the parable refers to the house of Israel.

Conclusion

The leaders of Israel had led the children of Israel astray and got lost. Christ is the good Shepherd who came to seek the lost sheep of Israel. There will be more joy in heaven if one sinner in Israel repents to whom Christ was sent.