The lost sheep, a bedtime story
The lost sheep is a story Jesus told in Luke 15:4 to 7. A shepherd with a hundred sheep loses one, leaves the ninety-nine, and searches until he finds it. Then he carries it home on his shoulders and calls his friends to celebrate. Jesus said heaven is glad in the same way over one person who turns back to God. The verse to keep: he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
Before you read
This is Luke 15:4 to 7, printed in full below. Tax collectors and people known as sinners were coming close to listen to Jesus, and some religious leaders grumbled that he welcomed them and even ate with them (Luke 15:1 to 2). So Jesus told this story.
Because it is a parable, the shepherd is Jesus’ picture, not a report of one particular day. The small details here (the evening, the counting, the rocks and bushes) are ours, added to help a child see it. The shape of the story is his: lost, searched for, found, carried home, celebrated. It is short, so it suits the youngest listeners.
Jesus once told a story about a shepherd. A shepherd is someone who takes care of sheep. He leads them to grass to eat and water to drink, and he keeps them safe.
This shepherd had one hundred sheep. That is a lot of sheep. Some were big and woolly. Some were small. Every single one of them was his.
Out in the open country the sheep wandered and nibbled all day long. The sun began to go down. The air was getting cool. It was time for the sheep to come together for the night. Then, at the end of the day, the shepherd counted them. One, two, three, four, all the way up to ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine.
Ninety-nine. Only ninety-nine. One sheep was missing.
Where could the little sheep be? Maybe it had wandered behind a rock. Maybe it had gone too far, nibbling grass, and now it could not find its way back. Maybe it was standing all alone, saying baa, with nobody there to hear.
Jesus asked the people who were listening to him: which one of you would not leave the ninety-nine and go after the one that is lost, until you find it?
So the shepherd left the ninety-nine sheep in the open country, and he went out to look for the lost one. He looked over the hills and down in the valleys. He looked behind rocks and under bushes. He kept on looking until he found it.
And there it was, the lost sheep, tired and a little scared and a little bit muddy.
The shepherd was gentle, with no scolding at all. He lifted the sheep up and put it across his shoulders, and he carried it all the way home. Jesus said he carried it rejoicing, glad with every step.
When the shepherd got home, he called his friends and his neighbors together, and he said to them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!
Then Jesus told what his story meant. When one person who has wandered away from God turns around and comes back to him, there is joy in heaven, more joy than over ninety-nine who never went away.
God is like that shepherd. He knows every one of his sheep. If one is missing, he goes looking, and he does not stop until he finds it. And when he finds it, he is glad.
Now the little sheep is home. It is safe, and it is not alone anymore. It lies down close to the others, warm and quiet, and its eyes begin to close. The shepherd sits nearby, keeping watch.
And you are home too, in your own bed, held by the God who looks for you and is glad when he finds you. So lie down like the little sheep, and close your eyes.
The verse to keep
When he has found it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
A prayer to close
Jesus, thank you that you are my shepherd. Thank you that you would come looking for me if I were lost, and that you are glad to carry me home. Keep me close to you tonight. Amen.
Questions to talk about
- How many sheep did the shepherd have? How many were left when one was lost?
- Was the shepherd angry when he found the lost sheep? What did he do?
- How do you think the little sheep felt, riding home on the shepherd’s shoulders?
Read it in the Bible
4“Which of you men, if you had one hundred sheep, and lost one of them, wouldn’t leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one that was lost, until he found it? 5When he has found it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6When he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7I tell you that even so there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.
Questions people ask
What is the meaning of the parable of the lost sheep?
Jesus explains it himself in Luke 15:7: heaven rejoices over one sinner who repents. He told it to people who grumbled that he welcomed sinners, to show that God goes looking for the lost and is glad to find them.
Where is the lost sheep story in the Bible?
Luke 15:4 to 7 tells it, the first of three stories about lost things in that chapter (a sheep, a coin and a son). Matthew 18:12 to 14 has a shorter version.