The Parable of the Lost Sheep Bible story for kids

Some people came very close to Jesus one day. Close enough to hear every word.

Jesus was a grown man now. And look who was listening.

The Bible says, "Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming close to him to hear him."

Tax collectors gathered money for the rulers, and some took more than they should. So lots of people didn't like them. And sinners... well, those were people who had done wrong things. And everybody knew it.

But here they were. Right there with Jesus. Listening.

Some other people were watching, though. The Pharisees, and the teachers of God's law. People who were very, very careful about keeping God's rules. And they didn't like this one bit.

So they grumbled. "This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them."

They meant it as a complaint. But it's true. He does.

So Jesus told them a story. A story about a shepherd, a bit like the shepherds out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock, the night Jesus was born.

And he began it with a question. "Which of you men," he asked, "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?"

One hundred sheep! Imagine all that wool. All those soft little voices, out on the hills.

Now imagine the shepherd counting them. Ninety-seven. Ninety-eight. Ninety-nine...

And that's all. One is missing.

The ninety-nine stay out in the wilderness, the wide open country where the sheep find grass. And the shepherd goes after that one.

Maybe it had wandered off nibbling, one tuft at a time, until it was a little bit far from everyone. Maybe it was tired. Jesus didn't say. He didn't stop to tell us who minded the ninety-nine, either. His story was busy with the one.

Imagine the shepherd going over the hills. Past rocks and scrubby bushes. Stopping to listen. Calling... and listening again.

And he keeps going. Jesus said he goes after it "until he found it." Not until his feet are sore. Not until it gets late. Until he finds it.

And then... there it is! One sheep. Maybe a bit muddy, with burrs stuck in its wool. Found!

Does the shepherd scold it? No. Does he tie a rope round its neck and pull? No.

Jesus said, "When he has found it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing."

Up it goes. Across his shoulders, like a big, warm, woolly scarf. Imagine its legs held snug in front of him. Maybe its nose bumping his ear.

And all the way home, the shepherd is glad. Rejoicing, every step.

When he gets home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors. "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!"

My sheep. Just one. And he wants everybody to be happy with him.

Then Jesus told those grumbling people what his story was about. "I 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."

Repents means turning around, and coming home to God.

Joy in heaven! Over just one.

Imagine that sheep, home at last. Maybe fast asleep, with burrs still in its wool, not one bit lost anymore.

And Jesus wasn't finished. He had more stories for those grumbling people. But that, little one, is for another night.

And God was with him. God was with her. God is with you, too.

Rest now, little one. May the same God whose Son told of a shepherd carrying one lost sheep all the way home on his shoulders... carry you, too, on the days your own feet are tired.