Why did the Good Shepherd LEAVE
ninety-nine sheep to look for just ONE?

Q. Why did the good shepherd leave ninety-nine sheep to look for just ONE that was lost? Who watched over the ninety-nine sheep? Why didn't the sheep go astray after the shepherd left them?

A. You've asked some interesting questions but I think they are based on a misunderstanding of the purpose of a "parable". A parable is not intended to portray a real life situation but is a simple story told to make a point.

Here are the two slightly different versions of this parable as recorded in the gospels:

"What do you think?  If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?  And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.  In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost." (Matthew 18:12-14, NIV)

"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.  Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?  And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.  Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.'   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 15:4-7, NIV)

The italicized portions (Matthew 18:14; Luke 15:7) represent the lesson or the point of the parables. The shepherd and the sheep are used only as an analogy that tie human emotions and logic to the emotions and logic of God and help us better understand how He thinks.

The parable does not present a real life situation. In the real world one would want to know the details of how the ninety-nine sheep were to be protected while the shepherd was gone. Adding such detail to the parable, however, would serve no tangible purpose in making the point or teaching the lesson.

Even in today's world, the shepherd would call a friend or family member to watch over the flock if he expected to be gone for an extended period. Or perhaps the shepherd knows the area where the sheep are grazing to be safe for the few hours he would be gone. If the herd would be in danger, he probably wouldn't leave all of them to search for just one.

But these mundane details do nothing to enhance the parable or to teach the lesson and so they are left out. I don’t know if you've read Aesop’s Fables, such as the story of the race between the tortoise and the hare (rabbit), but that is a non-Biblical example of a parable. On the surface, this story in not a reflection of what happens in the real world, as hares (rabbits) and tortoises not only do not speak to each other, they do not compete against each other in races. The purpose of the story, however, is to teach the lesson that steadfast progress and hard work sometimes are better than raw speed in achieving a goal. Written by:  Clay Willis

Picture of the race between the tortoise and hare from a 1912 A.D. edition of Aesop's Fables.