Matthew 18:10-14 - The Heart of the Father

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

“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, truly I tell you, 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 perish.

Okay we want to bring up a similar passage in Luke 15, beginning in verse 1:

“Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.
And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, ‘This Man receives sinners and eats with them.’
So He spoke this parable to them, saying:

Luke 15:4-5 Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he 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.

You see, Matthew gives us this parable in the context of believers — little ones in the family of God who have strayed. Luke gives us the same parable in the context of sinners — those who have not responded to the call of God in salvation. Jesus came to save sinners.

And as we say often, He doesn’t leave us like that.

He gives us a new identity in Him.

Put the two together, and you get a much fuller picture of the heart of Jesus for the wanderer— whether they are lost in sin or lost in soul.

I want to give some context of this passage this morning on the wandering sheep. Let’s look at Mt 18:1-5 The disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

(Jesus' response to their question.)