Maybe It’s Not the Pastor that Leaves the Ninety-Nine in Search of the One

Discipleship Detachment Optimizing Mission

Maybe It’s Not the Pastor that Leaves the Ninety-Nine in Search of the One

“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.” Matthew 18:12,13

Have you heard a teaching regarding this parable suggesting that one of the qualities of a good “Pastor,” is that he will be predisposed to leave his congregation to go in search of the one stray or lost sheep? I have. In fact, I may have even taught it a few times.

Let’s look at a parallel passage:

“Then Jesus told them this parable: “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 15:3-7

Do you notice something strange here?

The one who goes in search of the stray sheep is the owner of the sheep, not necessarily their shepherd or pastor.

Is it possible that these passages would significantly change in their meaning and application if we removed the pastoral assumption?

In Psalm 119:176, David says, “I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.”

The Prophet Jeremiah says, “In the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand of the one who counts them,’ says the LORD.” Jeremiah 33:13

In Ezekiel 34, God says to the shepherds of Israel:

“You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.”

“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.”

It’s clear that the “owner” of the sheep is the Lord. If we return to our opening verses from Matthew 18:12,13 and Luke 15:3-7, it’s possible that we have assumed too much concerning the role of a pastor in leaving the ninety-nine in search of the one stray or lost. Those passages, in fact, don’t mention a pastor at all. They speak of the owner. A few questions:

Does this change the application of the passage? How?

Isn’t the perpetual search and rescue operation of the lost sheep, the responsibility of the entire church under the direction of its owner (God)?

What other implications may we draw from this owner/pastor distinction?