New Testament · Luke 15:1–7
The Lost Sheep — Bible Story for Kids
Jesus told a story about a shepherd who left ninety-nine sheep to find one that was lost, and carried it home with joy.
This is a retelling for children, written by BibleKenya from the Bible passages shown on each picture. It is not a Bible translation.
Many people who had done wrong things came to listen to . Some leaders grumbled, "He welcomes sinners and eats with them!"
The tax collectors and sinners were all coming close to to hear him. The and the scribes murmured, saying, "This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them."
So told a story. A had a hundred sheep, and one got lost. He left the ninety-nine and went to look for the lost one.
told them this : "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?"
When he found it, he put it on his shoulders, full of joy. He called his friends: "Be happy with me! I found my lost sheep!"
"When he has found it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing. When he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbours, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'"
said, "There is great joy in heaven when one person who has gone wrong comes back to God."
"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 ."
Bible explorer Jesus told two more stories about lost things being found: the lost coin and the lost son (Luke 15:8-32).
The end of the story
Read it in the Bible
This is the Bible text itself, from the version shown. Scripture in WEBWorld English Bible — Protestant Edition
Luke 15:1–7 WEB
1Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming close to him to hear him. 2The Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.” 3He told them this parable: 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.
Who is in the story?
- Jesus He told this parable to people who were grumbling (Luke 15:2-3).
- The shepherd In Jesus' story, he went looking for one lost sheep (Luke 15:4).
Words to learn
- Parable
- A parable is a story Jesus told to teach something about God. The lost sheep is one of his parables.
- Pharisee
- A member of a Jewish group in Jesus' time devoted to careful keeping of the law and its traditions. Jesus often debated with Pharisees; Nicodemus and Paul were Pharisees.
- Repentance
- To repent means to be sorry for doing wrong and to turn around and go God's way. When Zacchaeus met Jesus, he gave back what he had taken.
- Shepherd
- A shepherd looks after sheep, finding them food and water and keeping them safe. The Bible says, "The LORD is my shepherd".
What can we learn from this passage?
Jesus told this story to people who complained that he welcomed sinners. The story shows God's joy when one lost person comes back to him. Luke 15:2Luke 15:7