Matthew 18:10-14 - The Parable Of The Lost Sheep

¹⁰ “See that you do not despise or think less of one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven [are in the presence of and] continually look upon the face of My Father who is in heaven. ¹¹ [For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.] ¹² “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them gets lost, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountain and go in search of the one that is lost? ¹³ And if it turns out that he finds it, I assure you and most solemnly say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that did not get lost. ¹⁴ So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones be lost.

¹ Now all the tax collectors and sinners [including non-observant Jews] were coming near Jesus to listen to Him. ² Both the Pharisees and the scribes began muttering and complaining, saying, “This man accepts and welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³ So He told them this parable: ⁴ “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost, [searching] until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And when he gets home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ ⁷ I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.