The Parable of the Lost Sheep
Luke 15:1-7
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Luke.15.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Ησαν: VERB,impf,act,ind,3,pl
- δε: CONJ
- αυτω: PRON,dat,sg,m
- εγγιζοντες: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,pl,m
- παντες: ADJ,nom,pl,m
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- τελωναι: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- και: CONJ
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- αμαρτωλοι: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- ακουειν: VERB,pres,act,inf
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,m
Parallels
- Mark 2:15 (verbal): Mark recounts that 'many tax collectors and sinners' reclined with Jesus and his disciples—directly parallel language and setting of Jesus associating with outcasts, as in Luke 15.1.
- Matthew 9:10 (verbal): Matthew similarly describes tax collectors and sinners coming to Jesus' table, using almost the same wording and context of Jesus' ministry among social outsiders.
- Luke 7:34 (thematic): In Luke 7 Jesus is criticized as 'a friend of tax collectors and sinners'—a thematic link that explains why such people would draw near to him in Luke 15.1.
- Matthew 11:19 (verbal): Matthew preserves the saying that 'the Son of Man came eating and drinking' and was called 'a friend of tax collectors and sinners,' echoing the same charge and social context behind Luke 15.1.
- Luke 19:7 (thematic): When Jesus visits Zacchaeus, a tax collector, the crowd objects that he has gone in to be the guest of a sinner—another instance of Jesus' association with tax collectors and sinners, paralleling Luke 15.1.
Alternative generated candidates
- Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to him to hear him.
- Now tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to him to hear him.
Luke.15.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- διεγογγυζον: VERB,impf,act,ind,3,pl
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- τε: CONJ
- Φαρισαιοι: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- και: CONJ
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- γραμματεις: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- λεγοντες: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,pl,masc
- οτι: CONJ
- Ουτος: DEM,nom,sg,m
- αμαρτωλους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- προσδεχεται: VERB,pres,mid,ind,3,sg
- και: CONJ
- συνεσθιει: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- αυτοις: PRO,dat,pl,3
Parallels
- Luke 5:30 (verbal): Same Lukan context: Pharisees and scribes grumble against Jesus' disciples, complaining about eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners—closely parallel language and situation.
- Mark 2:16 (verbal): Mark records the Pharisees' objection that Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners, using virtually the same complaint as Luke 15:2.
- Matthew 9:11-13 (verbal): Matthew reports the Pharisees asking Jesus' disciples why their teacher eats with tax collectors and sinners; Jesus replies about mercy and calling the sick, directly addressing the same criticism.
- Luke 7:34 (thematic): Jesus is criticized as a 'glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners'—a thematic echo of the charge in Luke 15:2 that he accepts and eats with sinners.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, 'This man receives sinners and eats with them.'
- And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them."
Luke.15.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ειπεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- δε: CONJ
- προς: PREP
- αυτους: PRON,acc,pl,m
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- παραβολην: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- ταυτην: PRON,acc,sg,f
- λεγων·: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,sg,m
Parallels
- Matthew 13:3 (structural): Introduction to a parable addressed to the crowd—serves the same narrative function of launching a parable teaching.
- Matthew 13:34 (thematic): Summarizes Jesus' frequent use of parables to teach the crowds, providing a thematic parallel to Luke's formula announcing a parable.
- Mark 4:2 (verbal): States that Jesus taught 'many things in parables,' a close verbal parallel describing the mode of instruction implied in Luke 15:3.
- Mark 12:1 (verbal): Begins a section with the phrase 'he began to speak to them in parables,' comparable wording and function to Luke's introduction of a parable.
- Luke 8:4 (structural): Within Luke's own Gospel, this verse introduces a parable with the formula 'he said in a parable,' directly paralleling Luke 15:3's role.
Alternative generated candidates
- So he told them this parable:
- So he told them this parable: "What man among you, who has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost until he finds it?
Luke.15.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Τις: PRON,nom,sg,m
- ανθρωπος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- εξ: PREP
- υμων: PRON,gen,pl,2
- εχων: VERB,pres,act,ptc,nom,sg,m
- εκατον: NUM,acc,sg,n
- προβατα: NOUN,nom,pl,n
- και: CONJ
- απολεσας: VERB,aor,act,ptc,nom,sg,m
- εξ: PREP
- αυτων: PRON,gen,pl,m
- εν: PREP
- ου: PART,neg
- καταλειπει: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- τα: ART,acc,pl,n
- ενενηκοντα: NUM,dat,pl,m
- εννεα: NUM,dat,pl,m
- εν: PREP
- τη: ART,dat,sg,f
- ερημω: NOUN,dat,sg,f
- και: CONJ
- πορευεται: VERB,pres,mid/pass,ind,3,sg
- επι: PREP
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- απολωλος: ADJ,acc,sg,n
- εως: CONJ
- ευρη: VERB,aor,act,subj,3,sg
- αυτο: PRON,acc,sg,neut
Parallels
- Matthew 18:12-14 (verbal): Almost verbatim retelling of the lost sheep parable — same shepherd/100 sheep motif and the question of leaving the ninety‑nine to seek the one.
- Luke 15:7 (structural): Immediate conclusion to the parable in Luke: celebrates the finding of the lost sheep and links the story to joy over one sinner who repents.
- John 10:11-16 (thematic): Shepherd imagery and care for individual sheep: Jesus as the Good Shepherd who knows, protects, and seeks his sheep (emphasis on seeking and laying down life for them).
- Ezekiel 34:11-16 (allusion): Prophetic background: God as shepherd who will search for, seek out, and rescue scattered or lost sheep — thematic precedent for seeking the lost.
- Psalm 119:176 (thematic): Uses the image of going astray 'like a lost sheep' and asking to be sought — reflects the wider biblical motif of people as lost sheep in need of retrieval.
Alternative generated candidates
- Which man among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost one until he finds it?
- And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
Luke.15.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- ευρων: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,sg,m
- επιτιθησιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- επι: PREP
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- ωμους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,m
- χαιρων: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,sg,m
Parallels
- Luke 15:20 (verbal): In the Prodigal Son the father 'takes him up on his shoulders' (ἀναλαβὼν ἔβαλεν ἐπὶ τοὺς ὦμους αὐτοῦ), the same physical gesture and wording as Luke 15:5.
- Matthew 18:12-14 (verbal): Parallel parable of the lost sheep: shepherd leaves the ninety‑nine to seek the one and rejoices when he is found—same basic story and rejoicing motif.
- Isaiah 40:11 (allusion): God as shepherd 'will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom'—close pastoral imagery of lifting/carrying the lost or weak.
- Ezekiel 34:11-16 (thematic): Yahweh as shepherd who seeks out the lost, brings back the strayed, and rescues the sick—background covenantal shepherd motif behind Jesus' parable.
- John 10:11-16 (thematic): Jesus as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep and cares for them, emphasizing the shepherd's seeking and saving role reflected in the lost‑sheep parable.
Alternative generated candidates
- And when he has found it, he puts it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
- And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.'"
Luke.15.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- ελθων: PART,aor,act,nom,sg,m
- εις: PREP
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- οικον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- συγκαλει: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- φιλους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- και: CONJ
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- γειτονας: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- λεγων: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,m,sg
- αυτοις·Συγχαρητε: PRON,dat,pl,3 + VERB,aor,act,imp,2,pl
- μοι: PRON,dat,sg,1
- οτι: CONJ
- ευρον: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- προβατον: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- μου: PRON,gen,sg,1
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- απολωλος: ADJ,acc,sg,n
Parallels
- Luke 15:4 (structural): Immediate setup of the parable (the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to seek the one lost sheep); provides the narrative context for the rejoicing in v.6.
- Luke 15:9 (verbal): Parallel wording and action in the parable of the lost coin: the woman calls friends and neighbors, saying 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I lost,' mirroring the shepherd's call to celebrate finding the lost.
- Matthew 18:12–13 (verbal): A Synoptic parallel using the same lost-sheep motif: the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine to seek the one lost sheep, emphasizing the value of the one rescued.
- Ezekiel 34:16 (allusion): Prophetic background: God as shepherd who seeks the lost, brings back the strayed, and binds up the injured—theological precedent for Jesus' emphasis on seeking and rejoicing over the lost.
Alternative generated candidates
- And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.'
- I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Luke.15.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- λεγω: VERB,pres,act,ind,1,sg
- υμιν: PRON,dat,pl,2
- οτι: CONJ
- ουτως: ADV
- χαρα: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- εν: PREP
- τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- ουρανω: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- εσται: VERB,fut,mid,ind,3,sg
- επι: PREP
- ενι: PREP
- αμαρτωλω: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- μετανοουντι: VERB,pres,act,part,dat,sg,m
- η: ART,nom,sg,f
- επι: PREP
- ενενηκοντα: NUM,dat,pl,m
- εννεα: NUM,dat,pl,m
- δικαιοις: ADJ,dat,pl,m
- οιτινες: PRO,rel,nom,pl,m
- ου: PART,neg
- χρειαν: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- εχουσιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,pl
- μετανοιας: NOUN,gen,sg,f
Parallels
- Luke 15:10 (verbal): Nearly identical formulation — affirms that there is joy in heaven/among the angels over one sinner who repents, repeating the same theological claim.
- Luke 15:4–6 (structural): Parable of the lost sheep immediately precedes v.7 and provides the narrative basis: a shepherd rejoices after finding one lost sheep more than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.
- Luke 15:8–9 (structural): Parable of the lost coin parallels the same pattern of search and rejoicing; verse 9 leads into the declaration of heavenly joy found again in v.10 (and v.7).
- Matthew 18:12–14 (thematic): Synoptic parallel to the lost-sheep motif: the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine to seek the one, and there is greater joy when the lost is found, emphasizing God's care for the one sinner.
Alternative generated candidates
- I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who have no need of repentance.
Now tax collectors and sinners were drawing near to him to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, 'This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.' So he told them this parable:
'Which one of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.'
I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who have no need of repentance.'