マタイによる福音書18:10-14 Matthew 18:10-14,

In the country of Judea where Jesus was born, there were shepherds who kept sheep. In the Christmas story, it was the shepherds who first came to worship the new-born Jesus laid in a manger, who received the angel’s announcement of the birth of the Saviour. So the parable of shepherd and sheep is found in many places in the Bible.

Why do shepherds keep sheep? Is it to pet and love them? Not really. Shepherds shear their sheep to make wool. The wool can then be used to make clothes. Many of the sweaters and suits we wear are also made from wool. Shepherds can also take the milk produced by female sheep and make cheese from it. When we think of milk and cheese, we think of cows, but there is also milk and cheese from sheep. Not only that, sheep are also kept for humans to eat their meat. When we talk about eating sheep meat, you may think that you feel sorry for the sheep. But humans have been eating sheep meat since Old Testament times. And even today, there are still dishes made from sheep meat, such as Japanese mutton and vegetable dish. Thus, sheep, which are useful for many things, were an important possession for shepherds.

Shepherd is also mentioned in today’s Bible passage. Jesus uses the parable of shepherd to teach his disciples an important lesson. In verse 12, Jesus says, “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?” For a shepherd, even a single sheep is a precious possession, so if one goes astray, he will search for it. Does “leave the ninety-nine on the mountains” mean leave them alone on the mountains with no enclosure? It would not. When the shepherd gathers the sheep into the enclosure in the evening, he checks them one by one to see if they are all there. And it was then that he noticed that one sheep had gone astray. So “leave the ninety-nine on the mountains” probably means that the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine sheep in the enclosure in the mountains.

The shepherd who goes searching for a sheep that has gone astray must be very happy when he finds it. That is why Jesus said in verse 13: “And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.” The ninety-nine sheep are in the enclosure, so there is no need to worry. What the shepherd is worried about is the one sheep that has gone astray, so when he finds that sheep, his heart will be so full of joy that he will forget about the other ninety-nine sheep.

Jesus then explained the meaning of this parable in verse 14: “So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” Who are “these little ones”? Before he told this story, Jesus brought a child to his disciples and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (v. 3). So “these little ones” are children who believe in God with an obedient heart and those who believe in God with an obedient heart like a child. Those who have an obedient heart of faith can also believe in something other than God and go astray. Therefore, we must go searching for them. Jesus probably told this parable to his disciples, telling them that it is for you disciples to work together to find those who have gone astray from the path of faith in God.