And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
The grace of heaven, in the reception of sinners, is proclaimed in every part of the Bible. Here it is eminently illustrated by our Lord himself, under the similitude of the most beautiful parables, I would not, methinks, strain Scripture into the most distant idea of anything fanciful; neither suppose what was never intended; but I cannot help observing, that, according to my views, the Lord Jesus intended, by the three striking parables in this chapter, more immediately to set forth and represent the office work and character of each glorious person of the Godhead, as they have manifested their love, and grace, and mercy, to our fallen nature. It is a well-known and fully-allowed truth, in the doctrine of the pure faith, once delivered to the saints, that our salvation is the joint work, resulting from the joint love and mercy of the whole persons of the Godhead; each glorious person concurring, cooperating in the work. It is a blessed subject to trace the subject in all: and here, if I mistake not, the Lord Jesus, by a beautiful parable, sets it forth.
The first parable in the chapter is contained in the verses just read, in which Christ himself is represented in his well-known character and office-work of a shepherd. The Lord represents his Church as one sheep of an hundred: and the Church, in point of bulk, compared to the whole creation of God, is but as one world to many. Hence called a little flock, Luke 12:32. Sometimes called a beautiful flock, Jeremiah 13:20. The flock of slaughter, Zechariah 11:4-7. Jesus himself calls it one flock, and of which there is but one shepherd, John 10:16; Song of Solomon 6:9. And the Lord Jesus hath a variety of names, all descriptive of him, as the Shepherd of his people. Jehovah's Shepherd, Zechariah 13:7. One Shepherd, Ezekiel 34:23. The good Shepherd, John 10:11. The great Shepherd, Hebrews 13:20. The chief Shepherd, 1 Peter 5:4. And as in this chapter, so in others, and particularly in the writings of Ezekiel, a whole chapter is made use of in describing the Lord seeking out his sheep, and bringing them home from wandering, when scattered upon the mountains, and upon the face of the earth, Ezekiel 34:1
The joy of the shepherd, when taking home his lost sheep, affords a most delightful representation of Jesus, in manifesting: that his happiness is blended with that of his redeemed; and that he cannot enlarge his grace and mercy to any of his wanderers in bringing them home, without glorifying himself in their salvation. And the joy of his neighbours and friends, probably meaning angels and the inhabitants of heaven, is also a beautiful testimony how much the whole pure creation of God take part in the Redeemer's triumphs. And as it is said, that at creation, the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy: so at redemption, the multitude before the throne are represented as singing their hallelujahs to God and the Lamb. Job 38:7; Revelation 7:9-10, etc.