Parable of the Lost Sheep

The Parable of the Lost Sheep is one of the parables of Jesus. It appears in two of the Canonical gospels of the New Testament, as well as in the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas.

According to the Gospels of Matthew (18:12–14) and Luke (15:3–7), a shepherd leaves his flock of ninety-nine sheep in order to find the one which is lost. It is the first member of a trilogy about redemption that Jesus tells after the Pharisees and religious leaders accuse him of welcoming and eating with "sinners." The two parables that follow (in Luke's Gospel) are those of the Lost Coin and the Prodigal Son. The parable of the Good shepherd, a pericope found in John 10:1-21, derives from it.

Narrative

In the Gospel of Luke, the parable is as follows:

Interpretation

The parable shares themes of loss, searching, and rejoicing with the Parable of the Lost Coin. The lost sheep or coin represents a lost human being.

As in the analogy of the Good Shepherd, Jesus is the shepherd, thus identifying himself with the image of God as a shepherd searching for stray sheep in Ezekiel 34:11–16.Joel B. Green writes that "these parables are fundamentally about God, ... their aim is to lay bare the nature of the divine response to the recovery of the lost."

Lost

Lost may refer to:

Cinema and television

Literature

Music

Albums

The Parable

The Parable is a public artwork by American artist Jimilu Mason, located at The Festival Center at 1640 Columbia Road, N.W. in Washington, D.C., United States. The Parable was originally surveyed as part of the Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture! survey in 1993.

Description

The bronze sculpture shows a man seated on a large cinder block and at his feet is a carpenter's square. Dressed in only a shirt and pants, his shirt sleeves are rolled up above his elbows and his collar is open. His face wears a beard and mustache and his feet are shoe-less. His arms reach out in front of him, and he looks as if in conversation.

Artist

Sculptor Jimilu Mason was born in Washington, D.C., graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1949. Holding a Bachelor of Fine Arts from George Washington University, Mason has a studio in Italy.

Information

According to Mason the sculpture "represents a Christ... teaching that there is more than brick and mortar to building a city. The leaders must be good servants."