Matthew 18:12

18:7-14 Considering the cunning and malice of Satan, and the weakness and depravity of men's hearts, it is not possible but that there should be offences. God permits them for wise and holy ends, that those who are sincere, and those who are not, may be made known. Being told before, that there will be seducers, tempters, persecutors, and bad examples, let us stand on our guard. We must, as far as lawfully we may, part with what we cannot keep without being entangled by it in sin. The outward occasions of sin must be avoided. If we live after the flesh, we must die. If we, through the Spirit, mortify the deeds of the body, we shall live. Christ came into the world to save souls, and he will reckon severely with those who hinder the progress of others who are setting their faces heavenward. And shall any of us refuse attention to those whom the Son of God came to seek and to save? A father takes care of all his children, but is particularly tender of the little ones.

Leave upon the mountains The text here is disputed. Both A. V. and Rev. follow a text which reads: "Doth he not, leaving the ninety and nine, go into the mountains?" Rather join leave with on the mountains, and read, "Will he not leave the ninety and nine upon (ἐκπὶ, scattered over) the mountains, and go," etc. This also corresponds with ἀφήσει, leaving, letting out, or letting loose.

Matthew 18:12-14 . How think ye — What do you think would be the conduct of a faithful shepherd? If a man have a hundred sheep, and but one of them wander from the rest, and go astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine in their pasture or fold, and goeth into the mountains, with the most solicitous care and labour, and seeketh that which is gone astray — With persevering diligence? And if he find it — After long and painful seeking; he rejoiceth more over that sheep. — Which was in such danger of being finally lost; than over the ninety and nine which remained in safety. Thus does our Lord display the unspeakable love of our heavenly Father to the souls of men, and the immense care which he takes, of them. He therefore adds, It is not the will of your Father, &c., that one of these little ones should perish — He loves them certainly infinitely better than the shepherd loves his sheep, and therefore will not fail to watch over them in order to their preservation: and will judge all those that would deter, or drive away from his duty, the meanest believer. Observe, reader, the gradation: the angels, the Son, the Father!

Matthew 18:12-14 . Parable of straying sheep ( Luke 15:4-7 ); may seem less appropriate here than in Lk., but has even here a good setting, amounting to a climax = God cares not only for the lowly and little but even for the low—the morally erring. In both places the parable teaches the precious characteristically Christian doctrine of the worth of the individual at the worst to God.

12, 13. How think ye? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, &c.—This is another of those pregnant sayings which our Lord uttered more than once. See on the delightful parable of the lost sheep in Lu 15:4-7. Only the object there is to show what the good Shepherd will do, when even one of His sheep is lost, to find it; here the object is to show, when found, how reluctant He is to lose it. Accordingly, it is added,

(12) If a man have an hundred sheep. —The parable is repeated more fully in Luke 15:4-6 , and will best find its full explanation there. The fact that it reappears there is significant as to the prominence, in our Lord’s thoughts and teaching, of the whole cycle of imagery on which it rests. Here the opening words, “How think ye?” sharpen its personal application to the disciples, as an appeal to their own experience. Even in this shorter form the parable involves the claim on our Lord’s part to be the true Shepherd, and suggests the thought that the “ninety and nine” are (1) strictly, the unfallen creatures of God’s spiritual universe; and (2) relatively, those among men who are comparatively free from gross offences.

Matthew 18:12 . Τί ὑμῖν δοκεῖ , κ . τ . λ ., what think ye? etc.) A gracious instance of Communicatio .[814]— ἑκατὸν , an hundred ) Otherwise the loss of one out of so great a number would be easier.[815]— ἕν , one ) The roundness of the number would be broken, and the exact hundred diminished, by the loss even of one .— ἀφεὶς , leaving ) It is the business of shepherds to give their first care to wandering sheep, as distinguished from those which are in the right way.— ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη , into the mountains ) even with great toil, into solitary places. The discourse appears to have been delivered on the shore of the lake of Gennesareth.[816] [814] “A figure in rhetoric, whereby the orator consults the audience what they would do in such a case.”— Ainsworth . It is used in this sense by Cicero. See also explanation of technical terms in Appendix.—(I. B.) [815] i.e. If it were not a round number.—(I. B.) [816] Which was surrounded by mountains—(I. B.)

To show still further the reason why we should not despise Christians, he introduced a parable showing the joy felt when a thing lost is found. A shepherd rejoices over the recovery of one of his flock that had wandered more than over all that remained; so God rejoices that man is restored: so he seeks his salvation, and wills that not one thus found should perish. If God thus loves and preserves the redeemed, then surely man should not despise them. See this passage further explained in Luke 15:4-10 .

Verse 12. - The parable that follows teaches the same lesson as the preceding verse. It is found in Luke 15:1-7 , with some variations, delivered to a different audience and under different circumstances, as Jesus often repeated his instructions and teaching according to the occasion. How think ye? What say ye to the following case? Thus the Lord engages the disciples' attention. An hundred sheep. A round number, representing a considerable flock. If but one of these stray, the good Shepherd regards only the danger and possible destruction of this wanderer, and puts aside every other care in order to secure its safety. The ninety and nine. These must be left for a time, if he is to conduct the search in person. It may he that some idea of probation is here intended, as when Jesus let the disciples embark on the lake while he himself remained on the shore. Many of the Fathers interpret the ninety-nine as representing the sinless angels, the lost sheep as man, to seek and save whom Christ left heaven, i . e . became incarnate. This, indeed, may be a legitimate application of the parable, but is inexact as an exposition of the passage, which regards the whole flock as figuring the human race. The sheep that remained safe and true to their Master are the righteous; the errant are the sinners, which, however few, are the special care of the merciful Lord. Into the mountains ( ἐπὶ τὰ ὔρη ).