✨WEB · Luke 15:5
What does Luke 15:5 mean?
"When he has found it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing."
— Luke 15:5 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
The Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.”
He told them this parable.
“Which of you men, if you had one hundred sheep, and lost one of them, wouldn’t leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one that was lost, until he found it?
When he has found it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
When he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’
I tell you that even so there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.
Or what woman, if she had ten drachma coins, if she lost one drachma coin, wouldn’t light a lamp, sweep the house, and seek diligently until she found it?
Explanation
Luke 15:5 comes in the middle of the Parable of the Lost Sheep, one of three parables Jesus tells in Luke 15 in response to the Pharisees and scribes grumbling that he welcomes and eats with tax collectors and sinners. In plain language, the verse describes the moment a shepherd, who has left his flock of ninety-nine to search for one missing sheep, finally finds it. Rather than driving it back or leaving it to walk on its own, he lifts it onto his shoulders and carries it home, and he does this with joy, not resentment or grudging duty.
The context matters a great deal. Jesus is speaking to religious leaders who viewed sinners as unworthy of attention and were scandalized that Jesus associated with them. Luke tells us Jesus responds with a story drawn from everyday shepherding life in first-century Palestine, where a hired or owner-shepherd was personally responsible for each animal in the flock. Losing even one sheep was a real loss, and finding it required real effort — searching rough terrain, likely for some time. The parable is followed immediately by two companion stories (the lost coin and the lost son), all making the same point: God actively seeks out those who are lost, and their recovery is a cause for celebration, not scorn.
Theologically, this small detail — carrying the sheep on his shoulders — reveals the nature of the search itself. The shepherd doesn't merely locate the sheep and point it home; he bears its weight himself. Sheep are not naturally obedient or capable of finding their own way back once
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