Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 18:12

"How think ye? if any man have a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and go unto the mountains, and seek that which goeth astray?" — Matthew 18:12 (ASV)

If a man has a hundred sheep—The parable is repeated more fully in Luke 15:4-6, where its full explanation is best found. The fact that it reappears there is significant, highlighting the prominence of this entire cycle of imagery in our Lord’s thoughts and teaching. 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 that the “ninety and nine” are either (1) strictly, the unfallen creatures of God’s spiritual universe, or (2) relatively, those among humanity who are comparatively free from gross offenses.