Matthew 18:11 (DBY)

Passage

For the Son of man has come to save that which was lost.

Nearby Context

Matthew 18:9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast [it] from thee; it is good for thee to enter into life one-eyed, [rather] than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire.

Matthew 18:10 See that ye do not despise one of these little ones; for I say unto you that their angels in [the] heavens continually behold the face of my Father who is in [the] heavens.

Matthew 18:11 For the Son of man has come to save that which was lost.

Matthew 18:12 What think ye? If a certain man should have a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, does he not, leaving the ninety and nine on the mountains, go and seek the one that has gone astray?

Matthew 18:13 And if it should come to pass that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoices more because of it than because of the ninety and nine not gone astray.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "come", "save", and "lost". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "come" and "save", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "See that ye do not despise one..." into verse 12's "What think ye If a certain man...", so "come" and "save" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "come" and "save" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.