Matthew 18:12 (DBY)

Passage

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?

Nearby Context

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.

Matthew 18:14 So it is not the will of your Father who is in [the] heavens that one of these little ones should perish.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sheep", "gone astray", "think", "certain", "should", "hundred", and "does". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sheep" and "gone astray", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "For the Son of man has come..." into verse 13's "And if it should come to pass...", so "sheep" and "gone astray" 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 "sheep" and "gone astray" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.