Matthew 18:12 (GNV)

Passage

How thinke ye? If a man haue an hundreth sheepe, and one of them be gone astray, doeth he not leaue ninetie and nine, and go into the mountaines, and seeke that which is gone astray?

Nearby Context

Matthew 18:10 See that ye despise not one of these litle ones: for I say vnto you, that in heauen their Angels alwayes behold the face of my Father which is in heauen.

Matthew 18:11 For the Sonne of man is come to saue that which was lost.

Matthew 18:12 How thinke ye? If a man haue an hundreth sheepe, and one of them be gone astray, doeth he not leaue ninetie and nine, and go into the mountaines, and seeke that which is gone astray?

Matthew 18:13 And if so be that he finde it, verely I say vnto you, he reioyceth more of that sheepe, then of the ninetie and nine which went not astray:

Matthew 18:14 So is it not ye wil of your Father which is in heauen, that one of these litle ones should perish.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sheep", "gone astray", "thinke", "haue", "hundreth", "sheepe", "doeth", and "leaue". 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 Sonne of man is come..." into verse 13's "And if so be that he finde...", 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.