Click on Add to cart button below shopping cart.

Matthew 18:10-14 (NLT)
10 “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. [1]
12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.”

[1]
Some manuscripts, heaven. 11 The Son of man came to save what was lost.

DRAWING NOTES:

TIME OF DAY:
Mid morning.

LIGHTING NOTES:
Light comes from the sun on the right hand side of this picture.

CHARACTERS PRESENT:
Shepherd & 99 sheep!

RESEARCH/ADDITIONAL NOTES:
I found various reference photographs on the internet for the sheep, background & rustic looking sheep pen! In an earlier illustration I drew a stone sheep pen & indeed there may have been such permanent pens in Israel. However, this one is made of posts & twigs, barely enough to keep the sheep penned up. Maybe that’s why one escaped the pen & went wandering off?!

In Matthew 18:7-11 Jesus reminded his disciples of the value the Lord places on children (called “these little ones”.) Children are clearly very important to God. Indeed, Jesus rebuked his disciples for trying to prevent parents bringing their children to him… that’s how important they are to Jesus. (See Matthew 19:13-15, Luke 18:15-17 & Mark 10:13-16.)

Some Greek manuscripts add the words of Matt. 18:11, “The Son of Man came to save what was lost.” That statement makes sense in light of the Parable of the Lost Sheep, which then follows. This parable is a simple agricultural story which Jesus’ listeners could easily understand & identify with.

In order to demonstrate the importance God attaches to little children, Jesus gave the disciples an illustration in the form of a parable, which is a word derived from the Greek. verb paraballo, meaning to “lay by the side of,” to “compare”; a “likeness, similitude.”

Suppose a man who owns 100 sheep suddenly discovers only 99 are present. In my illustration you can see the shepherd has counted his flock of sheep, he has a piece of purple slate on which he has made 99 tally marks in chalk. Clearly he is puzzled (shown by his finger at his mouth) & worried by his loss. In the following illustrations he goes looking for his lost sheep.

In the same way, God (referred to as “my/your Father in heaven” in Matthew 18:10) is concerned about these “little ones” or children and does not want to lose any of them.