The Lost Sheep and the Seeking Shepherd
Dr. Maclaren. Matthew 18:11-13 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.… I. THE FIGURE OF THE ONE WANDERER 1. All men are Christ's sheep. All men are Christ's because He has created them. "We are His people and the sheep of His pasture." 2. The picture of the sheep as wandering, "which goeth astray." It pictures the process of wandering; not the result as accomplished. The sheep has gone astray, though when it set out on its journey it never thought of straying; more mischief is wrought from want of thought than by an evil will. 3. The progressive character of our wanderings from God. A man never gets to the end of the distance that separates between him and the Father if his face is turned away from God. Every moment the separation is increasing. 4. The contrast between the description given of the wandering sheep in our text and in St. Luke. Here it is represented as wandering, there it is represented as lost. God wants to possess us through our love; if He does not we are lost to Him. II. THE PICTURE OF THE SEEKER. The incarnation of Christ was for the seeking of man. (Dr. Maclaren.) Parallel Verses KJV: For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. WEB: For the Son of Man came to save that which was lost.