Luke 15:2-7 NKJV
2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man [a]receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine [b]just persons who need no repentance.

This parable is talking about salvation. I published a teaching called Lost and Found on January 9, 2026, pointing out salvation through these parables taught in Luke 15. That teaching focused on what salvation is and how it differs between the different moments in life all of face.

And just like the coin that the woman lost in Luke 15:8, (taught in Lost and Found), here one strays from the group, in essence becomes lost.

The coin symbolizes losing the value of the benefits that we receive as believers in Christ. You can check this out in Lost and Found.

Let’s read this further in Matthew 18.

Matthew 18:10-14 NKJV
10 “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11 For[c] the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. 12 “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? 13 And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
In this teaching, I want to focus on the ninety-nine.

So, who are the ninety-nine, and how does one become separated from the whole?

The ninety-nine are the saved believers in Christ.

In Matthew’s version, we read that the one ‘strayed’ from the ninety-nine. How does a believer stray?

By taking his/her eyes off of God and not recognizing the knowledge of the Word of God in us.

The ninety-nine keep the race. They do not take their eyes off of God. They remain focused staying on the Word of God through the knowledge we receive every time we read His word.

2 Timothy 4:7 NKJV
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Galatians 6:9 NKJV
9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
And yet, God and His angels celebrate greatly when the one that strayed, became lost is once again found, brought back to the fold.

But what about the ninety-nine? God doesn’t rejoice over us keeping the faith. He TRUSTS us to maintain while He leaves to go get the lost.

John 14:1-4 NKJV
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many [a]mansions; if it were not so, [b]I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

God is trusting us to keep the faith but He won’t let us get too far away. Jesus goes to prepare a place for us, but didn’t leave us alone. He left us the Helper, Comforter, the Holy Spirit, and a peace in which we do not fear while He is away getting the lost and establishing a place for us.

John 14:25-28 NKJV
25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the [g]Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because [h]I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.

Jesus leaves the ninety-nine and leaves us prepared with His comforter, and His peace. Meaning, we have everything we need to get through our life here on earth.

He expects the ninety-nine to walk with the Helper, Comforter, Holy Spirit until He returns.

John 17:12 NKJV
12 While I was with them [e]in the world, I kept them in [f]Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is [g]lost except the son of [h]perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

Jesus prayed to God that He will not lose one. So, He will always go after the one who strayed, while the rest who do not stray are safe and secured under His prophecy prayer in John 17 and under the Helper, Comforter, the Holy Spirit.

John 17:1-5 NKJV
Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He [a]should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together [b]with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

Take the time and read the rest of John 17. Jesus is praying and prophesying over each of us.
This is knowledge that we need to stand strongly on.

Hosea 4:6a NKJV
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge,…
Let’s not forget who we are. We are the ninety-nine that God has placed us under the Helper, Comforter, Holy Sprit who will keep us and walk us through anything we face.

Colossians 3:1-3 NKJV
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

1 John 4:4 NKJV
4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

And remember, the parable of the one going astray in Matthew 18 is written in the context of the little ones, children.

Matthew 18:6 NKJV
6 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Matthew 18:10-11 NKJV
10 “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11 For[c] the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

Be a child of God and stand on His Word. You are saved by Him going to the cross redeeming you. Keep the race. Keep your eyes on Him, and don’t stray but know that Jesus will always bring you back and rejoice over it.