“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? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.” Matthew 18:12-13

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” Luke 15:4

            Ninety-nine sheep have an advantage of mass.  Their defense is their numbers.  A wolf fears a crowd like that, but zeroes in on the one sheep who wandered off by himself.  A shepherd knows the ninety-nine will take care of themselves (for a little while at least) as the he goes off looking for the lost one.  While God never leaves the masses (he’s omnipresent), the point of the parable was the heart of God to find the wandering person and the joy God feels when he brings that lost one home.