More to The Story - Parables of Jesus: Go After the One 09/06/2026

Matthew 18 puts the heart of the shepherd on display. Jesus shows that when one sheep wanders, the shepherd does not just shrug and say, “Well, 99 is pretty good.” The one is not a percentage. The one is a life, made in the image of God, loved and known by the shepherd.

The wandering sheep shows how sin usually works. Sheep do not wake up and announce they are leaving the flock. They wander a little here and a little there, chasing greener grass, until they find themselves isolated in a place they never intended to be. Sin keeps making the old promise from the garden that there is something better outside the shepherd’s care, but it takes people farther than they planned to go.

The shepherd’s pursuit reveals that Christianity is not mainly the story of lost people finding God. God finds His lost people. Christ came to seek and save the lost, and the shepherd died so that wandering sheep could be found. Wandering may change somebody’s location, proximity, and circumstances, but it does not change that person’s value to God. The love given in Christ does not sit with its arms folded. It comes after the black sheep. It is the hound of heaven, chasing down the one who has run.

Grace does not minimize sin, pretend rebellion is okay, or erase the consequences of destructive choices. Grace exceeds sin. The farther the sheep wanders, the more clearly the shepherd’s willingness to bring it home comes into view. God refuses to equate somebody’s sin with that person’s worth, and the church cannot decide that anybody has wandered beyond God’s reach.

Matthew 18 then carries the shepherd’s heart into the church’s responsibility. Jesus commands believers to go directly to a brother or sister caught in sin, not to talk about them, embarrass them, gather a side, or win an argument. Biblical confrontation fights for people, not with people. The goal is to win a brother, restore gently, and call somebody back to the path.

The growing circle of one person, then two or three, then the church is not an escalation of punishment. It is an escalation of pursuit. Even boundaries and broken fellowship are meant to awaken a wandering brother to the seriousness of sin and the goodness of coming home. The church must not call evil good, but it must never treat a wandering believer as an enemy. Christ’s people pursue restoration because there is more mercy in Christ than sin in anybody.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God pursues the wandering sheep. Jesus does not picture God as irritated, distant, or waiting for wandering people to get themselves together. The shepherd notices the missing sheep and goes after it until he finds it. A believer’s wandering may be real and dangerous, but it never makes that believer invisible or worthless to God. [46:47]
• 2. Sin usually begins as a slow fade. The sheep’s wandering is often not a loud declaration of rebellion but a gradual drifting into deception. Sin promises greener grass outside the shepherd’s care, then leaves people isolated and surrounded by danger. The honest awareness of personal weakness keeps a believer dependent on mercy instead of proud around other strugglers. [36:40]
• 3. Grace exceeds every measure of sin. Grace does not say sin is small, harmless, or acceptable. Grace says that sin cannot outrun the mercy of Christ, even when brokenness, rebellion, and consequences have multiplied. The church should be careful never to call somebody too far gone when God is still the One who pursues. [54:30]
• 4. Confrontation fights for a brother. Jesus commands direct, private, honest pursuit because gossip and public shame do not restore people. A person can win an argument and still lose a relationship, but Christ calls His people to win their brother. Gentleness does not mean silence about danger; it means speaking truth with restoration as the aim. [61:38]
• 5. Discipline is pursuit, not punishment. The widening circle in Matthew 18 protects both truth and the wandering person. Boundaries become necessary when somebody refuses to listen, but even then that person is not an enemy. The purpose is to make the weight of sin clear and to leave the door open for a real welcome home.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [27:42] - Going After the One
• [28:07] - The Hound of Heaven
• [33:15] - The Shepherd and the Wandering Sheep
• [36:02] - Wandering Is Often Gradual
• [40:11] - One Life Is Not One Percent
• [46:47] - God Finds Lost People
• [49:36] - Grace Is Greater Than Sin
• [56:07] - Restoring the Wandering Brother
• [61:38] - Winning a Brother, Not an Argument
• [65:04] - Pursuit, Not Punishment
• [71:35] - John Chases the Wandering Young Man
• [76:47] - Stop Running and Come Home

Bible Reading

Matthew 18:12-17
“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” [27:54]

Luke 15:4-7
“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” [46:02]

Galatians 6:1
“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.” [01:02:31]

Ezekiel 34:11-12
“For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.” [44:35]

Observation questions

1. In Matthew 18:12-14, what does the shepherd do when one sheep wanders, and how does he respond when he finds it? [33:50]
2. What details in Luke 15 show that finding the lost sheep is more than simply locating it and bringing it back safely? [46:02]
3. According to Matthew 18:15-17, what is the order Jesus gives for addressing a brother or sister who refuses to listen?
4. In Galatians 6:1, what two responsibilities are given to the person seeking to restore someone caught in sin? [01:02:31]

Interpretation questions

1. Why does Jesus place the picture of the shepherd seeking one wandering sheep immediately before His instructions about confronting sin in the church? How should the shepherd’s heart shape the way believers read Matthew 18:15-17? [56:14]
2. Sin is often a gradual wandering rather than one sudden, public choice. What kinds of smaller steps or deceptions can slowly lead a person away from the care of the Shepherd? [36:40]
3. What does it mean that a wandering person’s sin is serious, yet that person’s worth is not erased by sin? How does that truth keep a church from either ignoring sin or writing people off? [51:41]
4. Matthew 18 says, “you have gained your brother.” How is gaining a brother different from winning an argument, proving someone wrong, or publicly exposing them? [01:01:50]

Application questions

1. Is there an area of life where a slow drift may be happening—through attitudes, habits, relationships, secret sin, or neglect of God? What would it look like to stop running and take a real step back toward the Shepherd? [01:16:54]
2. When shame or failure shows up, is the usual response to hide from God, work harder to earn His approval, or come honestly to Him? How does the Shepherd’s pursuit speak into that response? [49:36]
3. Is there someone in the group’s life who seems to be wandering from Christ or from the church? Rather than talking about that person with others, what could loving, direct, and private pursuit look like? [59:04]
4. Before confronting someone about sin, what motives need to be checked? Would the desire be for their restoration, or would there also be a desire to be right, get revenge, or see them embarrassed? [01:03:25]
5. What makes it hard to speak honestly to a brother or sister when there is real spiritual danger in their life? How can gentleness and truth be held together in that conversation? [01:00:23]
6. When someone lovingly points out a blind spot or sinful pattern, how is that usually received? What would it look like to receive godly correction as care rather than as an attack? [01:10:47]
7. Who may need persistent prayer this week—not because they are beyond hope, but because God’s grace is greater than their sin? What is one faithful step that could be taken to pursue them with mercy and truth? [54:30]