About Leave the 99
The name “Leave the 99” comes from Jesus’ teachings in Luke 15 and Matthew 18, in which he used the expression to teach about his ministry and the ministry of those who would follow him. In Luke 15, in response to the “mutterings” of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law concerning Jesus’ propensity to eat with and otherwise associate with tax collectors and “sinners,” Jesus told a singular parable which many Bible translations partition into three parables: The Parable of the Lost Sheep, The Parable of the Lost Coin, and the Parable of the Lost Son. In the Parable of the Lost Sheep (v. 4-7), Jesus said:

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

Jesus most certainly used this part of the parable to describe his fundamental mission which was to find the “lost sheep” of this world and bring them back to his flock. This would then explain why he would associate with tax collectors and “sinners.” Jesus went on in the Parable of the Lost Coin to describe the diligence with which he searches for that which is lost; and, in the Parable of the Lost Son, to describe in the story of the younger brother the attitude of the father toward his younger son when this son decided to come home and, more to the point of parable, the attitude of the older brother, in contrast to that of the father. Jesus wanted the Pharisees and the teachers of the law to see a little of the older brother in themselves as they questioned Jesus’ mission to the lost, just as the older brother questioned his father’s response to the younger brother.

In Matthew 18:12-14, Jesus uses the same metaphor of leaving ninety-nine sheep to find the one that has wandered off. In this case, the “sheep” do not represent “tax collectors and ‘sinners’” as in Luke 15, but the “little ones” described in verse 10, referring most likely to the children in verses 1-9.  In the context of the passage in which Jesus is addressing  his disciples and their responsibilities to those to be put in their charge, Jesus assigns his mission to seek and save the lost to his followers. At the same time, he suggests that, in addition to seeking and saving those who have found themselves lost on their own account (such as the “sinners” in Luke 15), his followers, as shepherds of the flock, are to take care that they keep those in their charge—especially the most vulnerable—from becoming lost.

So that is our mission as followers of Jesus: To find those who are lost, and to keep those who are not lost, including ourselves I suppose, from becoming lost. We are to leave the ninety-nine in the open country or on the hills and find the lost. And, we are to expect rejoicing!




About Bill West
William Lewis West was born in San Luis Obispo, California on June 16, 1956. He now resides in Orange County, California. He has spent time with family—Mom and Dad, an older brother, two younger sisters. He has spent time with friends, playing more baseball and other sports than one man should be allowed to. He has gone to school—Spring View Elementary and Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California; Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (BS in Business), Cal State Fullerton (MBA), and Biola University (Masters in Diversified Biblical and Theological Studies from Talbot Theological Seminary). He has worked in the business world for approaching 30 years as a CPA and Chief Financial Officer. He has taught and preached the Gospel in many places (See “Appearances / Contact” page). He ponders relentlessly and writes, but somewhat less relentlessly.