In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus uses a sheep in the parable of the lost sheep.
Matthew 18 describes a shepherd with one hundred sheep. When one wanders away, the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine on the mountains and searches for the lost one. Finding it brings greater joy than the ninety-nine that did not go astray.
Jesus applies the image to the value of the “little ones” and says that it is not the Father’s will that any of them should perish. The parable appears in a different setting in Luke 15, where it introduces a series of stories about seeking and recovering what is lost.
The two Gospel versions share the central image but differ in context and wording. In Matthew, the surrounding discussion emphasizes care for vulnerable members of the community rather than simply presenting a general story about repentance.