The Evangelical Universalist Forum

Who are the 100 sheep of Luke 15:4?

Luke 15:4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.”

Highly regarded Bible commentators tend to skip this. They usually say that the 99 sheep are the saved while the one was unsaved. But to me, the “1” was a member of the original flock of 100. (One said the 99 were the angels and the 1 was mankind…so Jesus left the angels to save mankind.)

Therefore my question is: Who are (were) the 100 original sheep?

Hm, thought I had approved this post already. I must have been going to and then got distracted, sorry? :confused:

In the parable, the angels are the neighbors rejoicing that the shepherd brought back the 100th sheep (and the housewife the 10th coin), so I doubt the sheep are supposed to be the angels with the 1 lost sheep a lost angel. Still, that would work for saving Satan I guess!

Lewis liked to speculate that the 99 represented unfallen creatures alien to Earth.

I expect the point is that God won’t settle for only a few lost.

Thank you, Jason. Yes, you did approve it but I edited it because I found a typo. (No need to publish this reply.)

–from the 3rd section of the 19th chapter of the 3rd book of Against Heresies, written circa A. D. 180 by St. Irenaeus of Lyons, who was a disciple of St. Polycarp of Smyrna, who was a disciple of St. John the Apostle

The Protestant site Got Questions had some interesting input at What is the meaning of the Parables of the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin?. Let me quote some parts of their answer, I found interesting.

Actually, it’s too your advantage for me to publish it, since this counts toward teaching the forum code you aren’t a spambot. :slight_smile: