Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them." So he told them this parable: "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which 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 which 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. en Pericope.211 Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep 1.2 2004-11-28 National Council of Churches Revised Standard Version Sean Boisen SemanticBible.org application/rdf+xml Scripture verses taken from the Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version, copyright 1946, 1952, 1973 by the National Council of Churches of Christ. All rights reserved.