Comparing Matthew And Luke's Parable Of The Lost Sheep

Between Matthew and Luke’s separate accounts of the parable of the lost sheep, there are some striking differences. In Matthew’s account of the story, he precedes his writing with the narrative of the disciples asking Jesus who the greatest amongst them was. Jesus responds by telling them that one must first be as humble as a child before they can enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus then tells them that they “do not despise one of these little ones,” (ESV) because the Son of Man came to save the lost. He continues by telling the parable to His disciples, but Matthew records different aspects of it than Luke does. In Matthew’s writings, he ends his telling of the parable with God’s will not being that His children perish, but Luke ends his focusing on the rejoicing of heaven which takes place when a sinner repents. Aside from the rejoicing, Matthew mentions nothing of the Shepard’s actions once he has found the sheep, while Luke states that the man put the sheep on his shoulders, and called together his friends and neighbors to tell them the news of his finding. …show more content…
Both accounts of the parable are similar in content and in wording, even to the extent of sharing seven exact words at one point. Because they are so similar in content but have a few stark differences, analysis seems to be indicative of the Two-Source hypothesis. If Markan priority was in place and Matthew copied his document from Luke, it seems unusual that he would leave certain details out from his recording. Similarly, if Markan priority was in place and Luke copied his document from Matthew (Farrer Hypothesis), it still does not stand up to scrutiny due to the ordering of events in Luke’s gospel. Luke began his account of the parable after Jesus discusses the cost of discipleship with a