2. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to complain: “Look! This man welcomes sinners and even eats with them!”
3. Then Jesus told them this story:
4. “Suppose one of you has 100 sheep, but he loses 1 of them. Then he will leave the other 99 sheep alone and go out and look for the lost sheep. The man will keep on searching for the lost sheep until he finds it.
5. And when he finds it, the man is very happy. He puts it on his shoulders
6. and goes home. He calls to his friends and neighbors and says, ‘Be happy with me because I found my lost sheep!’
7. In the same way, I tell you there is much joy in heaven when 1 sinner changes his heart. There is more joy for that 1 sinner than there is for 99 good people who don’t need to change.
8. “Suppose a woman has ten silver coins, but she loses one of them. She will light a lamp and clean the house. She will look carefully for the coin until she finds it.
9. And when she finds it, she will call her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Be happy with me because I have found the coin that I lost!’
10. In the same way, there is joy before the angels of God when 1 sinner changes his heart.”
11. Then Jesus said, “A man had two sons.
12. The younger son said to his father, ‘Give me my share of the property.’ So the father divided the property between his two sons.
13. Then the younger son gathered up all that was his and left. He traveled far away to another country. There he wasted his money in foolish living.
14. He spent everything that he had. Soon after that, the land became very dry, and there was no rain. There was not enough food to eat anywhere in the country. The son was hungry and needed money.
15. So he got a job with one of the citizens there. The man sent the son into the fields to feed pigs.