1Now all the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around to listen to Jesus.
2So the Pharisees and scribes began to grumble: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3Then Jesus told them this parable:
4“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?
5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders,
6comes home, and calls together his friends and neighbors to tell them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep!’
7I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent.