A Tree and Its Fruit

“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Seeing the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd.

but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

A Hard Road Ahead of Them

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be as wary as serpents, and as innocent as doves.

But He said to them, “What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out?

How much more valuable then is a person than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Ninety-nine Plus One

“What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains, and go and search for the one that is lost?

And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;

and He will put the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left.

Then Jesus *said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’