The Bible Study Podcast, episode 446. Today, the Bible Study podcast continues the study of the

Gospel of Matthew with Chapter 18. Welcome to the Bible Study podcast. I'm your host, Chris Christensen.

We did verses 1 through 9 last week of

chapter 18, which had to do with millstones and not causing people to stumble and arguments

about who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And the chapter goes on like this,

the parable of the wandering sheep. See that you do not despise one of these little ones,

for I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my father in heaven. What do you

think? If a man owns a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the 99

on the hills and go look for the one that wandered off.

And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the 99 that did not wander off.

In the same way, your father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

Now, remember last week we talked about millstones. We talked about the warning to not cause

any of these little ones to stumble. And since we're talking about these little ones again,

this is a peril of thought. So don't cause them to stumble. It would be better if you had a millstone

wrapped around your neck and you were dropped in the depths of the sea,

because God cares for them.

God cares for them like a shepherd cares for that lost sheep.

The shepherd is used quite often as an illustration for God or for Jesus

because of this sort of thing, that the shepherd,

the good shepherd, cares for the sheep, and even that one out of 100, even the one who wanders

off, even when 99 are doing the right thing, even when 99 are in the right place,

that God, like that good shepherd, will chase after us, that God like that good shepherd will chase after us, that God

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