18:12,13 How think ye? This illustration of the anxiety of the shepherd for lost sheep is used to show the deep interest that God feels in any one of the straying little ones (Mt 18:6,10).
If a man have an hundred sheep. The man having a hundred sheep is plainly the Son of God--the Good Shepherd. See Joh 10:11,14 Heb 13:20 1Pe 2:25 5:4.
18:12 Luke 15:4.
18:7-14 Considering the cunning and malice of Satan, and the weakness and depravity of men's hearts, it is not possible but that there should be offences. God permits them for wise and holy ends, that those who are sincere, and those who are not, may be made known. Being told before, that there will be seducers, tempters, persecutors, and bad examples, let us stand on our guard. We must, as far as lawfully we may, part with what we cannot keep without being entangled by it in sin. The outward occasions of sin must be avoided. If we live after the flesh, we must die. If we, through the Spirit, mortify the deeds of the body, we shall live. Christ came into the world to save souls, and he will reckon severely with those who hinder the progress of others who are setting their faces heavenward. And shall any of us refuse attention to those whom the Son of God came to seek and to save? A father takes care of all his children, but is particularly tender of the little ones.
