Matthew 18:11 Meaning and Explanation

This brief verse gives the reason behind everything Jesus has been saying about the little ones. The Son of man, His own title for Himself, has come to save that which was lost. The care for the small flows from the very purpose of His coming.

Here is the heart of the gospel in a single line. He did not come to gather the impressive but to seek and rescue the perishing. The lost are precisely those the world overlooks, and they are the ones He came for. This sets up the parable of the wandering sheep that follows, where the shepherd's love is shown in pursuit.