The 99 & The 1 vertical framed fine art print with 100 sheep in neutral tones. Ninety-nine painterly sheep gather in a soft grid on the composition, while Jesus finds the one lost sheep. A neutral palette of linen beige, cream, and earth tones wraps the parable in warmth.
"If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go in search of the one that is lost?"—Matthew 18:12
✦ Horizontal Version here
✦ Ready to Hang with pre-installed hanging wire. The Unframed option ships rolled in a protective tube
✦ Materials: archival fine art paper, giclée pigment inks, acrylic protective screen, handcrafted wood frame
✦ Made in the USA 🇺🇸
Proudly handcrafted in our Los Angeles art studio. Production time 2 business days.
✦ Easy Delivery
Free Shipping ✓ Protective Packaging ✓ 100% Insured ✓ Arrives in 3-4 business days after shipping ✓ Ships to All 50 States & Worldwide ✓ Zero Risk ✓
Art Details
The literal visual answer to the question Jesus poses in Matthew 18:12. The 99 & The 1 — Vertical renders the parable as a composition: ninety-nine painterly sheep stay safely gathered in a grid at the top of the page, while Jesus has descended to the open space below to meet the one. The vertical orientation was made for the walls that hold devotion quietly, prayer corners, entryways, bedside and headboard walls, nurseries, between-window vignettes, narrow hallway moments, gallery stacks of small framed scripture, and the small wall above a writing desk or reading chair, and pairs naturally with minimalist, farmhouse, modern coastal, Scandinavian, quiet luxury, classic, and contemporary interiors. This is the version most-gifted for return-to-faith and faith-renewal milestones, restoration after addiction or wandering, baptism and confirmation, the small framed reminder a sponsor gives to someone in recovery, a discipleship-mentor gift, a pastor's gift to a struggling congregant, a parent's prayer for a prodigal child, and the keepsake for a year that brought someone home. The Matthew 18 framing makes this specifically the restoration of a believer version of the parable, rather than the Luke 15 evangelistic version, a piece for homes where the parable is most often remembered as personal restoration rather than initial conversion.
- Subject: the Parable of the Lost Sheep, Matthew 18:12-14, the moment the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine to find the one, rendered as 99 painterly sheep above and the shepherd with the 1 below
- Style: conceptual composition, painterly hand-drawn sheep in a soft grid, single ivory shepherd figure below, generous negative space, contemplative modern devotional
- Palette: linen beige, cream, warm earth tones, soft ivory, gentle multi-tonal pastoral neutrals
- Orientation: vertical
- Best for: prayer corners, entryways, bedside and headboard walls, nurseries, between-window vignettes, narrow hallway moments, gallery stacks of small framed scripture, small walls above a writing desk or reading chair
- Material: archival fine art paper, giclée pigment inks, acrylic protective screen
- Frame: handcrafted wood, 1-inch depth. The Unframed option ships rolled in a protective tube without acrylic.
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Sizes: 8×10, 11×14, 18×24, and 24×36 inches
Custom size? email us!
help@christianmodern.shop - Frame finishes: Light Wood, Brown Wood, Gold, Black, or Unframed
- Made in: Los Angeles, California, USA
- Includes: pre-installed hanging wire, arrives ready to hang out of the box
- Most-gifted occasions: return-to-faith and faith-renewal milestones, restoration after addiction or wandering, baptism and confirmation, recovery-program milestones, sponsor and discipleship-mentor gifts, pastor's gift to a struggling congregant, parent's prayer for a prodigal child, prayer-team and intercessor gifts
Shipping, Exchanges, Returns & Trust
- Free shipping across all 50 US states and worldwide
- Production time: 2 business days, then 3 to 4 business days delivery
- 100% insured with protective packaging
- Exchanges and returns: accepted within 30 days of delivery for your peace of mind
For support in the rare case of delivery damage, email help@christianmodern.shop.
About Matthew 18 & "The Ninety and Nine"
The Parable of the Lost Sheep appears in two places in the Gospels, and the placement matters. In Luke 15, the parable opens a trilogy with the Lost Coin and the Prodigal Son, told in answer to Pharisees who muttered that Jesus ate with sinners and tax collectors, there the ninety-nine are the religious establishment and the one is the sinner being brought home. In Matthew 18:12-14, the parable is told to the disciples themselves, in the middle of Jesus's teaching on how the community of believers should care for "the little ones." Here the ninety-nine are believers who haven't wandered, and the one is a believer who has, a "little one" who matters so much that the Father is unwilling for even a single one to be lost. The composition of this piece: ninety-nine sheep gathered safely above and the shepherd descended to the one below, is the visual literal rendering of the parable. The Greek verb Jesus uses for "leaves" the ninety-nine, aphíēmi, carries the sense of letting go in order to seek something more precious, a stunning detail in a parable where the more precious thing is the one who wandered. The English Christian tradition remembers this parable through one of its great hymns, "The Ninety and Nine," written by Elizabeth Clephane in 1868 and made famous by Ira Sankey at Dwight L. Moody's revival meetings: "There were ninety and nine that safely lay in the shelter of the fold. But one was out on the hills away, far off from the gates of gold." This piece carries that hymn into the home, the safe fold above, the searched-for one below, and the Shepherd who has not stopped looking.
The Ninety and Nine Common Questions
What does Matthew 18:12 mean and what is "the 99 and the 1"?
Matthew 18:12-14 records the Parable of the Lost Sheep as Jesus tells it to His disciples: "If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray." The parable is told here in the middle of Jesus's teaching about how the community of believers should care for "the little ones" (Matthew 18:6, 18:10, 18:14). The ninety-nine in Matthew represent believers who haven't wandered; the one is a believer who has, someone whose restoration matters so much to the Father that the search is worth the leaving. The composition of this piece renders the parable visually: ninety-nine sheep stay gathered in a soft grid above, while the shepherd has descended below to meet the one. The Greek verb Jesus uses for "leaves," aphíēmi, carries the sense of letting go in order to seek something more precious, a stunning detail in a parable where the more precious thing is the one who wandered.
What is the difference between the Matthew 18 Lost Sheep and the Luke 15 Lost Sheep?
Both Matthew 18:12-14 and Luke 15:3-7 record the Parable of the Lost Sheep, but the placement and audience differ, and the difference matters. In Luke 15, Jesus tells the parable in answer to Pharisees who criticized Him for eating with sinners and tax collectors. There the ninety-nine are the religious establishment (or symbolic of them), and the one is the sinner being brought home for the first time. The parable opens a trilogy with the Lost Coin (Luke 15:8-10) and the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). In Matthew 18, by contrast, Jesus tells the parable to His own disciples, in the middle of teaching about how the community of believers should care for "the little ones." There the ninety-nine are believers who haven't wandered, and the one is a believer who has. The Matthew version is therefore the restoration-of-a-believer parable; the Luke version is the conversion-of-a-sinner parable. The verse anchor on this print is Matthew 18:12. The horizontal version of this piece carries the Luke 15:7 celebration verse instead.
Should I choose the horizontal, vertical, or canvas version of The 99 & The 1 Lost Sheep?
Three pieces share this 99-and-1 composition. Choose the vertical paper print (this piece) if the wall is narrow, tall, or vertically anchored, between two windows, in an entryway above a console, on a hallway wall, in a nursery, above a writing desk or reading chair, in a prayer corner, beside a bedroom door, or as part of a vertical gallery stack of small framed scripture. Choose the horizontal paper print if the wall is wide, above a sofa, mantel, headboard, sideboard, console, or behind a desk in a pastor's office or counseling office. Choose the 99 & The 1 canvas if you want the same composition at the larger above-sofa or church-wall canvas scale, gallery-wrapped in sizes up to 60x40 inches. The composition concept is identical across all three, ninety-nine sheep gathered, Jesus and the one below.
Is The 99 & The 1 Lost Sheep — Vertical a good return-to-faith, recovery, or "praying for a prodigal" gift?
Yes. The Matthew 18 framing of this parable, with the believer being restored rather than the unbeliever being found, makes it one of the most-given Christian Modern pieces for return-to-faith and faith-renewal milestones, restoration after addiction or wandering, baptism and confirmation, recovery-program milestones, sponsor and discipleship-mentor gifts, a pastor's gift to a struggling congregant, and a parent's prayer for a prodigal child. The 8x10 framed size makes a thoughtful sponsor or sobriety-milestone gift; the 11x14 framed size works beautifully in a prayer corner or above a small desk where a parent prays for a child; the 18x24 framed size stands well in an entryway marking a homecoming; the 24x36 framed size makes a graceful statement on a narrow wall as the visible reminder that the search has not been called off.
What is "The Ninety and Nine" hymn and how does it connect to this piece?
"The Ninety and Nine" is one of the great Christian hymns of the Parable of the Lost Sheep, written by Scottish poet Elizabeth Clephane in 1868 and set to music by Ira D. Sankey, the song leader at Dwight L. Moody's revival meetings in Edinburgh in 1874. The famous opening verse reads: "There were ninety and nine that safely lay in the shelter of the fold. But one was out on the hills away, far off from the gates of gold. Away on the mountains wild and bare. Away from the tender Shepherd's care." Sankey is said to have read the hymn from a newspaper clipping just before Moody asked him for a hymn to close a sermon on the parable, and he set it to music on the spot at the organ. It became one of the best-loved gospel hymns of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The composition of this piece, ninety-nine sheep gathered safely in the fold above, the one out beyond the negative space below, and the Shepherd descended to find it, is the visual companion to the hymn.
What kind of print is this and where is it made?
Each The 99 & The 1 Lost Sheep — Vertical framed fine art print is produced on archival fine art paper with giclée pigment inks rated to last 100+ years away from direct sunlight, set behind an acrylic protective screen inside a handcrafted wood frame at 1-inch depth. Light Wood, Brown Wood, Black, and Gold frames are available, plus an Unframed option that ships rolled in a protective tube. Light Wood and Brown Wood frame finishes pair especially well with the warm linen beige palette for a Scandinavian, Japandi, or modern-farmhouse prayer-corner presentation. Every piece is handcrafted in our Los Angeles, California art studio with a production time of 2 business days, then 3 to 4 business days delivery. Free shipping is included to all 50 US states and worldwide, and every order is 100% insured against transit damage.