The Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin
August 13, 2022
Commentary
We find three parables in this chapter that reveal the love and concern Jesus has for sinful men and women (vv. 1-2). The Pharisees had a knowledge of the Old Testament Law and a desire for personal purity but they had no love for lost souls. Jesus attracted sinners while the Pharisees repelled them. In each story something is lost, the lost is found and there is great rejoicing because it is found.
- The lost sheep (vv. 3-7) – The sheep is innocently lost. The fact that the shepherd would leave the ninety-nine and go after the one sheep is proof that each animal was dear to him. The friends and neighbors were summoned because of the shepherd’s great joy when the sheep was found.
- The lost coin (vv. 8-10) – The coin is carelessly lost. It was lost at home. People may be members of good churches and still be lost and go to hell. When she found the coin, she too called her friends and neighbors together to rejoice with her.
- These two parables help us understand something of what it means to be lost spiritually. Sheep belong with the flock, coins belong on the chain and lost sinners belong in fellowship with God. Perhaps we would have more joy if we shared Jesus love and concern for the lost.
Application
I need to search for those who are lost and bring them to Christ. There are few, if any, joys that match the joy of finding the lost and bringing them to Christ.
Luke 15:1– 10 (NET)
1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and the experts in the law were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3 So Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Which one of you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go look for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 Then when he has found it, he places it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 Returning home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, telling them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent.
8 “Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search thoroughly until she finds it? 9 Then when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”
Illustration: A Severed Wasp describes Human Lostness (Luke 15:1)
A recent novel by Madeleine L’Engle is entitled “A Severed Wasp.” If you’re addressing young people or some other audience with strong stomachs, the title, which comes from one of George Orwell’s essays, offers a graphic image of human lostness. Orwell describes a wasp that “was sucking jam on my plate and I cut him in half. He paid no attention, merely went on with his meal, while a tiny stream of jam trickled out of his severed esophagus. Only when he tried to fly away did he grasp the dreadful thing that had happened to him.” The wasp and people without Christ have much in common. Severed from their souls, but greedy and unaware, people continue to consume life’s sweetness. Only when it’s time to fly away will they gasp their dreadful condition. (Madeleine L’Engle, A Severed Wasp).