Luke 15:1-10 - Lost & Found
- Alan Salwei
- 9 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Jesus wants you to keep looking for the lost.
Gospels: Week 4 - Kingdom Teaching and Parables
Luke 15:1–10 (NASB95)
1 Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. 2 Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
3 So He told them this parable, saying, 4 “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
8 “Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 “When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’ 10 “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Canons of Dordt
Point III/IV, Article 10: Conversion as the Work of God
The fact that others who are called through the ministry of the gospel do come and are brought to conversion must not be credited to man, as though one distinguishes himself by free choice from others who are furnished with equal or sufficient grace for faith and conversion (as the proud heresy of Pelagius maintains).
No, it must be credited to God: just as from eternity he chose his own in Christ, so within time he effectively calls them, grants them faith and repentance, and, having rescued them from the dominion of darkness, brings them into the kingdom of his Son, in order that they may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called them out of darkness into this marvelous light, and may boast not in themselves, but in the Lord, as apostolic words frequently testify in Scripture.
Summary
Luke 15 opens with a couple of parables, the Parable of the Lost Sheep and the Parable of the Lost Coin. The parables are spoken in response to the Pharisees and scribes doing what they are so often remembered for, grumbling over something Jesus did. This time they took issue with the way that Jesus was associating with people identified as “sinners”.
While we are all sinners, this label is used to describe a group of people who the rabbi’s generally believed that a person should not associate. This label of “sinners” was earned from their immorality or for those whose professions the rabbis viewed as incompatible with keeping the law.
Also named alongside these “sinners” were the tax collectors. Tax collectors were hated by the people because they worked on behalf of their Roman occupiers to collect taxes from their brethren. In many regards, tax collectors were seen as traitors to their own people.
Jesus associated with the very same people who were considered unworthy by the religious leaders of the day. To explain his actions and the shortcomings of the Pharisees and scribes, Jesus responds through parables.
Dig Deeper
In the Parable of the Lost Sheep, Jesus describes a flock of one hundred sheep being
tended to by a shepherd. One of the sheep is lost and the man must decide whether he goes after the sheep or abandons it. The suggestion is that any of these Pharisees or scribes would be willing to chase down a lost sheep that belonged to them, yet they fail to be willing to pursue a person who is spiritually lost.
In the second parable, the Parable of the Lost Coin, a woman loses one of her ten silver coins. These coins were more than currency; they were a lifeline in case something happened to her husband. This was her protection against becoming destitute and what she could use to start a new life.
These coins were important to her, if one was lost, she would put great effort into searching for it. Since homes typically had dirt floors, the search could be difficult. This involved sweeping around the home and using a lantern to see all the shadow covered parts of the house. And when this coin was finally found, she, like the shepherd, celebrated.
These parables show how even though others may look down on them, these people still mattered to God. The inclusion of even just one of these “sinners” in the kingdom of God is worthy of celebration.
Who is it that you have been overlooking? Who is it that you may have instinctually considered beyond the reach of God’s grace? Don’t make the same mistake as the Pharisees and scribes. Do not write anyone off as unredeemable. Think of someone you know that you consider far from God and spend time today praying for their salvation.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who sent His Son to seek us, His lost sheep;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will have the same drive to seek the lost that the shepherd and woman in Jesus' parables do;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Pray for the salvation of those who remain lost;
