Lost Sheep, Coin, & Son

Setting the Stage

Luke 15

What is the purpose of a parable?

This is a short story with a moral that was often expressed with imagery and a metaphor.

Why are tax collectors always lumped with sinners? What apostles was a tax collector?

Unlike today, you couldn’t simply write a check and mail it to the government to pay your taxes. A person literally came to your door to collect taxes from you in cash. They had 3 things against them:

No one likes paying taxes, so you naturally don’t like the person who collects them from you (same concept as Americans not liking IRS Agents.

They were collecting taxes on behalf of the Roman Government, which was a very oppressive group.

Many tax collectors were corrupt. They would often tell you that you owed more money than you really did, and they would keep the extra for themselves.

Who were the Pharisees?

“The Pharisees became a recognizable group on the landscape of Jewish culture in the second century BC, making their presence felt throughout the New Testament era.1 The Pharisees were a highly identifiable group during the time of Jesus given their distinguished leaders, distinctive habits of living, and regular meetings.” - The Baker Illustrated Guide to Everyday Life in Bible Times, p. 186

Who were the Scribes?

Lexham Theological Wordbook γραμματεύς

In first-century Jewish culture the scribes were experts in the law of Moses and often played an important role in the political sphere as well. They often appear along with the chief priests and Pharisees as religious leaders in the Gospels

Lost Sheep

Luke 15:4–7 ““What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 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 that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

What was a shepherd’s view of his sheep? How did he treat them?

Though not everyone in that time was a shepherd, it was a common enough lifestyle that everyone in that day understood what a shepherd did and his love for his sheep. They knew that if one sheep was missing, that shepherd would do whatever he could to find it. When it was found, there would be a lot of joy for the shepherd in that not only he made it back safely, but that the herd was made whole again.

The scribes and Pharisees would have understood the excitement that would come with a shepherd coming home with his lost sheet.

Lost Coin

Luke 15:8–10 ““Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And 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.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.””

What were these coins worth?

English Standard Version

Greek ten drachmas; a drachma was a Greek coin approximately equal in value to a Roman denarius, worth about a day’s wage for a laborer

If I were to lose a single day’s worth of pay, it would bother me. Let’s say that I make $12.50 per hour, and I work an 8 hour day. That means I got paid $100 for that day. If I get home, and I can’t find that $100, and I’m going to look for it, especially if I’m relying on it to live. I would dig through every pants pocket, look under every piece of clothing in the floor, and look in every corner. It might bother me enough that I end up telling those closest to me that I lost it and am looking for it. Once I find it, there’s a good change that I will be excited enough I’m going to call those people and let them know I found it. They will naturally be happy for me.

That’s the same type of joy that will be felt in Heaven.

Who is the one rejoicing in heaven?

It doesn’t say that the angels are rejoicing. It says there will be rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God. That means God is the One rejoicing!

Lost Son

Why is the Parable of the Lost Son better known to us than the Parable of the Lost Sheep or Parable of the Lost Coin?

I don’t know if I know the answer to that. However, this story seems to be more relatable to us. Maybe we have personally gone astray like this, or maybe we know someone who has gone astray like this. The one who is lost is portrayed as a human rather than an animal or a coin.

Imagine you have someone very special to you who was a Christian, they fall away, and then they come back to Christ. Imagine the joy that you would have. Imagine the celebration. That’s exactly what we would expect to happen. We can understand this better than a sheep or a coin that is found, though these parables are putting them in the same light.

What it All Means

While these parables have meaning independently, they have a much deeper meaning when viewed together.

In all three parables, there are three common characters:

The Lost: sheep, coin, son

The Seeker: shepherd, woman, father

The Rejoicers/those already safe: friends & neighbors, friends & neighbors, family & servants & brother

These three parables are all directed specifically at the scribes & Pharisees. While they teach that there is great rejoicing when a sinner is saved, what Jesus is really doing is pointing out the hypocrisy and sinful nature of the scribes & Pharisees.

In each parable, go back and put the scribes & Pharisees in the place of the Rejoicers. When an animal is lost and found, they are happy for their neighbor. When money is lost and found, they are happy for their neighbor. However, when a physical person is “lost” and comes back, they are the brother who gets mad about it.

Jesus was pointing out they put so much care and enthusiasm into the things that don’t matter. It’s great an animal comes back, and you should rejoice for that. It’s great when someone finds something material that they lost, and you should rejoice for that. But when someone you see as being beneath you and unworthy (i.e. lost) come back to their senses and comes home (i.e. saved), you get upset about it.