Untitled Sermon

Luke 15:8 NASB95

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?

The Parable Of The Lost Coin

Luke 15:8-10

“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” (Luke 15:8-10, NASB). 

This parable is the second of four parables told by Jesus in response to some scribes and Pharisees criticizing him. They criticized him because he sat and ate with tax collectors and sinners. These were the kind of people the scribes and the Pharisees believed Jesus should not hang around. I contend that there are four parables told by Jesus in Luke 15 because there were four things talked about that were lost. There was a lost sheep (Luke 15:1-7), a lost coin (Luke 15:8-10), a lost son who left home (Luke 15:11-24), and a son who was lost at home (Luke 15:25-32). The Parable of the Lost Coin is connected to the Parable of the Lost Sheep. We know this because of verse eight opening with the word “Or.”

Jesus kept pressing the issue of lostness to the scribes and the Pharisees to show their lost condition and to show that he came into the world to save people like the tax collectors and sinners. Tax collectors and sinners knew they needed Jesus. That is why they came near him to hear what he had to say. Scribes and Pharisees needed Jesus but they did not know they needed him. The lesson to be learned from this parable is that God searches for the lost. He loves the lost so much that he takes the initiative in looking for them. He rejoices when the lost repent and come to him. He rejoices when the lost turn from their sins and turn to him.  

I. The Worth, 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?”

The lost coin was no longer in the possession of the woman. It fell some place where she could not find it at the moment. She lost control of something that was once in her possession. The coin had fallen from the grasp of the possessor. Therefore, the possessor no longer had control over it. This is a picture of the fact that there are many Christians who were at some point in time faithfully serving the Lord and his church. However, they have slipped from the Lord’s control. They are now lost from service. 

You can see in verse eight that the woman had ten silver coins and she lost one. This loss brought her pain. This is why she lit a light and swept the house and searched carefully until she found it. The idea of lighting a lamp is that of igniting a vessel that has a wick that is fueled by oil. The lamp is portable so that it can be carried throughout the house in an effort to find the lost coin. 

You can see in verse eight that the woman searched carefully until she found the lost coin. The word “sweep” (saroo) means the woman used a broom to brush off dirt. She cleaned the house looking for the lost coin. The idea of the word “carefully” (epimelos) is that of diligently or thoroughly cleaning the house. This means the woman was attentive to every area of the house in her search of the lost coin. She stayed on the lookout for the lost coin. She stayed on the lookout for the lost coin because of what it meant to her.

This lost silver coin was a drachma. It was important because the worth of it was about a day’s wages. The coin was not less in value because it was lost. It was valuable but it was out of circulation. The woman was in possession of the coin because she had invested a full day’s work in the coin. The coin was still worth a day’s pay even while it was lost. 

Since the coin was one of ten coins, we could say that it was the woman’s tithe. It had spiritual value for the woman. It spoke of her love for God. The coin was sanctified. It was set apart for the Lord’s use. Despite being of worth, it was out of place. 

The coin was also of worth because of its quality. It was one of ten coins. It would have been of less value to the possessor if it had been one of many coins that was lost. The less you have the more valuable each thing becomes. The loss of one coin out of a million coins is not really felt. It would take a long time to discover the absence of one coin out of a million. The loss of one coin out of ten is felt immediately. The pain of this woman was immediate because she lost one out of ten coins. 

We should learn from verse eight that the loss of service of just one is valuable to God. The service of that one cannot be replaced because that spiritual gift of the one is valuable to the kingdom of God. No one can take the place of another. We can only do what God has assigned to us. No one can fill the gap God assigned you to fill. No one can use the spiritual gift God has given you. 

This lost coin was also of worth because it bore the image of the king. It was the image of the king that made the coin worth circulating. The picture here is that we as citizens of the kingdom of God bear the image of our King. Our King’s name is Jesus. He wants to circulate us throughout the world. 

II. The Waste, 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?”

The lost coin was a waste as long as it was lost. It did nothing to bless the woman or the world as long as it was lost. Anything the woman wanted to do with the coin was left undone as long as the coin was lost. There was much God could have done with the scribes and Pharisee if they had just made themselves available to be used by him. 

The coin’s worth did not change while it was lost. However, its usefulness did change. It held no worth to the woman while it was lost from service. It did not have the potential for purchasing the necessities of life while it was lost. It was a waste while it was lost. We should notice that the coin was lost in the darkness and the dust. 

Floors in that day were made of dirt. There were no windows in houses. This is why the lamp was so important in finding the lost coin. It was important for this coin to be found before the silver started to turn dark like the dirt of the floors. The longer it laid in the dirt, the more like the dirt the color would become.   

There are many people who are lost from service because they are in darkness and dust. There is no light of the word of God lighting them. They live in the dirt and dust of sin. The scribes and the Pharisees were a waste to Jesus despite their religious knowledge. They were a waste to Jesus because they rejected him and his teachings of the kingdom of God. 

Saved people become a waste to God when lost from service. God wants to spend every child of God so that glory and honor can be brought to his name. We cannot be spent when we are lost from service. We can be assured that God will not waste us on senseless and petty things. He will spend us to edify humanity and glorify himself.   

III. The Wishes, 9-10.

“And 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.”

We know this woman had wishes for the lost coin because of how she searched for it until she found it. It is apparent that the woman had such great wishes for the lost coin that she disturbed the house to find it. She turned things upside down until she found the coin. Her wishes were so great for the coin that she searched for it personally. Putting the coin back in use was the wish of the woman.

This lost coin lacked the power to find itself, just like it lacked the power to lose itself. It had to be sought. Although the coin was lost, it was not hopelessly lost. It was out of the sight of the woman. However, the woman remembered she had it. The coin was lost in the house. The coin was not lost on the street or in the field. There are people who are saved but they are of no service to God. They are lost from service. 

Unlike this coin, many Christians plan to get lost from service. They plan to quit their God-given places of service. It is one thing to be saved from sin’s penalty, and it is another thing to be ready for service. Most church members are saved from sin’s penalty, but most of them are not ready for service. When the woman found the coin, she rejoiced. She rejoiced because of the joy the lost coin brought to her. She also called her friends in to rejoice with her. The joy over the lost coin being found pictures the joy going on in heaven when a sinner repents.  

There is joy in the presence of the angels of God when we agree with God concerning our faults and failures. 

There is joy in the presence of the angels of God when we take part with God against ourselves.

There is joy in the presence of the angels of God when we justify God in all that He does against us.

There is joy in the presence of the angels of God when we are ashamed and confounded for our sins.

There is joy in the presence of the angels of God when we begin over again in devotion to the better things we should have done. 

There is joy in the presence of the angels of God when we weep when we look at things in the past.

Without repentance, there can be no pardon. I want to encourage us to repent and allow Jesus to fill up our life. One writer said that if you are house hunting, you would only seek to enter an empty one. If the house was full and occupied by people, you would not dare try to get in. That is exactly what Satan does. He looks for empty houses. They may be clean, but if God is not within us, having made us his temple, we can be sure the devil is going to occupy us.

8:00 and 9:30 Worship, November 22, 2020

The Parable Of The Lost Coin

Luke 15:8-10

"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] "And 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" (NASB).

The fifteenth chapter of Luke gives a picture of the love and care of the Trinity for humankind. In the parable of the lost sheep, the shepherd represents Jesus coming into the world as the Good Shepherd. In this parable of the lost coin, the Holy Spirit is pictured by the woman finding the lost coin and putting it back into service. In the parable of the lost sons, God the Father is pictured in the father seeking to restore his sons to the family.

I. It Was Lost, 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?"

The lost coin had fallen from the grasp of the possessor. Therefore, the possessor no longer had control over it. It is sad to say, but there are many Christians who once faithfully served the Lord and his church, but they have slipped from the Lord's control.

The coin fell from the woman's hand or purse quickly, but the pain felt by the woman was ongoing. The pain was ongoing because she was without its use. She could not get any service from it.

This lost coin lacked the power to find itself. It had to be sought. Although the coin was lost, it was not hopelessly lost. It was out of sight but not out of mind.

It is worth noting that the coin was not lost on the street or in the field. It was in the house, but it was lost. It was near but of no service to the possessor. There are people who are saved but they are of no service to God. They are lost from service. Unlike this coin, many Christians plan to get lost from service. They plan to quit their God-given places of service.

It is one thing to be saved from sin's penalty, and it is another thing to be ready for service. Most church members are saved from sin's penalty, but most of them are not ready for service.

II. It Was Valuable, 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?"

The coin that was lost was about a day's wages. This means that a full day's work was invested in the coin. This coin was one of ten coins in the possession of the woman. This made the one coin her tithes. This made the coin sanctified. It was set apart for the Lord's use.

The coin was also valuable because it was one of ten coins and not one of ten thousand. The more coins we have, the less value we place on one. For example, if you have a million dollars, the less valuable one dollar is to you because you still have nine hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine dollars left. However, if you only have ten dollars, one dollar is certainly missed when you lose it.

This lost coin keenly affected the woman. It was a loss that could not be replaced. She could get another coin, but she could not make up for that lost one. This is why this parable is so valuable to the church.

Any person who is lost from service cannot really be replaced in the eyes of God. This is so because you can never replace the service that person could give. No one can do the service God has called and gifted you to do. We can only take our place, not the place of someone else. We may sit where they once sat, but we cannot use the gift God has given them.

The coin was also valuable because it bore the image of the king. When we are saved, we bear the image of our King. He makes us fit for circulation for the good of his kingdom.

Although the coin was lost, it did not lose its value. This is why the woman sought to recover it. A saved person may not feel of value to anyone, but he or she is valuable to God.

III. It Was Useless, 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?"

As stated earlier, the lost coin did not lose its value. What it did lose was its usefulness to the possessor. It did not lose its monetary value. However, it was of no value to the possessor. The coin held the potential to provide the possessor with the necessities of life. But while lost, it could not fulfill its potentialities.

As long as the coin was not in the hand or purse of the woman, it was lost to all the good it might do. It does not matter how valuable a thing might be, if it is buried in the earth or the sea, all the good it might do is lost.

Once we have been saved, we are useless to God if we are not brought under the control of the Holy Spirit. If he cannot use us for service, we are as useless as this lost coin.

We can be assured that when we come under the control of the Holy Spirit, he will spend us wisely. He will not waste us on senseless and petty things. He will spend us to edify man and glorify God.

Because the coin was lost, the purpose of its possessor was frustrated. Those things the possessor had planned to do with the coin were left undone.

IV. It Was Sought For Carefully, 9-10.

"And 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."

When the woman looked for the lost coin, she lit a candle and swept the house to find it. She did this because the coin was lost in the darkness and the dust. Houses in that day did not have very many windows nor carpeted floors. The floors were dirt floors. This made the candle and the sweeping a necessity to find the coin.

People are lost from service for the same reasons the coin was lost. They are in darkness and dust. They live without the light of God's word and they live in the dirt and dust of sin. Although they are lost in the darkness and dust, they are not forgotten.

This woman did not allow the darkness nor the dust to keep her away from the lost coin. The coin was lost from service and she was determined to find it. She disturbed the house to find it. The Holy Spirit often disturbs us to bring us to usefulness to God.

The coin was sought for with diligence by the woman. The words "search carefully" (epimelos) mean diligently. They literally mean to turn things upside down. She still claimed stewardship of the coin. Although she lost possession of it, she did not lose the right to it. Not once did this woman claim to be owner of this coin, she was a steward of it. She referred to it as "the coin which I had lost."

This woman had hopes of finding the lost coin so she kept up her hopes of finding it. She did not send someone else to look for it, she sought it personally. Finding the coin and putting it to use again was the chief concern of the woman. She moved any and everything that separated her from the coin. She did not stop until she found it.

When the coin was found, the woman rejoiced. She also called her friends in to rejoice with her. The joy over the lost coin being found pictures the joy going on in heaven when a sinner repents.