NOW THE TAX collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. 2But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3Then Jesus told them this parable: 4“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
8“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Original Meaning
IN A SERIES of three parables in Luke 15, Jesus defends his involvement with the lost. This unit can be separated into two parts: two short parables (vv. 1–10) and a longer one (vv. 11–32). Our Lord explains how heaven rejoices at the arrival of one lost sinner back into the house of God. This hope drives Jesus to pursue the lost, to look for them as one would a lost sheep or coin. The parables also explain why Jesus urges those alongside the prodigals to receive them with open arms in hope, rather than with doubt, jealousy, or bitterness. God calls us to pursue the lost. The hope of the parables is that in seeking the lost we will find some and lead them back to him.
God is committed to finding the lost, as this chapter explains. Jesus deals with the contrast between this divine attitude and the temptation among many believers to ignore the lost. Jesus once again chooses the scribes and Pharisees as the foil for his comparison. They cannot believe that he is spending so much time receiving sinners and eating with them. Such table fellowship represents an absence of the separation they think righteousness demands. Jesus argues, however, that the call of God demands time be spent seeking the lost.1
Verses 3–10 consist of two parables: the lost sheep (vv. 3–7) and the lost coin (vv. 8–10). These two set up the more developed parable of the forgiving father (vv. 11–32). The links between the passages are the themes of “lost” and “found” and “rejoice” (vv. 6, 9, 24, 32).2 Luke consistently raises the issue of associating with sinners (5:29–32; 7:36–50; 19:1–10). All these texts drive toward Jesus’ commission statement in 19:10.
Anyone who has ever searched for something lost knows how maddening it is to look for it and not find it. That frustration underlies this text. Jesus’ first story fits the agrarian and pastoral setting of Palestine. A shepherd counting a hundred sheep comes up one short. The flock belongs to an owner of modest means (the average flock ran anywhere from twenty to two hundred head).3 It is possible that the owner and the shepherd are the same person, since there is no watchman to help him.
The shepherd goes to look for the lost animal. We are not told if he leaves the rest of his flock with neighbors, though that is likely in the natural understanding of the situation, for he would hardly put the ninety-nine at risk for one sheep. On the other hand, sometimes parables are intentionally surprising, and the twist may be a part of the drama. If so, then Jesus is saying that finding the one is so important that he is willing to take such a risk. The hunt is successful when he finds the lost animal, not shred to bits by some wild animal, but alive and well. The shepherd rejoices at finding his valuable sheep.
The note of joy fits the cultural context, since such animals had commercial value. But Jesus’ point is not a self-serving one about recovery of lost property, but a comparison of the effort the shepherd makes to recover the lost sheep with his own effort at evangelism. The imagery looks to the Old Testament and to God’s tender care of us (Isa. 40:11; 49:22).4 The model of God’s care should be our model in relating to the lost.
The recovery of the lost sheep leads to shared joy. The shepherd calls his friends and neighbors to celebrate the recovery of his animal. Here is a picture of God’s heart and joy at the turning of one sinner back to him. “In the same way,” says Jesus, “there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous who do not need to repent.”5 Jesus searches for sinners because heaven rejoices at their recovery.
The second image is similar. This time a woman hunts for a lost coin. The “silver coin” that is in view here is equal to a denarius or a day’s wage for an average worker. It is a modest sum. Her search takes time and effort. She lights a lamp, sweeps the room, and searches carefully until she finds the coin. When she does, she is as excited as the shepherd was. She also calls her neighbors to celebrate with her. Again, this is a picture of heaven’s joy at a sinner’s repentance.
These parables are among the simplest stories of Jesus, communicating both truth and emotion. God wants servants who understand his heart to restore sinners. In both cases, the search takes work. In both cases what is searched for seems, on the surface, to be a modest object. In fact, the search becomes a priority. Yet in both cases, the recovery of what was lost leads to rejoicing with others. This imagery underscores God’s desire for disciples to share the goal of winning the lost back to him. Note that the focus is on the joy at the recovery of a sinner, not on the fact that Jesus is the only one to do it. That is why the parable begins, “Suppose one of you.…” By telling the story this way, the listener is brought into the story as the shepherd. Jesus is training other disciples after him to do as he has been doing.
Bridging Contexts
THE ATTITUDE EXPRESSED here is fundamental to the church’s accomplishing its mission. God does not want believers to isolate themselves from the world to such a degree that they never relate to the lost. Jesus was constantly out among people, especially people who did not know God. Though some grumbled that he had the wrong associations, Jesus knew why he was building such relationships. He knew that something might develop to influence a person who did not know God to consider him more seriously. People like Matthew or Zacchaeus were discovered this way.
Another feature that bridges the centuries is Jesus’ implicit rebuke of the approach of the Pharisees. They kept their distance from sinners and refused to accept a spiritual leader who seemed to love and associate with them. Jesus challenges their attitude—not only in his ministry but especially in his death for the lost, which restores sinners to relationship with God. At the heart of the gospel is God’s reaching out to the sinner and making provision for their forgiveness.
It is easy to dismiss as insignificant the variety of people whom our culture has cast aside or views with contempt. People who suffer from debilitating diseases like AIDS or people on welfare (often viewed as leeches on society) are modern equivalents to the tax collectors and sinners of Jesus’ world. Jesus pursued these very people with such vigor that the religious community of the first century questioned his character. But these parables explain why this pursuit meant so much to him. He knew that rescue was possible, and love compelled him to rescue the perishing. If Jesus’ attitude and perspective possesses such a theology of lost persons, so should ours. We are called to action, because we appreciate just how much heaven wants us to search for those who are lost.
Contemporary Significance
THIS PASSAGE SAYS much about the heart of God in engaging those who are not interested in him. He cares enough for them to go looking for them, even when they have stayed away consciously. We should be like raiders in search of great treasure, only the treasure we seek are the lost souls of vulnerable sheep. The search is not always easy, but the joy at the end makes the effort worth the cost.
Believers should be engaging the lost in meaningful relationships. Often in the church, however, I see the opposite. We withdraw from the multitudes for fear of compromising our testimony. As a result, there is no one around to testify to! Evangelism requires time and energy, like the shepherd’s and woman’s search, in order to capture the lost. Some searches even take years, but our Lord calls us to get out among people and build the relationships that allow us to draw others to God.
In our fast-moving and busy culture, developing such relationships can be hard. The best opportunities come from work, school contacts, and neighbors. In each case opportunities exist that can lead to deeper relationships. One member of our church had a creative idea to meet unbelievers. He and his wife home-schooled their children and also were active in the church, a combination that made finding, much less pursuing, the lost difficult. They decided to have a “Who Are Those Guys?” party. They invited their neighbors over for ice cream and a cookout. Whoever wanted to come and meet the people they lived next to but rarely got to know could do so. They now hold the get-togethers periodically in order to build relationships with the people God has placed them next to. That type of initiative is good example of how to apply this text about searching for the lost.
Lunches at work provide another opportunity. Over a period of weeks, months, or even years, we can build relationships where we communicate in a caring way that we are praying for fellow employees. There are numerous possibilities for evangelistic contact, once we commit ourselves to look for opportunities. Jesus calls us to be on the lookout for the lost, just as he was, and to be prepared to take the initiative in helping them find their way home to God.