LOST AND FOUND
Opening Prayer
Father in heaven, I am grateful that my security is sure in you. As I read your Word today, help me to discover new reasons to trust you, to stand firm in my walk with you.
Read LUKE 15:1–10
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I 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.
The Parable of the Lost Coin
8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins[a] and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Footnotes
- Luke 15:8 Greek ten drachmas, each worth about a day’s wages
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
‘… the joy of the Lord is your strength.’1 Take some time to remember and give thanks for joyful times in your journey with God.
Jesus was under intense scrutiny. Yes, he ate with Pharisees, but he also ate with those they detested. Worse still, Jesus appears to have hosted them himself; he did not just accept their invitations (v. 2). How could Jesus be holy, the Pharisees muttered, if he ate with those who were obviously not? Jesus answers them with the parables that follow. To the Pharisees, working as a shepherd meant you couldn’t both do your job and keep the Sabbath. Being told to imagine themselves as sinners who have lost a sheep was challenging. (As a hundred sheep is too many for one person, the shepherd was probably responsible for a flock belonging to a community.)
The sheep was probably missed just before they headed for home. Others took the flock back to the village (which is where the shepherd himself went in verse 6) while the shepherd went to seek the lost sheep. Separated from the flock, it was vulnerable. Perhaps walking in a wide perimeter around where the flock had been, the shepherd sought and found the sheep. Swinging it on his shoulders, he rejoiced because it was found. On his return, everyone gathered to rejoice that one of the community’s flock had been found. Similarly, the woman didn’t simply shrug her shoulders because she’d lost a silver coin. Investing time and energy to recover what was lost, she, too, rejoiced with her community when it was recovered.
The Pharisees are invited to understand that, like the shepherd and the woman, Jesus sees himself as responsible for seeking and finding those who are lost. That’s why he rejoices—that’s why heaven rejoices—when they’re found. Jesus suggests, with real irony, that the Pharisees lack that joy of being found (v. 7), because they haven’t realized that they, too, are lost.
Apply
In what ways is Jesus using you to seek those who are lost? How can he use you to show his loving care?
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, rescue and protect those who have wandered from you. Find those who are lost; bring them into your fold of love and safety.
1 Neh 8:10
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