The Parables of Christ Pt 8 – The Search That Never Stops –Lost Sheep and Coin
LUKE 15:1-10
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.
2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying,
“This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
3 So he told them this parable:
4 “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?
5 And 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 that was lost.’
7 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…
8 “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?
9 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.’
10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
The Offense Of The Open Table
In Jesus’ kingdom, holiness moves toward brokenness-not away from it.
Jesus isn’t compromising His character when He welcomes sinners He’s revealing God’s.
Every meal He shares with the marginalized is a sermon.
Every seat at His table is a declaration: God doesn’t avoid the broken—He comes looking for them.
Often We protect a version of holiness based on safety and sameness instead of reflecting a holiness that pursues and embraces.
The early Church changed the world because they embodied Jesus. The Jesus who sat at the table with sinners-who walked into the lives of the rejected and who refused to give up on the people others had written off.
The God Who Won’t Stop Searching
In both stories, Jesus makes something abundantly clear: The Search Is Not Optional.
The shepherd doesn’t stop and say “ninety-nine is enough.”
The woman doesn’t say “I’ve still got nine good coins.”
Jesus is describing a God who never stops the search.
“God is the great pursuer. He is not waiting for us to find Him—He is already in motion, finding us.” - Timothy Keller
“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” — Romans 5:8
The gospel doesn’t begin with our decision to seek God—it begins with God’s decision to seek us.
Heaven Throws a Party
When one lost person turns toward home heaven erupts in joy-The angels celebrate-The Father rejoices.
Earth celebrates strength—Heaven celebrates surrender.
Earth honors achievements—Heaven throws a party over repentance.
Earth discards the broken—Heaven runs to them, restores them, and rejoices over them.
If Heaven rejoices when one sinner repents, then that joy should echo in the Church, ripple through our communities, and move through our lives.
Found To Find, Loved To Love
“As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” — John 20:21
Everyone who has been found by grace is now called to carry that grace.
“God’s plan for reaching the world isn’t a program—it’s His people.”— Francis Chan
TABLE TIME:
As we engage in conversation, let Paul’s words to the Colossian church be our framework. Colossians 4:6, ‘Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.’
Jesus didn’t avoid those considered outcasts—He welcomed them.
What does His willingness to eat with “sinners and tax collectors” reveal about how we’re called to engage with those society often overlooks?
Why do you think Jesus emphasized individual stories of being found rather than large crowds being converted?
What does that tell us about the personal nature of God’s love?
God’s grace finds us before we even know we’re lost.
How does the idea of “prevenient grace”—that God seeks us first—shape the way you see salvation and your relationship with Him?
We’ve all had seasons of feeling lost.
Can you recall a time when you were the “one sheep” or the “lost coin”? How did God come after you in that moment?
Jesus paints a picture of a God who goes after the lost—He doesn’t sit back and wait—He gracefully pursues people.
How would it impact our daily interactions with others if we saw every person as someone God is pursuing with grace?
Sometimes we’re called to leave comfort for the sake of one.
Where in your life might God be nudging you to leave the “ninety-nine” to pursue healing, reconciliation, or someone who’s drifted?
PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER: