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PART V: THE LOST FOUND
CHAPTER 22
THE LOST COIN FOUND
Introduction
The Parable of the Lost Coin Found is recorded only in
Luke 15:8-10.
The Story
"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? And when
she finds it, she calls her friends and
neighbors together and says, `Rejoice
with me; I have found my lost coin.' In
the same way, I tell you, there is
rejoicing in the presence of the angels
of God over one sinner who repents."
(Luke 15:8-10, New International
Version).
The lost silver coin mentioned here is the Greek
drachma, which was equal to the Roman denarius, and worth
about 20 cents today. However, it had the purchasing power
of about 20 dollars today, equal to about a day's wages then.
[WESLEYAN BIBLE COMMENTARY (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press),
LUKE, by Ralph Earle, pp. 293-4].
The coin was probably worth more than its face value,
because it was the custom of a married woman to wear 10 coins
on a silver chain as a headdress, similar to our use of a
wedding ring. These coins could not be taken away from her
to pay a debt. (Barclay, DAILY STUDY BIBLE SERIES, LUKE, pp.
209 ff.).
The typical Palestinian peasant's house of Jesus' time
was very dark, lit only by one circular 18 inch window. The
floor was packed dirt, covered by dry reeds and rushes.
(Barclay, DAILY STUDY BIBLE SERIES, LUKE, pp. 209 ff.). So,
a lamp would probably be needed to search for a small coin,
even in the daytime.
The lost coin was very valuable to the lady who lost it.
So she would carefully remove the dry reeds and
systematically sweep the dirt floor, looking for the coin
aided by the light of an oil lamp. She searches UNTIL she
finds it. After finding the precious coin, she would call
her friends and neighbors to rejoice with her. Jesus
parallels this story to the rejoicing of the angels in heaven
when one sinner repents.
The Interpretation
The symbols in the story and the reality they represent
are:
1. The woman Jesus
2. The lost coin A lost person (sinner)
3. The lamp The Word of God
4. Friends and Neighbors Angels
5. The house The inhabited earth
The woman searches the house carefully UNTIL she finds her
lost coin. Jesus pursues the lost sinner UNTIL he finds him.
Central Truth
GOD LOVES THE SINNER.
Conclusion
When some people did not welcome Jesus, James and John
asked Jesus, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from
heaven to destroy them?" (Luke 9:54, New International
Version). Jesus then rebuked them. Jesus came to save
sinners, not destroy them:
But God demonstrates his own love for us
in this: While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8, New
International Version).
We must love the sinner as Jesus did. We must not REACT
to abuse, with more abuse. We must ACT when abused, with
love. Jesus came to save the lost. That is our mission, too.
END