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