Parable Of The Lost Coin: Summary, Meaning and Commentary

Once Lost, Now Found

The old hymn Amazing Grace makes me think of the Parable of the Lost Coin because I was once hopelessly lost and it would take the supernatural work of God to find me because I was so blind and groping in the dark at one time.  It took the Holy Spirit to awaken me to the grace of God and so I never found God…He found me.  The old hymn didn’t say that God was found but “I was lost but now am found.”  The truth is “no one understands; no one seeks for God” (Rom 3:11).  “God looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God” (Psalm 53:2) and none do and “All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one” (Rom 3:12).  This may be part of what this parable is saying.  The coin didn’t find the woman nor did the coin seek the woman but it was the woman who found the coin but not until she swept and searched every nook and cranny of the house.  This shows that God is the One Who seeks those who are lost and that grace is not a result of our own effort (Eph 2:8-9) but a result of God’s blood being shed for us at Calvary.

The Context of the Parable

Jesus had just been addressing the Pharisees and the scribes who had been grumbling that He always associated with sinners (Luke 15:1-2).  They were angry that Jesus didn’t separate Himself from them and said “This man receives sinners and eats with them” (Luke 15:2).  I for one am grateful that He received sinners or I would be hopelessly lost. The religious leaders just didn’t get it.  They couldn’t see because they were blinded by their own self-righteousness.  They couldn’t see the “Light of the World.”  They had no clue about why Jesus came.  They were still in darkness.  They believed it was by race and not by grace (Matt 3:9).  That’s the context of the parables of the Lost Sheep, the Prodigal Son, and the Parable of the Lost Coin which we will now take a close look at.

Lighting the Lamp

When the woman in this parable lost one of her 10 coins, she cared enough to make every effort in finding it. She would do anything it took to find it.  As Jesus said “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” (Luke 15:8).  Jesus may be saying that there is value in even one lost coin and even though she still had 9 silver coins left, she drops everything to search “diligently until she finds it.”  Here is evidence I believe that it is God Who is the One Who seeks those who are lost.  Her lighting the lamp may be symbolic of Jesus being the light of the world as He said “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12) and this life leads to eternal life.

Joy in Heaven

When the woman finds the coin, what does she do?  “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.’  Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:9-10).   I have had the great privilege of leading some to saving faith in Christ and after this happens, I am walking on air.  I can’t tell you what this feels like because it is just too amazing to put into words.  There is no feeling in the world like that, I can assure you.  I can understand what this woman felt like because when she found the coin, she couldn’t contain her joy.  She had to tell someone so she “calls together her friends and neighbors, saying ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’”  This is exactly the type of joyous celebration that occurs in heaven every single time “one sinner…repents.”  That is why Jesus says that “there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”  Notice it was joy not over one sinner who was saved or over one who confessed Jesus as Lord but over the one who repented, showing that repentance is absolutely necessary for salvation.

Conclusion

When Jesus first entered into His earthly ministry, He said “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).  John the Baptist’s ministry started out much the same was as Jesus did as when John “saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matt 3:7-8).  Never was it said that a person was saved first and then repented or that a person was baptized first and then saved.   It must be repentance and faith.  They are two sides of the same coin.  This is the coin that was sought and found.  That is exactly why Jesus says “there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).  Have you?

Another Reading on Patheos to Check Out: What Did Jesus Really Look Like: A Look at the Bible Facts

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book  Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon