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.”
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
As Jesus taught, tax collectors and sinners drew near to Him. But the Pharisees and scribes grumbled and complained, incensed at Jesus’ association with sinners. Because of their attitude, Jesus responded using parables.
He presented the situation of a single lamb gone missing from a flock of one hundred. He asked, which shepherd wouldn’t leave the ninety-nine in order to go after the one that was lost until it was found? Then, when he finds it wouldn’t he rejoice with his friends because he has found the sheep that was lost? Jesus related this to the joy that is in heaven when one sinner repents over the ninety-nine righteous who need no repentance. In the context of the Pharisee’s response to Jesus’ association with sinners, the story is not talking about a wayward believer who returns. It is more likely that Jesus is talking about those sinners who have heeded the national call to repentance and have placed themselves under Jesus’ teaching in contrast to the Pharisees whose self-righteousness kept them from recognising their need for repentance.
Jesus told a second parable about a woman who had ten silver coins and lost one (a Greek drachma, roughly equivalent to a Roman denarius, about a day’s wage for a labourer). She diligently looked for the coin, moving everything and sweeping until she found it. Then, having found the coin she lost, she too rejoices with her friends. Jesus speaks of “joy before the angels” which strongly suggests the joy is from the Father Himself. This parable speaks of the value of the one who is lost and the effort that is expended in finding it. The Pharisees saw no value in those they deemed sinners and scorned them while Jesus expended great effort to reach them.
Every single person is of tremendous value to God and He has gone through the immense effort of reaching out to every one. Jesus gave up His glory in heaven in order to come down to earth, live as a man, and die in our place in order to return us to the Father. We must not make the mistake of considering ourselves too righteous to be part of God’s hands and feet in reaching sinners and bringing them to the Father. We are Pharisaical when we consider anyone beneath us and unworthy of being reached. When you consider that there is joy before the angels in heaven when a sinner is found, do you not want to be a part of bringing that joy to the Father?
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
Esther’s Banquets: Esther 5-6