Of Sheep, Coins and Sons

In Luke 15 Jesus tells three parables to illustrate to his listeners the value of saving “lost souls”.

There are three strains in this text. We commonly think about the lost things… the sheep, the coin and the son but there are also the three who are looking for the lost… the shepherd, the woman and the father.

The third strain are the things not lost… the 99 sheep, the 9 coins and the other son.

The lost sheep didn’t want to be lost and the other sheep in the flock community would have worried about the lost sheep. A lost sheep loses the security of the flock and is susceptible to all sorts of predation. If the sheep was not found it would quickly be killed. Therefore there was great rejoicing from the shepherd and the rest of the flock.

The lost coin and the other coins had no feelings about being lost. The only one in this scenario was the woman. She had lost 10% of her savings. Maybe she was a widow and every penny was valuable. For comparisons sake 10% of her earnings also represented what she owed God in the form of tithing. Her reaction of losing the coin was very understandable.

The audience (Pharisees and teachers of the law) would understand these plain truths but now Jesus has to make a connection with “lost people”.

Both the Shepherd and the woman searched and searched until they found what was lost. The father however did not search for what he had lost which was far more valuable than a sheep or a coin. He only had two sons and now one was gone and he probably already knew where his son was.

In a small country it’s not hard to keep up with the news especially when its bad news. At any time he could have found his lost son and grabbed him by the ear and drug him back home. But he knew if it was not his lost sons own decision that he was bound to lose him again. The only way to keep his son forever was for the lost son to truly reflect on his choices and come to the realization that he had made a serious error.

The lost son knew and felt that his actions were so despicable that his righteous father could never truly forgive him and only hoped that he could live under his fathers household as a servant… continually marked and branded as the “unfaithful son” who had messed up his own life.

The lost son made another mistake… he didn’t understand true love and didn’t really know his own father… the “Pharisees and Teachers of the Law” didn’t understand true love either and certainly did not know Jehovah God very well.

The big brother didn’t understand it either. He probably would have taken his kid brother back under certain conditions… certainly not full restoration and rejoicing.

Jesus told these parables to correct common human thinking and in that correction help them understand compassion, patience and godliness.

Never ever give up on the lost no matter how horribly they might have sinned. Be patient like the father was patient with his “lost son” and maybe… just maybe that lost person will turn and you will be watching for that change of heart so you too can demonstrate incredible love.