Scripture Reading(s)
Luke 15:1-10
15:1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him.
15:2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
15:3 So he told them this parable:
15:4 “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?
15:5 When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices.
15:6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’
15:7 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.
15:8 “Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?
15:9 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.’
15:10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Reflections
What an awesome picture of love and joy that we see being portrayed by the one who is the giver of these things. God himself is joy and love, to hear Him say that He rejoices in us coming to Christ is a picture of just how far His love for us goes. Christ values His children far more then anything that we can ever put a price on. He longs to look for lost souls that are in need of saving.
This parable was told to not only teach the Pharisees a lesson about reaching out the lost, but this is also a lesson for the church to learn as well. Sometimes the Church fails to recognize that our mission is to reach lost souls. As Christians, we are placed here to help further the kingdom of God. Christ set the example of what it means to reach out to those who have never been exposed to the message of the Gospel. Jesus tells these two separate parables to drive the point home that we are to value those whom Christ has placed in our lives to reach out to.
Christ went even further in His love for us beyond a shepherd searching for his lost sheep and a woman looking for her lost coin. He went as far as giving up His life for us, suffering a violent death, so that we would not have to. Christ’s love and grace has gone to a place where no one has gone. He not only spared us physical death, but He saved us from Spiritual death. Our souls were at stake and He paid the ultimate sacrifice to save us. Just like a shepherd who walks miles till he finds his lost sheep and a woman who will not stop searching her house for that lost coin, Christ offered His very life to bring us back to Him.
Even more so, He rejoices in it and we too should rejoice in all that He has done for us.