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One Sheep
Luke 15:1 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.
Luke 15:2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”
Luke 15:3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying:
Both sinners and Pharisees alike were to hear and apply this parable. The word parable occurs only once in this chapter, perhaps pointing to one parable with three connected parts.
In each story something is lost: (1) a sheep; (2) a shekel; and (3) a son.
In each case, the lost object is found and produces rejoicing.
The sheep is innocently lost, the coin carelessly lost, but the son willfully lost.
The percentage of loss grows in each case from one out of a hundred, to one out of ten, to one out of two.
Luke 15:4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninetynine in the wilderness, and go aer the one which is lost unl he finds it?
The sheep is an exceedingly dumb animal, seemingly not having much sense.
As such, it is sometimes used to picture the lost spiritual condition of people Here are some examples in scripture.
Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Jeremiah 50:6 “My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray; They have turned them away on the mountains. They have gone from mountain to hill; They have forgotten their resting place.
Matthew 9:36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
1 Peter 2:25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
This parable tells of a shepherd going out in search of one lost sheep while he leaves ninety-nine safely in the fold.
It is almost a universal human characteristic to go after that which one loses. Jesus sees the plight of lost sinners and goes to seek and to save , while the Pharisees care little about lost sinners.
Luke 15:5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
Having found the sheep, he laid it on his shoulders and took it to his home. This suggests that the saved sheep enjoyed a place of privilege and intimacy that it never knew as long as it was numbered with the others.
Luke 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 which was lost!’
The shepherd summoned his friends and neighbors to rejoice with him over the salvation of the lost sheep. This speaks of the Savior’s joy in seeing a sinner repent.
Luke 15:7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
The lesson is clear: There is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, but there is no joy over the ninety-nine sinners who have never been convicted of their lost condition.
Verse 7 does not actually mean that there are some persons who need no repentance. All men are sinners, and all must repent in order to be saved.
The verse describes those who, as far as they see themselves, need no repentance.
One Coin
Luke 15:8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully unl she finds it? :9 And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ :10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
The woman in this story may represent the Holy Spirit, seeking the lost with the lamp of the Word of God.
The nine silver coins speak of the unrepentant, whereas the one lost coin suggests the man who is willing to confess that he is out of touch with God.
In the previous account the sheep wandered away by its own volition. A coin is an inanimate object and might suggest the lifeless condition of a sinner. He is dead in sins.
The woman continues to search carefully for the coin until she finds it. Then she calls her friends and neighbors to celebrate with her. The lost coin which she had found brought her more true pleasure than the nine which had never been lost. So it is with God. The sinner who humbles himself and confesses his lost condition brings joy to the heart of God.
He obtains no such joy from those who never feel their need for repentance.
Two Sons
Luke 15:11 Then He said: “A certain man had two sons.
In the two previous stories Jesus told how the Pharisees should act when lost sinners were found. In this longer story he pictured how they did act. They can see themselves in the person of the elder brother, who had his good and bad points. He was morally straight, a hard worker, and an obedient individual (vs. 29), but he was also proud and had no fellowship with the father.
He was more willing to think of his brother’s sin than of his repentance.
Luke 15:12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the poron of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. :13 And not many days aer, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.
Luke 15:14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.
Luke 15:15 Then he went and joined himself to a cizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
Luke 15:16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
Luke 15:17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
Luke 15:18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, :19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’
Luke 15:20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was sll a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.
Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 121). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. MacArthur, J. F., Jr., MacDonald, Farstad, Believers Bible; Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 2195). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
