"Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 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!’ Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (vv.8-10)
Here in chapter 15, Jesus is demonstrating to the Pharisees (through three different parables) that it was not only right for Him to seek the lost, but their restoration pleased God. Seeking the lost, and restoring them to God was not only a major theme throughout the book of Luke, but of His (Jesus) ministry as well. What a contrast to the Pharisees' attitude of completely avoiding sinners, and caring little to nothing about their spiritual resotation.
In the parable here in our text of "finding a lost coin," the women when the coin was finally found, was naturally happy. In the same way, God is happy when sinners repent, in contrast to the religious leaders who complained when the tax collectors and sinners drew near to Jesus to hear Him.
We don’t often think of God as rejoicing, but this passage tells us that, "there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Elsewhere in scripture we read, "As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you (Isaiah 62:5). The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing (Zephaniah 3:17).
May our hearts be aligned with our Lord’s in compassion and love for those who need Jesus. May we see that, “the harvest is truly plentiful” and never grow weary of sharing the good news, so that angles in heaven may rejoice.
The Truth: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
