Luke 15:1-10 The parable of the last sheep / The parable of the lost coin
Read passage Pray
A. Messing up the parables
- Parables are not some fables or illustrations.
- They are extremely offensive
- Dynamite that is going off and is ready to hit somebody, C4.
B. A quick look at what is going on here, Jesus and the sinners.
Divine Incarnation In the fullest sense, should make someone appallingly arrogant in nature. Yet we know the scripture reveals Jesus to be meek and lowly of heart.
-CS Lewis
“We have beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of graciousness and reality, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled. 1 John 1
Throughout history the Pharaohs and emperor’s who claimed divinity were lofty and set part from the masses. To think that a Pharoah would have any interaction with a slave is absurd and to think that a great ruler like that of King Xerxes of Persia, Alexander of Greece, Ceasar of Rome or Napolean of France would interact and seek after the sick, the low and the needy is preposterous.
But nevertheless, what we encounter here is the King of all divinity, God incarnate, the one who Philippians 2 says that God has exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above all names, so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the father.
The one who the epistle to the Colossians reminds us is the image of the invisible God, the firstborne of all creation. For by him and all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created though him and for him. And he is before all things and in him all things hold together.
This divine, eternal incarnate diety stoops down from high places to earth and rather than scattering the outcasts, they begin to gather?
V1- Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him
In the context of the passage, the outcasts, the tax collectors and sinners were drawing near to him, surely not all, but many did. And not only did they hear but it is clear that this is a continuous occurrence.
C. Just prior to this gathering is the teaching on the cost of discipleship.
Read Luke 14:25-35
The setting of our passage is that divinity encounters the lowly on the ground of truth and they respond as sheep to their Sheppard’s voice, notorious sinners.
John 10:27 – My sheep hear my voice and they listen and they follow me.
There is her again in Luke and obvious contrast between the Pharisees and the sinners, those who on the surface appear to be righteous and are lost and those who appear to be lost and are righteous, you don’t go near sinners, don’t pass by them, don’t touch them!
A physician comes to hear the sick, to save the lost.
The theology of the day was that there were the righteous and that there were the sinners. Church needs to hear this message! Who are we attracting?
Our church is big and white, sinners stay outside of the church!
V 2- They begin to grumble and accuse Jesus of receiving sinners and eating with them.
1. the Pharisees attracted the masses on the religious days. Hundreds of thousands came to hear there false legalistic teachings.
2. If you teach truth you will attract the sheep of the true Sheppard. It may be slow and gradual but nevertheless if will be God attracting the sheep, not us.

This is where out parables begin, with the love of a lowly Sheppard for his sheep.
And so he told them this parable-
V 4- 7
Offensive story
A. First offense is that we are referred to as sheep. The sheep have no sense of direction, they are followers The sheep has no defense mechanism. The sheep runs in circles until it passes out.
- Humility is a proper assessment of oneself – Spurgeon
- Jerry Seinfeld and arrogance, calling someone in high places a sheep.
- When you are even 1 inch above the ground you are too high up. The place fo the Christian is to be nothing. The motivation is love, it opens the gates for exalting others and putting them first. There are no worms in Christianity.
B. Illogical – What man among you would leave his car open, cell phone, SS card, Visa and 99 dollars cash in the middle of nowhere to chase after a penny rolling down a hill? NOBODY leaves 99 or you will lose them all, it happens you lose one.
C. When the Sheppard finds the sheep there is rejoicing. Enter into rejoicing when friends rejoice. V 7. You want to know why God celebrates? Its not when you puff yourself up but when sinners repent!
D. King David refers to The Lord as his Sheppard
Isaiah refers to the flock of God as little sheep who God will gather into his arms (Is 40:11). The Pharisees however were appointed to Sheppard the flock of God and they were accused by Ezekial of scattering the flock. “My sheep were scattered over the face of the earth with noone to come and seek for them. Ez 34:6 Nevertheless, Ezekiel and Jeremiah promised a redeemer who is to come. “I myself will seek for my sheep and search them out, as a Sheppard who seeks for lost sheep, I myself will seek them out, those who have been scattered. Jeremiah promises that the sheep will be rescued by the son of David (Jer 23:3-5) This is the very outline of Isaiah – the beginning of the book is on the judgement and bad news that reality brings and the back end is the redemption and grace that God offers in his gospel. The sheep have been scattered but God will gather them together.
JESUS IS SAYING I AM THE SHEPPARD , I AM THE MESSIAH, I AM GOD.
E. The offense that ministers take for grumbling about the sheep in their fold. We are to shoulder the heavy burden of servant ministry and not grumble, the church is to help in saving the lost, not grumble and be even more of a burden to the minister. Nobody pushes down on a cross as people carry it, rather they help.
The Sheppard rejoiced in hoisting the sheep across his shoulders, but our redeemer did not hoist a sheep, rather the burden of the cross to save sinners from sin.
!!!!!!! The grumbling that we find here is the same grumbling of the children of Israel in the wilderness Ex 15:24. This is serious contempt for Jesus, a bitter, rage filled oil black disgust.
The parable of the lost coin-
V 8-10
1. It is unusual that a woman would be the central focus of a rabbi’s story, especially next to the story of a man, he was reaching the whole audience, both man and woman, different roles, same image of God, these are his children, his sheep.
a. Luke 7- centurions son, widows son
b. Luke 11: a man at midnight, a persistent widow
c. Luke 18: sign of Jonah, Queen of the South
d. Luke13-14 A man with dropsy and a woman with a disabling spirit
e. Jesus refers to some as the daughters of Abraham and some as the sons of Abraham.
f. People work in the fields, woman and men.
g. It was a woman who found the tomb was empty as well as men.
This is simply not seen in ancient texts.
The parable refers to God himself!
Although God does not have gender, he is either male or female, he is spirit. Rather, sometimes he speaks fo himself in a feminine sense, Is 66- as a mother comforts so I will comfort you. Jesus had love and compassion for woman and loves them in God’s image! We the church are never to dismiss woman, their ability to learn sound theology or to serve in the body, however, biblically there are a few offices that are strictly for men.
It is unusual that she has money (widow).
When you lose something the universe stops turning. Obsession
God wants to find the sinful
If you represent the gospel sinners will be drawn to you, the recognition that we ourselves are sinners.
There are those who are under the full grace of God and those who are still lost in their sins. We continue in sin, we are still sinners, it keeps us low.
V 10. The point of all of this is the rejoicing that comes with finding that which is lost!
I cant think of a more amazing scene that angels in heaven rejoicing. The like of Michelangelo or Da Vinci in all their talents could never paint a portrait of the supernatural in full joy!
Dr Ryken tells a story at the end of his commentary on Luke 15 –
Pastor Sam Nasser was troubled by the fact that a woman in the congregation always had her phone up to her ear during the sermon! He confronted the woman and she mentioned that she was not talking but her husband was on the phone listening to the sermons IN IRAN! My mother and sisters and brothers and husband listen to you on speaker in IRAN!
She was invited to sit up from the following service where the pastor preached on the love of Jesus. The husband was saved half way around the world!
We live on our message lives on throughout eternity
Psalm 2
Ask me and I will make the nations your heritage, the ends of the earth your possession. The nations are filled with lost sheep that Christ is saving!
1 Peter 2:24- He bore our sins on the tree, by his wounds we are healed, For you were straying like sheep but now you have been returned to the Sheppard, the overseer of your souls.
He is our Sheppard, the Sheppard who will leave 99 to get you, the Sheppard who will do what it takes to find you, you and your precious worth far greater than a silver coin!
The Sheppard of David, of whom Paul reminds us
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us! For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels or rulers, nor things present nor things to come nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord! Our Sheppard.