The Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin
What was lost is found
Two things you can tap
- A verse number shows the Bible’s exact words.
- An underlined word shows what it means.
Story
What happened?
Tap a verse number, like , to read the Bible’s exact words.
Who’s who and what came beforePeople, places, and the story so far. Open it anytime.
Scene Card
Cast
- Jesus: The one the Gospels present as the promised Messiah and the Son of God. He is teaching on his way to Jerusalem.
- Tax collectors and sinners: People others looked down on. They came close to hear Jesus.
- Pharisees and scribes: Pharisees were a Jewish group devoted to carefully keeping God's law. Scribes were teachers of Moses's law. They were unhappy about the company Jesus kept.
- In Jesus's stories: A shepherd with a hundred sheep, and a woman with ten silver coins. Each one has friends and neighbors.
Setting
- Jesus is teaching a crowd somewhere on the road to Jerusalem. His stories move from open grazing land to a small house with a lamp.
When
- During Jesus's work, about 2,000 years ago.
Before the Story
These are parables. A parable is a short story Jesus told to teach something. The people in it are made up, but the point is real.
Three stories, one answer. Jesus told three "lost" stories in a row to answer one complaint. This page has the first two. The third is the story of the lost son, often called the Prodigal Son.
God as a shepherd was an old picture. Israel's Scriptures often picture God as a shepherd who looks for lost sheep (Psalm 23, Ezekiel 34).
Here's what you know that almost nobody in this story knows: The sheep and the coin do nothing to get found. Someone else does all the searching.
Map of the Story
| Scene | Verses | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1. A complaint | 15:1-3 | Leaders grumble that Jesus welcomes sinners |
| 2. One lost sheep | 15:4-6 | A shepherd leaves ninety-nine to find one |
| 3. Joy in heaven | 15:7 | Jesus says heaven rejoices over one sinner |
| 4. One lost coin | 15:8-9 | A woman sweeps her house to find one coin |
| 5. Joy with the angels | 15:10 | Jesus says it again |
Plain Retelling
Scene 1 of 5A Complaint
A crowd gathered around Jesus. Tax collectors were in it. So were people known as sinners. They all came to listen.
The Pharisees and the scribes did not like it. They began to grumble. To grumble is to complain in a low, unhappy voice.
They said, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them" (15:2). Back then, sharing a meal was often a sign of welcome and friendship.
So Jesus told them a parable.
Scene 2 of 5One Lost Sheep
Jesus started with a question. He asked his listeners to imagine having a hundred sheep. Then one of the sheep got lost.
Jesus's listeners knew shepherds well. A shepherd led the sheep to grass and water. He guarded them from wild animals.
Jesus asked whether they would leave the ninety-nine in the pasture. Would they go after the lost one until they found it? Jesus expected them to answer yes.
Ninety-nine is almost all of them. But the shepherd still went after the one.
This is a comparison. Jesus is using a shepherd to show something about God.
Jesus does not say how the sheep got lost. But the shepherd did not wait for it to come back. He went looking, and he kept looking until he found it.
When the shepherd found the sheep, he did not make it walk. Jesus said the shepherd "joyfully puts it on his shoulders" (15:5). Then the shepherd carried it home.
Then he called his friends and neighbors together. He told them, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep!" (15:6). To rejoice is to be glad and celebrate.
Scene 3 of 5Joy in Heaven
Then Jesus told what the story means.
"In the same way, I tell you that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent" (15:7).
Many readers take "heaven" here as a respectful way to say God. To repent means to turn around and change direction.
One likely reason Jesus said this: sinners were gathering around him right then. Jesus was showing the grumblers how heaven feels about sinners who repent.
In the story, the sheep does not find its own way back. It is carried home. The finding is the shepherd's work.
Scene 4 of 5One Lost Coin
Then Jesus told a second story. This time the one searching was a woman.
She had ten silver coins. She lost one of them.
Each coin was worth about a day's pay.
The woman lit a lamp. She swept her house. She searched carefully until she found the coin.
This is a comparison too. Jesus uses a woman here to picture God, the same way he used a shepherd.
Then she called her friends and neighbors together too. She said, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost coin" (15:9).
Scene 5 of 5Joy with the Angels
Jesus said what this story means too.
"In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God's angels over one sinner who repents" (15:10).
A coin cannot look for its owner. It cannot even know it is lost. The woman did all the searching.
In both stories, the joy belongs to the one who searched. The shepherd was glad. The woman was glad. And God is glad.
Think back to who was listening. Tax collectors and sinners were gathered close to Jesus. The Pharisees and scribes were there too, grumbling.
Jesus did not tell them to stop grumbling. He told them that heaven is full of joy when the lost are found.
The Bible does not say whether the grumblers shared in that joy. Jesus had one more story to tell.
Meaning
What does it mean?
Read It
What Does This Mean?
| The text says | It means |
|---|---|
| "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them" (15:2) | The leaders meant it as a complaint. It is also a true description of Jesus. |
| "Go after the one that is lost, until he finds it" (15:4) | The shepherd does not wait for the sheep to come back. He goes out, and he does not quit. |
| "He joyfully puts it on his shoulders" (15:5) | The sheep does not walk home. It is carried, and the shepherd is glad to carry it. |
| "Joy in heaven over one sinner who repents" (15:7) | God is glad when even one lost person is brought back. |
| "Light a lamp, sweep her house, and search carefully" (15:8) | The woman works hard and pays close attention. Jesus uses her to picture God's careful searching. |
| "In the presence of God's angels" (15:10) | Many readers take this as a respectful way to say God. The joy is God's own. |
Back Then
God is often pictured as a shepherd. Psalm 23 begins, "The LORD is my shepherd." LORD in capital letters stands for God's personal name. Jewish readers traditionally don't say it aloud, out of respect. In Ezekiel 34, God promises, "I will seek the lost, bring back the strays" (Ezekiel 34:16).
A shepherd's work was hard. He found grass and water, guarded the flock from wild animals, and searched for lost sheep (Smith's Bible Dictionary).
The silver coin was a drachma. It was a Greek silver coin, worth about the same as a Roman denarius (Smith's Bible Dictionary). A denarius was a normal day's wage for a worker (Matthew 20:2).
Literal Reader Alert
Wasn't it risky to leave ninety-nine sheep? Many readers have asked this. The Greek word behind "pasture" can mean open country. Some say another shepherd probably stayed with the flock. Jesus does not say. The story is not a lesson on farming. It shows how much the one lost sheep matters.
Are some people "righteous ones who do not need to repent"? It's okay to notice things like this. Careful readers have asked about it for centuries. The Bible says elsewhere that "all have sinned" (Romans 3:23). Jesus does not explain this line here. One likely reason: he is speaking to the grumblers in their own words, and inviting them into the joy.
Is God a shepherd or a woman? These are comparisons. They are not descriptions of what God looks like. Jesus pictures God's searching through a man at work outside and a woman at work in her house. The Bible has other pictures like this. God comforts "as a mother comforts her son" (Isaiah 66:13). Jesus longed to gather Jerusalem "as a hen gathers her chicks" (Matthew 23:37).
Are the Pharisees the bad guys? No. Everyone in this scene is Jewish, including Jesus, the tax collectors, and the Pharisees and scribes. The shepherd picture comes from Israel's own Scriptures. The grumblers stand for anyone who is uneasy when God welcomes the "wrong" people. That can be church people today too.
How People Feel
| Who | Feeling | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The Pharisees and scribes | Upset | Jesus welcomed sinners and ate with them (15:2) |
| The shepherd | Joyful | He found his lost sheep (15:5-6) |
| The woman | Joyful | She found her lost coin (15:9) |
| Heaven and God's angels | Joyful | One sinner repented (15:7, 15:10) |
For you
What does it mean for me?
Your Turn
Where are you in this story today? Tap one.
The lost sheep
Then this story is for you first. You don't have to find your own way back. The shepherd comes looking and carries you home.
The lost coin
A lost coin still has its full worth. You matter to God, even when you feel small or forgotten.
One of the ninety-nine
The shepherd has not forgotten you. He wants you to share the joy too.
Grumbling a little
That's honest. Jesus told these stories to grumblers, and he invited them in.
It's really bad right now
Thank you for saying so. Please tell a trusted adult today. In the U.S., you can call or text 988 any time. If you are in danger, call 911 or your local emergency number. Outside the U.S., findahelpline.com can help you find someone to talk to.
You Might Have Heard
"If you wander away from God, you have to find your way back."
What's true: Turning back to God matters. Jesus talks about repenting in both stories (15:7, 15:10).
What the story is mainly about: The story is mainly about the one who searches. The sheep did not find the shepherd. The coin did not find the woman. They were found. Repenting is not a trip we make on our own. God turns us around, and the Holy Spirit gives us the faith to trust him.
Where Jesus is: Jesus told these stories because he was welcoming sinners and eating with them (15:2). Later in Luke, Jesus says, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10). In Jesus, the searching shepherd comes to us.
Good News
Maybe you feel lost, or alone, or not worth the trouble. Maybe you feel guilty and don't know how to get back.
The sheep did not climb onto the shepherd's shoulders. The coin did not roll out from under the dust. Someone came looking and did not stop.
That someone is God. God searches for you until you are found, carries you home, and celebrates when you get there.
Big Idea
God goes looking for the lost, carries them home, and all of heaven rejoices.
If this story brings up big feelings, talk with someone you trust, like a parent, pastor, or counselor.
For leaders and parentsLuther, church readings, and notes for teaching.
From Luther
Luke 15:1-10 was the traditional Gospel reading for the Third Sunday after Trinity. Luther preached on it at Wittenberg in 1533. The sermon was later printed in his Church Postil. He said Christ is the shepherd. When the shepherd finds the lost sheep, he does not scold it or push it away. He takes it on his shoulders and carries it home. Luther said this story is meant most of all for people who are frightened and burdened by their sins.
In Church
Many churches follow a reading plan called the Revised Common Lectionary. It reads Luke 15:1-10 on a Sunday in mid-September of Year C (Lectionary 24). The story of the lost son is read on the Fourth Sunday in Lent in Year C.
We quote Luther for what he got right about grace. He also wrote terrible things about Jewish people. Read our note on that.
Memorize
How do I keep it?
One line from this story to learn by heart. Practice a little now. It will come back later so it sticks.
There is joy in the presence of God's angels over one sinner who repents.
How did that feel?