Luke 15:1-10

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

The Parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. The parable of the lost sheep emphasizes our wayward way and the Savior’s love.

  2. The parable of the lost coin emphasizes our dead condition and the Holy Spirit’s mission.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. He would come, even if you were the only one!

QUESTIONS

  1. What is the common theme in each of the three parables in Luke 15?

  2. Who do these lost items represent?

  3. How does Isaiah 53:6 relate to this passage?

  4. Who do the 99 sheep represent? Where are they at the end of the parable?

  5. If the woman in the parable of the lost coin represents the Church, then explain the teaching here.

ANSWERS

  1. Someone is seeking to find something that is lost – the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son.

  2. The Lord gave these parables to show that everyone is lost and needs to be found. Some knew they were lost, like the tax collectors and sinners. But others did not know they were lost, such as the self-righteous Scribes and Pharisees.

  3. Isaiah describes us as dumb lambs who wander astray. But the suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, our Lord Jesus Christ, is the seeking Shepherd of Luke 15.

  4. The 99 sheep who supposedly did need not repentance represent the self-righteous Scribes and Pharisees. They are left out in the wilderness; only the lost and found sheep is brought to the Shepherd’s home.

  5. If the woman represents the Church, then the parable portrays the Holy Spirit’s present mission of working through the Church with the lamp of God’s Word to search out those who are lost.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. Describe the shepherd’s treatment of the lost sheep when he is found. This is how the love of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is shown to us. The Lord rejoices over you!

  2. The coin was lost in the dark and dust of the 1st century home. Discuss how we also were lost and dead in this dark world until God found us and brought us into His marvelous light. Read 1 Peter 2:9.

CHALLENGE

  1. If you were the only sinner on earth, the eternal Son of God would still have left heaven, become a Man, and gone to the cross to die that shameful death for you!

KEY VERSES

  • “And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, ‘This Man receives sinners and eats with them.’” Luke 15:2

  • “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!’” Luke 15:6

  • “Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10

Luke, Talks, New TestamentDeb HarmsLuke 15:1-10