Luke 15:1-2 sets up the three parables Jesus is using to teach His lessons. The “tax collectors and sinners” were drawn to the uplifting message of Jesus! These groups wanted an alternative to the ugliness found in their lives while having no sense of hope and direction. Luke 15:8-10 says, “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 lostl’ Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who re.pents.” Wayne Jackson tells us, “Near Eastern women highly prizedsilver coins, sometimes handed down for generations. To lose one was a catastrophe. The common home was small and frequently without windows. Lighting a lamp might be required even in the daytime.” The lost coin represents a lost person. A lost coin-is of no value to its owner; the lost person cannot be used in God’s service. We see the coin was found followed by much rejoicing. In heaven, there is rejoicing in the presence of angels when we return. We know our activities on ea_~h are known by God and angels have an interest in the spiritual h . • {l Cor 11 ·10· 1 Tim. 5:21). . . f cond1t1on o C nst1ans • • , Like the woman in this parable, God is concerned with us while we are disconnected from Him. But when we are H” “found” by choosing to return to im . rejoicing takes place 1n Heave collectors and sinners were se . through repentance, n and on earth. The tax . eking a lamp in a sea o hope Will you respo f nd to darkness. We too, are see ing k Jesus?
Allen Jones South Green Street Church of Christ Glasgow, KY