Shepherds and Coins: I have Found My Sheep that was Lost

“He finds a diamond at the dump… after tossing 3.5 carat rock in trash.”

https://www.nydailynews.com/2006/06/20/he-finds-diamond-at-dump-after-tossing-35-carat-rock-in-trash/

1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.

• a tax gatherer, collector of taxes or tolls, one employed by a publican or farmer general in the collection of taxes. The tax collectors were as a class, detested not only by the Jews, but by other nations also, both on account of their employment and of the harshness, greed, and deception, with which they did their job.
• Tax collectors were not highly regarded, for they both helped the hated Romans and their administration of conquered territory and enrich themselves at the expense of their fellow countrymen. They were ostracized by many and regarded as outcasts by the religious.
• Rabbis would not associate with such a person even to teach him the law.
• “Tax collectors and sinners” are pragmatically grouped together; to be a tax collector was to be seen as a sinner
• Chapter 14, Jesus tells the parable of the great feast. I
• At the end of Chapter 14, as Jesus is talking about the cost of discipleship, he finished with the words, “he who has ears to hear let him hear.” At the beginning of Chapter 15, Luke’s very next words tell us that these sinners came near to hear him.

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2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

• The Pharisees were a sect that seems to have started after the Jewish exile. In addition to OT books the Pharisees recognized in oral tradition a standard of belief and life. They sought distinction and praise by outward observance of external rites and by outward forms of piety, and such as ceremonial washings, fastings, prayers, and alms giving; and, comparatively negligent of genuine piety, they prided themselves on their fancied good works.
• A scribe, in the Bible, was a man learned in the Mosaic law and in the sacred writings, an interpreter, teacher. Scribes examined the more difficult and subtle questions of the law; added to the Mosaic law decisions of various kinds thought to elucidate its meaning and scope and did this to the detriment of religion.
• The word grumble here is the same as “Mumur.” Murmur is an onomatopoeia (a word that sounds like what it is describing; so one could hear “murmurmurmur” as an indistinct human “buzz”), which is indignant complaining
  • This is in distinction from autological; an autological word is a word that possesses the property it describes, meaning it describes itself. For example, the word “noun” is a noun, the word “polysyllabic” has multiple syllables, the word “English” is English, the word “short” is short, the word “word” refers to a word, and the phrase itself consists of three words, making it autological. The opposite of autological is heterological, which describes a word that does not possess the property it denotes, such as “yellow” or “square”.
• The word translated here as “receive” (prosdechomai) [sinners] has the connotation of “looking for” (used 4x in the bible), “wait for” (3x), “take” (1x), and “accept” (1x). So it can be argued that Jesus did not simply passively receive sinners, as we would want to take the word to mean, but was proactive in calling them to Himself.
  • When interpreting scripture, or anything else for that matter, just because a word means one thing in one context, it does not follow that the meaning is the same in all situations. It does appear, however, given the context of this pericope, the
• Eating with these people was regarded as worse than mere association: it implied welcome and recognition.
• When is the last time you have received someone into your home who is not in your “circle”?

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3 So he told them this parable:

• A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning

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4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?

• About sheep:
  • Modern shepherds and animal behaviorists say sheep are not “dumb” in the sense of being brainless. They have good memories (they can recognize faces — both sheep and human — for years).
  • They’re highly social — they prefer to move together in flocks.
  • Where the “dumb sheep” idea comes from is that sheep are followers, with strong flocking instincts. That can make them appear unintelligent because they’ll follow one another even into danger.
  • Sheep are prone to wander! Sheep graze with their heads down; they can wander off while eating and not realize they’re getting separated. Without fences or a shepherd, they can drift far from safety. Once separated, they can panic and are vulnerable to predators or getting stuck.
• A hundred sheep was considered a large flock, equivalent to approximately $12,000., one of them equivalent to approximately $120. God’s economy is different.
• “Open country” is the wilderness, the desert. This speaks to a lack of protection, a lack of cover, open to being hurt.

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5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

• Sheep are heavy. On average, they can weight 100lbs to 350lbs!
• The church fathers have profound things to say about this verse:
  • Irenaeus (2nd century)

In Against Heresies (Book III, ch. 23), he interprets the shepherd carrying the sheep as Christ carrying human nature:

The lost sheep is humanity, burdened and straying. Christ takes humanity upon Himself, especially in the cross, “bearing our sins in His own body.” The “shoulders” signify His strength and the incarnation.

• Origen (3rd century)

In his Homilies on Luke, Origen says: The shepherd places the sheep on his shoulders to symbolize Christ bearing the weak. This is an image of grace — the sheep contributes nothing to its rescue. The joy reflects Christ’s delight in saving.

• Gregory of Nyssa (4th century)

Connects it to divine condescension: the Shepherd bends down, lifts the sheep, and carries it back. Interprets the shoulders as the cross: Christ literally carried us through His suffering. “When the shepherd had found the sheep, he did not punish it, he did not drive it to the fold, but placing it on his shoulder, and carrying it gently, he reunited it with the flock.”

• Ambrose of Milan (4th century)

In his Exposition of the Gospel of Luke (Book VII), Ambrose writes: “He places it on His shoulders, because no one can bear his own sins, but only Christ can bear them.” The shepherd’s joy shows that Christ redeems not with reluctance, but with gladness. He draws a contrast with the Pharisees’ grumbling: Christ delights where they complain.

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6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’

• Would you call someone to tell them that you found a million dollar? Probably (especially those you trust). What about $50? Maybe, if it were a good story. What about $1? Probably not. But we see here that the shepherd treats finding $1 like finding a million dollars.

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7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

• If the analogy holds up, and the lost sheep is equivalent to the sinner, the sheep wasn’t just lost, but the sheep has intentionally left the fold. Jesus is saying that it’s not simply if you’ve wandered off, He’ll come and find you, but that if you have intentionally chosen your own way, He’ll come and find you.

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The Parable of the Lost Coin

8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?

• One silver coin (drachma) was comparably the value of 10 asses is the Bible’s parable of the laborers, where one denarius is shown to be a standard day’s wage. In that context, 10 asses represented roughly five-eighths of a day’s wages. This is comparable to about a (6-day) week or work for an ordinary labourer; not particularly a lot, but a lot to her.
• In first century Palestine and the wider Near East, a woman often received a gift of coins at marriage. These coins were sometimes sewn into her headband or necklace, which provided security. But the symbolic and emotional value likely outweighed the monetary value.
• Lightly, this woman was of a lower economic class. In the house in which she lived, there would likely be either no windows or small windows, making it very dark, and difficult to find anything. And so, by sweeping, she could potentially hear the coin across the hardened earthen floor, thereby making it easier to locate.

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9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’

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10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

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