The Lost Coin, “I found twenty bucks.”

Lenten Devotions

A Walk through the Book of Luke

March 24, 2023

Luke 15:8-10

The Lost Coin

“I found twenty bucks.”

Whenever I have lost something and found it later, it has always brought me joy. There have been times in my life when I’ve lost a watch, a ring, my cell phone, and even money.

Whenever I found a lost item or money, I would share that joy with my wife. On one occasion, many years ago, I was emptying laundry out of the dryer. As I was folding the clothing, a $20 bill fell out of a pair of my jeans. To this day, I don’t remember how the $20 bill got there or where it came from. But I was delighted. In my mind, I was up twenty bucks.

In today’s devotion, a woman finds a coin she had lost.

********************The Point******************

This parable is relatively short. It is only three verses long. But, it is the second in Jesus’ lost and found stories found in Luke 15.

 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins (15:8 Greek ten drachmas,) each worth about a day’s wages, and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Luke 15:8-10

There is a noticeable difference between yesterday’s parable of the Lost Sheep and todays. In the parable of the Lost Sheep, the shepherd was likely a reasonably wealthy man. In today’s parable of the Lost Coin, our character is a poor woman who lives alone.

“The description of the woman lighting a lamp and sweeping her house confirms that she was a comparatively poor person living in a peasant’s small house with a low doorway and no windows.” (New Bible Commentary, 21^st Century Edition, Luke 15, Pp. 1005.)

The woman in the parable does everything she can to find this lost coin (It was probably a drachma, which is worth a day’s wages). She lights a lamp, as there are no windows in her home, and sweeps the floor looking for the lost coin.

When she finds her coin and rejoices by celebrating with her neighbors, Jesus is once again emphasizing the joy in heaven over a single repentant sinner. It may seem like a small thing but remember that every person who repents their sinful ways and declares that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior is saved.

Finding a lost $20 bill in your pants pocket is terrific. But knowing you are saved by God’s Grace and your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior beats finding lost cash in your pants pocket any day.