8 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? 9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. 10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. (Luke 15:8-10 KJV)
The Parable of the Lost Coin
Second, the parable of the lost coin. The loser is a woman, who might feel the loss and joy of finding more passionately. She has ten silver coins and loses one. This reminds us of God’s goodness—though one is lost, many remain faithful. There are untold numbers of created beings who never sinned or strayed.
The coin is silver, a drachma—the fourth of a shekel—valuable and stamped with God’s image. It is not worthless like iron or lead, but precious. Still, it is small in value, showing that God would not suffer real loss if sinful people perished. This coin was lost in dirt—so a soul lost in the world is buried in its cares and pleasures.
The woman lights a lamp, sweeps the house, and searches carefully until she finds it. This reflects the means God uses to restore lost souls. He lights the candle of the gospel—not for himself to find us, but to reveal us to ourselves. He sweeps the house by conviction through the Word. He seeks with all his heart to save the lost.
When she finds it, she says, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin I lost” (Luke 15:9). Those who rejoice want others to rejoice with them. She is so delighted that she would gladly spend that same coin to celebrate. “I have found it!” she cries—her joy is full.
The explanation of both parables is the same (Luke 15:7, 10): There is joy in heaven, in the presence of the angels of God, over one sinner who repents—more than over ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need to repent.
The repentance of sinners is cause for rejoicing in heaven. Even the worst can repent and receive mercy. God delights to show mercy, and their conversion justifies all his efforts on their behalf. God rejoices in all his works, but especially in works of grace. He rejoices to show mercy to penitent sinners.
Angels rejoice as well. They do not envy the mercy shown to sinful men, even though angels who fell received no mercy. They are glad that these lowly sinners, now forgiven, will soon join them in glory. The angels sang at Christ’s birth, rejoicing in the redemption of mankind (Luke 2:14).
There is more joy over one converted sinner than over ninety-nine who seem righteous and think they don’t need repentance. There is more joy for the salvation of fallen man than for the preservation of angels who never fell.
There is more joy for the conversion of despised sinners—publicans and Gentiles—than for the religious pride of Pharisees, who believed God should be proud of them. But Christ shows that God is more pleased with the humble repentance of one despised sinner than with the long, self-righteous prayers of Pharisees.
There is more joy over the radical conversion of a former Pharisee like Paul than over the decent life of someone who never strayed. Not that sin is to be preferred—but the power of grace shines more in saving a great sinner than in keeping someone from straying. Often, those forgiven much become most zealous in faith, as Paul did (Galatians 1:24). “Those who are forgiven much, love much.”
This is humanly understandable: we rejoice more when recovering what we feared lost than when retaining what we never missed. Recovery is like life from the dead. Ongoing faithfulness may be more valuable, but sudden repentance can bring surprising joy. If heaven rejoices at the repentance of sinners, the Pharisees, by opposing it and resenting Christ’s outreach, showed they had little in common with the spirit of heaven.