Luke · New Testament · Luke 15:8–10
The Lost Coin
The Story
Jesus tells a brief but vivid parable about a woman who has ten silver coins and loses one of them. She does not shrug it off or accept the loss — instead she lights a lamp, sweeps the entire house, and searches carefully until she finds it. When she finally locates the lost coin, her response is immediate and jubilant — she calls together her friends and neighbors to celebrate with her. "Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin." Jesus then draws the meaning of the parable into the open, connecting the woman's joy directly to the heart of God. "In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God's angels when even one sinner repents." The parable is compact but carries enormous weight — a single lost thing is worth every effort to recover, and its return is worth a full celebration. Though the coin could not find itself, the woman never stopped looking until it was found.
The Message
This parable reveals that God does not passively wait for the lost to return — he actively seeks them out with diligence and intention. No person is too small or too insignificant to be worth the search. And when one is found, heaven itself erupts in celebration — the recovery of even one lost soul matters deeply to God.