They Searched Until it was Found

April 20

In Luke 15, modern-day Bible translations give a title to all three parables using the word lost: The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin, and The Lost Son. But is lost the emphasis in each of these parables or do all three of them point to a larger truth?

A shepherd lost a sheep. It was only one sheep. He had ninety-nine others, but that one sheep mattered. So, he left the ninety-nine in order to look for the missing one. Note: it would be irresponsible for a shepherd to leave his flock unattended and in an open field. They would be easy-pickings for a wolf or another predator. A good shepherd would entrust his flock to another responsible shepherd while he looked for the lost sheep. Then, he searched for the lost sheep until he found it. Last, when he did, he celebrated with everyone he came across!

There are a few things to ponder here:

• First, the shepherd knows his flock. And, whether he has ten sheep or one hundred sheep, he knows when one goes missing.

• Second, the shepherd cares for his sheep and has been entrusted with the sheep by their owner; a hireling ran away in the presence of a predator.

• Third, a loving, caring shepherd will even lay his life down for his sheep.

All of this sounds a lot like the Good Shepherd, doesn’t it? (John 10:11–17)

Next, Jesus says that a woman lost a coin, but not just any coin. She lost a silver drachma. One Greek drachma was worth the same as a Roman denarius—about a day’s wages. If you’re like me, you’d go back to the last place that you recalled where you had the missing item. Somehow, turning a corner, touching a surface, or walking through a doorway can jog our memory of where we placed that missing phone, wallet, or keys.

Jewish homes were simple, and there were no overhead lights. Lamps were kept on stands, but they weren’t very bright. Imagine using a small candle to search your dark house. It would be impossible to find something as small as a dime in a dark house. This woman methodically swept through her entire home, frantically searching for that one silver coin until she found it. Then, she celebrated with her friends.

In Jesus’ final parable, we find a young man who asks his father for his inheritance. Since the father had two sons, the older brother inherited a double portion of the family assets. So, the father divided all of his assets and gave one-third to his younger son.

Now, the father knew his foolish son. For his son to ask for his inheritance, this man knew his son would waste everything he had—very quickly. And so he did. After a season of squandering everything, he found himself tending pigs. Why a good Jewish boy would hire himself out to tend pigs was beyond comprehension for Jesus’ audience. They would have gasped when He uttered these words.

Then, Jesus really squeezed the icing onto the cake when He said that the son had sunk so low, become so hungry that he salivated when he looked at the pig slop. It’s at this point that the son “came to his senses.” (v. 17) He knows that he has humiliated himself to a place so low that his father’s servants look wealthy in comparison. So, the son begins rehearsing his “I was wrong” speech as he mentally prepares to return home.

Jesus says, “But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him.” (v. 20) This doesn’t sound like the father just caught the son out of the corner of his eye; it sounds like he was watching and waiting for his son to come back. And, it sounds like this wasn’t the first time.

Several cultural things happened next that related to how people treated disrespectful children like this foolish son. (Deuteronomy 21:18–21) We’ll cover just one here: In throwing his arms around his son’s neck, the audience hearing Jesus’ parable would have understood that the father was attempting to save his son’s life by shielding him with his own body. Shielding him from what?

Well, if the Law of Moses had been carried out to the letter in Jesus’ story, like the Pharisees and the crowd were naturally expecting, the locals would not have been waiting around with the father to welcome the son, but instead stone him. But the Law of Moses would shortly be fulfilled when the Good Shepherd laid down His life for the sheep, when He swept the entire house of Israel searching for His peculiar treasure like a worried woman, and when He allowed His own body to be marred beyond recognition to bring every lost son and daughter back home!

Jesus’ final parable ended with a celebration—not a stoning—because the Son of Man had come to seek and to save what was lost. (Luke 19:10)

Application

In each of these parables, a thing, or a person was lost and missed. The person who lost it searched, but not for just fifteen minutes or an hour. He/she searched until the thing being searched for was found. No, the sheep, the coin, and the son didn’t ask to be found. They just were—because someone searched until they were found. Jesus does that because He cares. (Ezekiel 34:11; Luke 19:10)

During His conversation with the Samaritan Woman in John 4:23, He said that the Father searches for people who will worship Him in spirit and truth. We may think that that we search for God, but it is God who takes the initiative. We merely respond. (John 6:44, 65)

Bible teacher Steve Brown said, “You take the first step. God will take the second. And, by the time you get to the third step, you’ll realize that it was God Who took the first step.” If you are a believer, you didn’t find Jesus. He wasn’t lost, you were. Jesus searched, and He found you.

“I once was lost, but now am found.
Was blind, but now I see.”
~ John Newton

© Copyright 2026 Craig Beaman