Luke 15:9

Analysis & Commentary

And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me (συγκαλεῖ τὰς φίλας καὶ γείτονας, synkalei tas philas kai geitonas)—The verbal and structural parallel to verse 6 is exact, emphasizing the unified message: finding the lost demands communal celebration. The imperative syncharēte (συγχάρητέ, rejoice together) repeats.

For I have found the piece which I had lost (ὅτι εὗρον τὴν δραχμὴν ἣν ἀπώλεσα, hoti heuron tēn drachmēn hēn apōlesa)—She doesn't say 'which fell' but 'which I lost,' accepting responsibility while celebrating recovery. The coin had no agency in being lost or found; it was passive throughout. This intensifies the parable's point: salvation is entirely God's initiative and work. The lost cannot save themselves; they can only be found by the seeking God. The woman's joy mirrors heaven's response to each repentant sinner (v.10).

Historical Context

Women's celebrations in first-century Palestine were gender-segregated. The woman calls her female friends and neighbors, creating an intimate communal rejoicing. This detail shows Jesus's awareness of and respect for women's social networks. The celebration over a found coin might seem excessive to modern readers, but for subsistence-level peasants, recovering 10 percent of one's wealth was genuinely significant. More importantly, Jesus dignifies domestic female experience as revelatory of divine character.

Questions for Reflection

• How does the coin's passivity—unable to seek, find, or return itself—illuminate the nature of grace as God's initiative rather than human achievement?
• What does the woman's communal celebration teach about the church's responsibility to rejoice publicly over conversions?
• In what ways have you experienced being 'found' as a passive recipient of God's diligent search rather than an active seeker who discovered God?