Charles Spurgeon Commentary Luke 15:8-10

"Or what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a lamp, and sweep the house, and seek diligently until she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth together her friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I had lost. Even so, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." — Luke 15:8-10 (ASV)

Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, does not light a candle, and sweep the house, and search diligently till she find it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and her neighbors together, Saying, "Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost." Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents.

Did the woman rejoice at finding her piece of silver that she had lost, and will not God much more rejoice over an inestimably precious human soul, which had been lost, but which, through grace, is found again? Ah, yes! there is joy in heaven, there is joy in all heavenly hearts, there is joy in all who are the friends of Christ, when lost ones are found! There was another quiet stroke at the Pharisees and scribes, who were proved not to be the friends of the soul-seeking Saviour, because they did not rejoice with him over those whom he had found.

If they had been at all like the angels in heaven, as they thought they were, they would have been glad that the Lord Jesus Christ had come to seek and to find the lost. Then came the third most touching panel of the picture, perhaps the most beloved of all the parables, one which, like a key, fits the wards of the human heart, and many a time has opened the heart.

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? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

As I have already said concerning the lost sheep, there was a new joy over the recovery of the lost silver. The woman always rejoiced over the pieces of silver, but that one particular piece had been the cause of new joy, the joy which is experienced whenever the sorrow of loss is outweighed by the joy of finding again that which was lost. Is this woman intended to represent the Church of Christ, and is she thus set before us because the Church is the great agent under the control of the Divine Spirit, in seeking the lost, carrying the lighted candle of the Word, sweeping with the broom of earnest, faithful preaching, applying the law of the Lord to the conscience of man, and turning everything upside down until, at last, the lost piece of silver is found? If so, this second panel of the picture sets forth the work of the Holy Spirit as accomplished through the Church of Christ.