A Crown Jewel Series

I wish to begin our message by first reading through tonight’s parable, and then we’ll take a closer look after I share a brief introduction. Let’s all stand at this time in honor of the reading of God’s Word:

8 What woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!” 10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

What is the meaning behind this short parable, and what spiritual application can be attained? In trying to ascertain the application we must first understand what underlies the symbolism. We see mention of a woman, ten silver coins, a lamp, and a house; each having their own particular meaning. As the passage is expounded, we will come to see that this parable relates to a wedding.

Many of Jesus’ parables use wedding imagery. In the New Testament, a wedding often represents a day sometime in the unknown future after Christ has returned to bring His people home. The wedding that will one day take place is the marriage ceremony of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, to His bride the church. Revelation 19:7 declares of this day, “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” Keeping in mind that this passage contains wedding imagery, we can now begin looking at our parable in more detail.

Searching for a Missing Coin (v. 8)

8 What woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?

We see here a woman who was searching diligently for a lost coin. The praise song “You Are My All in All” shares a message of God’s worth to His people, saying this: “Seeking you as a precious jewel, Lord to give up I’d be a fool. You are my all in all.” The Lord should be as valuable to believers as a precious jewel; but did you know that He sees us as precious jewels too? Let’s see what this is all about by discussing the missing coin!

What’s so important about this coin? Could it be that the buying power of the coin made the difference between having food on the table and not having food? Could it have been the determining factor between life and death? This coin was probably the value of a common denarius, or 18 cents,(1) which was a great sum of money for a common person. Indeed, the lost coin could have made the difference between life and death, and this may have been the reason why the woman was searching so hard for it; but there is a more “romantic” reason, as William Barclay stated. He said that this lost coin was like a crown jewel, sharing the following commentary:

In Palestine the mark of a married woman was a headdress made of ten silver coins linked together by a silver chain. For years maybe a girl would scrape and save to amass her ten coins, for the headdress was almost equivalent of her wedding ring. When she had it, it was so inalienably hers that it could not even be taken from her for debt. It may well be that it was one of these coins that the woman in the parable lost, and she searched for it as any woman would search if she had lost her [wedding] ring.(2)

When the Lord searches for those who don’t know Jesus as Savior, He searches diligently as a woman who has lost her wedding ring. However, He isn’t searching for a wedding ring; He’s looking for the missing coin in a headpiece. In other words, He’s searching for a crown jewel.

The Lord views each and every individual in the world as a precious jewel. He watches over us at all times, hoping we don’t become lost; and should we lose our way, the Lord comes looking for us, declaring, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).

If we are lost, Jesus searches for us until the day of the great wedding. If we are not found by the time of the wedding, then sadly, there will be one less jewel in the bride’s crown. Remember, the bride is the church; and if we are not placed in the bride’s crown by the time of Christ’s return, then we won’t be a part of the great wedding, or a part of the kingdom of heaven. We will be eternally lost!