⁸ “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:8-10)
We talked about the parable of the lost sheep last time, and here we have the parable of the lost coin. The two parables have similarities: something is lost, then sought after until found. Here, the woman lights a lamp, sweeps the house, and searches diligently until she finds the coin. Upon finding it, she rejoices and shares the joy with her friends and neighbors. The coin mentioned here, in the original Greek, is a *denarius*—a silver coin roughly equivalent to a day’s wages for an ordinary laborer. This coin was precious to the woman. It represents a sinner; the Lord Jesus says, “There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” When a sinner repents, there is rejoicing before the angels and before the Heavenly Father, the heaven rejoices.
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. (Luke 19:10)
The Son of Man is the Lord Jesus; He came to seek and save the lost, to save sinners and bring them to repentance and bring them back to Himself.
⁸ But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:8–9)
This passage says that God does not desire anyone to perish but He wants everyone to come to repentance and turn to Him; there is rejoicing in heaven over the repentance of every sinner.
May God bless you and your family!

³ Then Jesus told them this parable: ⁴ “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? ⁵ And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. (Luke 15:3-7)
Before the Lord Jesus told this parable of the lost sheep, tax collectors and sinners were gathering around to hear Him. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered among themselves, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Here, the lost sheep represents the tax collectors and sinners, and the shepherd represents the Lord Jesus. Every sheep is precious in His eyes; when one of His one hundred sheep went astray, He left the ninety-nine to search for the lost one until He found it. Upon finding it, He rejoiced greatly and invited friends and neighbors to share in His joy. Then the Lord Jesus said, “There will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” When a sinner repents, there is rejoicing in heaven, the Heavenly Father rejoices, and the angels rejoice as well.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)
Before believing in the Lord, we were all like sheep that had gone astray, each turned to our own way; we lived without God and without the Lord Jesus as our Shepherd. Yet, God and the Lord Jesus sought us out and brought us back. The Lord Jesus came into the world to seek the lost; we hope that more people will believe in Him, turn to Him, and let Him to be their Shepherd, following and trusting in Him.
May God bless you and your family!

²⁵ Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: ²⁶ “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. ²⁷ And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. ²⁸ “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? ²⁹ For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, ³⁰ saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ ³¹ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? ³² If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. (Luke 14:25-32)
Large crowds were traveling with the Lord Jesus, because of His teachings, the many signs and wonders He performed, or for other reasons. The Lord said to them: “If anyone comes to me and does not love me more than his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” In the original Greek, the word used is “hate”, to “hate” one’s family; the parallel passage in the Gospel of Matthew also speaks of loving the Lord more than anyone else. The Lord Jesus does not literally mean we should “hate” our family, for the Bible teaches us to honor our parents and love one another. Here, the Lord Jesus teaches us to put Him first, to love Him more than our family and even our own lives, otherwise, we cannot be His disciples. We cannot be His disciples unless we deny ourselves and take up our own cross to follow Him. We know of builders who start building a building without properly calculating the cost, only to find themselves unable to finish it; similarly, the Lord Jesus wants us to count the cost of discipleship so that we may persevere to the end. He used another parable regarding warfare, discipleship involves a spiritual battle, we need to count the cost. Being a disciple is not merely about receiving God’s blessings; it requires obeying the Lord, denying ourselves, and putting the Lord first rather than putting our family or ourselves first. We must count the cost and follow the Lord faithfully to the end.
May God bless you and your family!

¹⁵ When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁶ Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. ¹⁷ At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ ¹⁸ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ ¹⁹ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ ²⁰ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ ²¹ “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ ²² “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ ²³ “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. ²⁴ I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’” (Luke 14:15-24)
Here, the Lord Jesus says that the kingdom of God is like a man hosting a great banquet. The man represents God; He prepares the banquet and issues invitations, and when the time arrives, He sends His servant to summon the guests. However, one by one, they offer excuses for not attending. The first says, “I have bought a field, and I must go and see it.” He surely would have inspected the field before purchasing it; he could see it after the banquet. Another says, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am on my way to try them out.” He could have tried out before buying them, or he could try them out after attending the banquet. Another said, “I have just married a wife, so I cannot go.” He could have gone together with his wife; they were simply making excuses. For people today, these excuses might be studies, work, or family or other reasons for not attending the banquet. The issue is prioritizing one’s studies, work, or family over God’s banquet; they don’t put God first. Because those invited first did not attend, the master told his servant, “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.” Even after inviting many, there were still room, so the master said to the servant, “Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. ” God extends His invitation to everyone to dine in the Kingdom of God; those who refuse the invitation will not get a taste of the banquet. Attending God’s banquet is a blessing, and those who do not attend forfeit that blessing. God first called the Israelites and the Gospel was preached to them first; because they did not accept the call, the Gospel was then preached to us Gentiles.
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. (John 3:3) Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.” (John 3:5)
Here, the Lord Jesus says that without being born again, without being born of water and the Spirit, one cannot see or enter the Kingdom of God. Being born again means believing in the Lord, being baptized, receiving the Holy Spirit, and being born of the Spirit. Hope that more people will accept the invitation to the banquet of God’s Kingdom, believe in the Lord, be baptized, be born again and saved, enter the Kingdom of God, receive eternal life, and receive God’s blessings.

¹² Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. ¹³ But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, ¹⁴ and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:12-14)
Jesus told the host who invited him: When you host a meal, do not invite your friends, brothers, relatives, or rich neighbors, because they may invite you back and you will be repaid. Invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind; they cannot repay you, but the Lord will repay you at the resurrection of the righteous. The main idea here is not to receive the repayment from others, then the Lord will repay you in the future!
² “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:2-4)
This passage is about the motivation for doing good is not to to be honored by others, it does not mean that you cannot do good deeds in front of others. It means that the motivation is not to be honored by others. If the motivation is to be honored by others, a reward has already been received; if the motivation is not to be honored by others, the Heavenly Father will reward you.
And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” (Matthew 10:42)
Here, Jesus speaks of giving a cup of cold water to the least of his disciples, and even that would be rewarded by the Father.
During the pandemic, we gave a gift to a brother in our church. Later, I had a dream, in the dream our late pastor gave me a gift. At first, I knew what the gift was, but later I didn’t know. The meaning of the dream is that what we do for our brothers and sisters in the church are remembered by the Lord and will be rewarded by the Lord. Thank the Lord!
May God bless you and your family!

⁷ When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: ⁸ “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. ⁹ If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. ¹¹ For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 14:7-11)
Here we see that the Lord Jesus was invited and saw that the guests picked the places of honor, then He told this parable. He advised people not to sit in the place of honor when invited, but to sit in the lowest place, saying: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” God gives grace to the humble. One who exalts himself will be humbled; one who humbles himself will be exalted.
⁹ To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ ¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ ¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)
This passage is the prayer of the Pharisee and the tax collector. The Pharisee, self-righteous and looked down on everyone else, exalted himself but was humbled. The tax collector, knowing that he was a sinner before God, humbled himself and was justified before God. The tax collector humbled himself and was exalted.
May God bless you and your family!

²² Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. ²³ Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them, ²⁴ “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. ²⁵ Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ ²⁶ “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ ²⁷ “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’ ²⁸ “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. ²⁹ People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. ³⁰ Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.” (Luke 13:22-30)
Someone asked the Lord Jesus: “are only a few people going to be saved?” He told the crowd to strive to enter through the narrow door, for many would want to enter but would not be able to. They knew about Jesus, but Jesus said that he didn’t know them; they had no relationship with Him. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the prophets are in God’s kingdom, and many from all the world, from the east, west, south, and north have feast in God’s kingdom, but they could not enter. Jesus said that they were evildoers, lawless people, and lawbreakers.
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:4)
This says that sin is breaking the law, sin is not obeying God’s will, and sin is lawlessness.
Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:10)
This says that love is the fulfillment of the law; evildoers or lawless people are those without love.
Jesus continued, “But some who are last will be first, and some who are first will be last.” We know that the self-righteous Pharisees and scribes at that time did not believe in Jesus, while tax collectors and sinners repented and turned to him. Therefore, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God before you.”
For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. (Matthew 23:12)
Here Jesus says that the proud, those who exalt themselves will be humbled and the humble, those who humble themselves will be exalted. Hope that more people will believe in the Lord, enter through the narrow door, enter the kingdom of God.
May God bless you and your family!