Commentary on the Parable of the Lost Sheep and Lost Piece of Silver.
Maurice Nicoll talks about the meaning of two Parables in the Gospel of Luke—one the parable of the lost sheep and the other about a lost piece of silver.
Parable of the Lost Sheep:
What man of you, having a hundred sheep, and having lost one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness
and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And
when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and his neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have
found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth,
more than over ninety and nine righteous persons, which need no repentance.’ (Luke xv.4-7)
Parable of the Lost Piece of Silver:
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 neighbours, saying, Rejoice with
me, for I have found the piece which I have lost. Even so, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. (Luke xv.8-10)
Once again, the Pharisees are used as a foil, a contrast, for the teachings.
“In both parables, the finding of one out of many is the subject. And this one, when found, is connected with metanoia (repentance). Both the lost sheep and the lost piece of silver represent something lost, the finding of which is explained as ‘repentance’. That is, there lies in these two parables a further indication of what metanoia or transformation of mind, means. Since ‘repentance’ is an internal act taking place in a man the parables must have an internal meaning – that is, the lost sheep is something lost in a man which he must find himself; and similarly in the case of the lost piece of silver. And it must be said again that this something in each case is designated by the numeral one. The finding of the one, therefore, defines the meaning of metanoia taking place in a man. He leaves the many in order to find the one that is missing.” Maurice Nicoll, The Mark, p140
Maurice continues, “In the Gospels the word translated as sin means in the literal Greek άµαρτανω, ‘missing the mark’, as of a spear thrown at some object and failing to hit it. And from meaning to miss the mark, it came to mean failing in one’s purpose, and so erring or doing wrong. In everyone there is a conventional side which has been acquired from life, and which is not a man’s own. Or if we take the Pharisee in a man, whatever a man does from this side is a pretence and not done genuinely from the man himself. Everyone who makes an effort from what is not really his own or does something that is not from himself can only miss the mark, for the one thing in him that can succeed is not being used. He is not making effort from the one point in him that is real. This point is, in fact, lost. This is what it is first of all necessary to understand before considering any further these parables and their connection with those following them.” Maurice Nicoll, The Mark, p141-42
Regarding the Pharisees, Maurice says that “Their opinions are fixed, and their ideas are settled and for such people ‘change of mind’ is impossible simply because there is nothing in them that seeks it. In the most external sense, [the Parables] mean that only one man out of a hundred feels the necessity of re-understanding his life and finding new meanings for his existence.” Maurice Nicoll, The Mark, p140
“We all have the mission of finding and bringing back to the flock (i.e. to the soul’s choral harmony) the lost sheep in ourselves. We are missionaries in the subjective domain of our own soul, charged with the task of the conversion of our desires, ambitions, etc. We have to persuade them that they are seeking the realization of their dreams in a false way, by showing them the true way. It is not a matter of commandment, but rather of the alchemy of the cross, i.e. making present an alternative way for our desires, ambitions, passions, etc. It is a matter, moreover, of the alchemical ‘marriage of opposites’. The practical way of doing this is meditation. It is deep meditation which makes present every ‘lost sheep’ in us, with sufficient force to impress on it the alternative concerned.” Valentin Tomberg, Meditations on the Tarot, p455-456.
Logion 107
Yeshua says...
The divine Realm can be compared
to a shepherd who had one hundred sheep.
One of the finest went astray,
so he left the ninety-nine
and went out searching for it until he found it.
Troubled, he said,
"I longed for you more than the ninety-nine."
[For me, there is more than one angle from which to view this teaching. One would be that a part in us that feels lost and is seeking higher truths is more important than all the parts of us that are ok with life as it is. Another would be that if we have reoriented ourselves to the Wisdom Teachings, the single part of us that has doubts is the one that must be looked after. Finally, there is the idea that when a part of us begins searching, there is help from above that is searching for us. WB]
Read more Impressions on the Parables of Jesus.
On our companion website of children’s stories with a Wisdom flavor, there is a story about a lost sheep.
Page numbers for Maurice Nicoll’s The Mark refer to Thomas Nelson & Sons, New York, 1954
All quotations from the Gospel of Thomas are from Lynn C Bauman, Ward J Bauman, Cynthia Bourgeault, The Luminous Gospels (Praxis 2000
Note: Maurice also covers this ground in the Commentaries in Vol 5 p1640
Valentin Tomberg, Meditations on the Tarot, Jeremy Tarcher, 1985
Read the Impression introducing the Gospel of Thomas.
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