A Glimpse – The Gambia

Perhaps you’ve selected a Bible and started reading it. Maybe you’re even setting aside regular times to reflect or pray. You’ve gotten a taste of what’s inside, and a desire for God’s words is growing in you as you recognize the nourishment God offers in these encounters. What comes next? How do you go from a surface reading to unlocking and taking in more and more of what God has for you?

Whether you are reading the Bible for devotion, prayer, or academic learning, it is helpful to know how to study a Scripture passage. Studying helps us understand Scripture in its context, setting the stage for us to hear how God continues to speak to us through it today.

Find a comfy chair, pour a cup of coffee, and join me in studying the parable of the lost coin in Luke 15:8-10. Download this worksheet to try these ten steps on a passage of your choosing—alongside my example or anytime after.

1. Pray

Begin your time with prayer. Take a moment to clear your mind and focus your attention. Ask God to be with you as you study and reflect on this passage:

“Dear God, meet me as I read your Word. Give me eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to understand. Amen.”

2. Read the passage

Get familiar with your passage by reading it several times. Try reading it in different translations: at least one that is more word-for-word (like NRSV, NKJV, or NASB) as well as a translation that is more thought-for-thought (like GNT, NLT, or the Message). Notice how different translations help you understand the passage in different ways. What words and images stand out to you?

NRSV: “Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Message: “Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she’ll call her friends and neighbors: ‘Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!’ Count on it—that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.”

3. Who is speaking? To whom are they speaking?

Sometimes the speaker and audience are disclosed in the passage; other times you have to go back several verses or chapters. In this passage, the previous verses tell us that the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. This made the Pharisees and scribes—the religious professionals—grumble. So Jesus addresses this teaching to them (Luke 15:1-3). Knowing Jesus is speaking these words makes us hear them as spoken with his authority. Take into account who is speaking, who they are speaking to, and what they are speaking about to discern the meaning and relative weight of your passage.

4. Who are the key characters?

Name the characters and find out who they are. Do they appear anywhere else in Scripture? Do they have a backstory? Do they have a title or role? In and around this passage, we have Pharisees and scribes, who are the religious elite in Jesus’s time. We have tax collectors and sinners, who are the outcasts. And we have the unnamed woman of the parable, respectable but with little status in Jewish culture because of her gender.

5. What is the genre of literature?

This teaching is identified as a parable (Luke 15:3), and it follows familiar markers of this type of writing. Parables tell stories using common images—like sheep and agriculture and families—to communicate deeper truths. They are fictional teaching illustrations, usually with some unexpected twist. Jesus often uses parables in teaching his disciples and other followers.

Other biblical genres you will encounter include narrative, law, prophecy, letters, wisdom, and apocalyptic literature. Identifying the genre helps us know how to read the passage—is this meant to be literal or figurative? Is it teaching or telling me something? Knowledge of the genre can help point us toward the intended meanings, similar to how we would read a novel or a history book with different expectations.

6. What does the original language say?

This step may sound daunting, but online tools now make the Greek and Hebrew behind our English translations more accessible to any reader. My favorite is Blue Letter Bible. Type in your Bible reference, then click on a specific verse to see it expanded in the original language. From that view, you can select a word and connect to its entry in their edition of Strong’s Concordance. You can see where else in the Bible this word has been used and the ways other translators have translated it, giving you a more nuanced understanding of its meaning.

7. What comes before and after the passage?

As we saw, zooming out a little helps us read the passage in context. What is happening before and after your verses? Is your passage a continuation of what came before? Is it setting up something that comes later?

Often parables come in a series, each expounding on the same teaching, or interpreting the other. In this passage, the parables before and after further illustrate the same concept. Each tells about something (or someone) that was lost being found—a lost sheep, a lost coin, a lost son. Each gives a metaphor for God personally seeking out the lost—the shepherd, the woman, the father. The recovery leads to great rejoicing, pointing to God’s joy “over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).

8. What are characteristics of the whole book?

Zoom out even further. What can you find out about the whole book? You may want to consult a commentary, online Bible resource, or notes included with your Bible or study Bible. What is the historical or cultural context? What are the book’s themes? Do you know who wrote or compiled it? Remember, much of the New Testament was written in the Ancient Near East during the first century, and the Old Testament is even older, so its assumptions are very different from ours in the global twenty-first century!

Often some of this information can be found in the first chapter. The author may identify who they are speaking as, address their audience, or state their purpose. For our passage, we can identify Luke as one of the four Gospels, or accounts of the life of Jesus. Luke set out to write an “orderly account” about Jesus’s life, ministry, death, and resurrection (Luke 1:1-4).

Luke’s Gospel is set within the Roman Empire, which had harsh class distinctions and power structures. There were clear “in groups” and “out groups.” The poor, women, and certain ethnic groups were at the bottom of society, often shunned and mistreated. But throughout Luke, Jesus’s call includes the outsiders. And Jesus calls his disciples to do the same.

9. What is the passage’s message to its intended audience?

There are always layers to the audience when reading Scripture. Consider who is listening to the message, who the book was written to, who this writing spoke to on a wider scale, and who is receiving its words today. In this passage we have the hearers of Jesus, the church community of Luke, the wider New Testament church, and us too.

Piecing all our research together, we now get to make some initial conclusions. The Pharisees and scribes, who are powerful and elite, are grumbling because Jesus is including sinners and outcasts in his ministry. This is an ongoing tension throughout Luke’s Gospel. In response, Jesus uses a series of parables to reiterate that including outsiders is the focus of his ministry—and one of God’s primary concerns. Jesus came to seek out the lost, and God rejoices greatly when they are found. He uses an image of a woman—someone who did not have status in his culture—to represent God diligently seeking out those who are lost and celebrating at their return.

10. Reflect on the passage’s significance for you

The last step is to take all your gleanings and contemplate what this passage may be saying to you. Each person will find that different aspects or truths stand out. God may be showing you something specific about your own journey and spiritual growth. Take time to reflect and listen.

What is God saying to you as you reflect on the parable of the lost coin? Consider these questions: Who are the lost or outcasts in your culture, community, family? If God seeks out the lost, are you called to do the same? How might you do this? Conversely, what are lost parts of yourself, in need of Jesus? In what ways might God be seeking you now? How would it feel to be found?

As you go forward, live with the passage. Let the words and observations take root inside you. See if they come to mind in certain situations, giving you wisdom or insight or calling you to take an action. Let the passage’s meanings mature in you over time.

1 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.

3 ¶ And he spake this parable unto them, saying, 4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? 5 And when he hath found it , he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. 7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

8 ¶ 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 ? 9 And when she hath found it , she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. 10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

11 ¶ And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me . And he divided unto them his living. 13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. 14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. 15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it ; and let us eat, and be merry: 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. 25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. 28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. 29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: 30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. 31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. 32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

Saajii filiriŋo

(Matiyu 18:12-14)

1 Bituŋ duwaañoolu niŋ junubelaalu naata Yeesu daala ka a lamoyi. 2 Wo to le Farisewolu* niŋ Luwaa karammoolu* ŋunuŋunuta ko, “Ñiŋ kewo ka junubelaalu le jiyandi, aduŋ a niŋ ì ka domoroo ke ñoo la fanaa.”

3 Bituŋ Yeesu ye ñiŋ mansaaloo fo ì ye 4 ko: “Kee jumaa le be alitolu kono, niŋ a ye saajii keme soto, a la saajii kiliŋ naata fili wolu kono, a te saajii taŋ kononto niŋ konontoo tu la wuloo kono ka taa wo saajii kiliŋo ñini, meŋ filita, fo a ye a je? 5 Aduŋ niŋ a ye a je, a si a laa a sañoo kaŋ, a niŋ seewoo. 6 Niŋ a seyita naŋ suwo kono, a si a teeroolu niŋ a siiñoolu kumandi ñoo kaŋ, a ye a fo ì ye ko, ‘Ali seewoo m fee, kaatu ŋa n na saajii kiliŋo je le, meŋ filita.’

7 “Ŋa a fo ali ye, wo ñaa kiliŋo la seewoo be wara la Arijana kono le junubelaa kiliŋ na tuuboo la ka tambi moo tilindiŋ taŋ kononto niŋ konontoo la, mennu maŋ suula tuuboo la.

Kodicoroosi filiriŋo la mansaaloo

8 “Waraŋ musu jumaa le, niŋ kodiforo coroosi taŋ be a bulu, kiliŋo naata fili a ma, a te lampoo mala la ka buŋo fita, ka a ñini kendeke, fo a ye a je? 9 Niŋ a ye a je, a si a teeroolu niŋ a siiñoolu kumandi ñoo kaŋ, a ye a fo ì ye ko, ‘Ali seewoo m fee, kaatu ŋa n na kodicoroosoo je le, meŋ filita.’

10 “Ŋa a fo ali ye, wo ñaa kiliŋo la seewoo be Alla la malaayikoolu fee le junubelaa kiliŋ na tuuboo la.”

Dinkee filiriŋo la mansaaloo

11 Bituŋ Yeesu ko: “Kewo doo le ye dinkee fula soto. 12 Dindimmaa ko a faamaa ye ko, ‘M faamaa, n na keetaafeŋo dii n na, meŋ mu n niyo ti.’ Bituŋ a faamaa ye a la naafuloo talaa ì teema.

13 “Tili dantaŋ koolaa, dindimmaa ye a la keetaafeŋo bee kafu ñoo ma. A taamata ka taa banku jamfariŋo doo to. Jee le to a ye a la sotofeŋo bee kasaara ka bo niŋ bumbaayoo la. 14 Kabiriŋ a ye kodoo bee kasaara, konko baa naata boyi wo bankoo kaŋ. Bituŋ a naata bula fentaŋyaa kono. 15 Wo kamma la a naata tara dookuwo la bankudiŋ kiliŋ ye jee, meŋ ye a kii kunkoo to seewukantoo la. 16 A hameta ka a konoo fandi seewoolu la domoroo la, bari moo maŋ a dii a la. 17 Kabiriŋ a ye i miira a kekuwo la, a ko, ‘M faamaa ye dookuulaa jamaa le soto, aduŋ ì bee ka domoroo ke le fo too ka tu, bari nte fele, m be faa la konkoo la jaŋ. 18 M be wuli la le, ŋa taa m faamaa yaa. M be a fo la a ye le ko, “M faamaa, ŋa junube kuwo le ke Arijana aniŋ ite la. 19 Nte maŋ jari kotenke ka kumandi i dinkewo la, bari i si m muta ko i la dookuulaa.” ’

20 “Bituŋ a wulita, a taata a faamaa kaŋ. Biriŋ a be naa kaŋ, a be jamfariŋ, a faamaa ye a hayinaŋ doroŋ, a ye a suutee. A balafaata a ye. A borita, a ye a sisifaa a la, a ye a sumbu. 21 A dinkewo ko a ye ko, ‘M faamaa, ŋa junube kuwo le ke Arijana aniŋ ite la. Nte maŋ jari kotenke ka kumandi i dinkewo la.’ 22 Bari a faamaa ko a la dookuulaalu ye le ko, ‘Ali i tariyaa, ali ye dendika ñiimaa duŋ a la. Ali si konnaa fanaa duŋ a bulukondiŋo to. Ali ye samatoolu fanaa duŋ a siŋolu to. 23 Ali si ninsiriŋ batundoo samba naŋ, ali ye a faa. Ali ŋà domoroo ke, ŋà seewoo, 24 kaatu n na ñiŋ dinkewo faata le nuŋ, bari a baluuta le kotenke. A filita le nuŋ, bari a jeta le.’ Bituŋ ì ye domoroo dati seewoo kono.

25 “Wo waatoo la, a dinkee keebaa be nuŋ kunkoo le to. Kabiriŋ a be seyi kaŋ naŋ, a sutiyaata buŋo la, a naata kumafeŋolu niŋ doŋo moyi. 26 Bituŋ a ye dookuulaa kiliŋ kumandi, a ye a ñininkaa, meŋ be keriŋ. 27 Dookuulaa ko a ye ko, ‘I doomaa le naata, i faamaa ye ninsiriŋ batundoo le faa a ye, kaatu a seyita naŋ jaatikendeyaa le kono.’ 28 Bituŋ dinkee keebaa kamfaata, aduŋ a balanta ka duŋ suwo kono.

“Wo to le a faamaa fintita naŋ, a ye a daani, fo a si duŋ konoto. 29 Bituŋ a ye a faamaa jaabi ko, ‘A fele, nte tuta dookuwo la i ye ñiŋ sanji jamaa. N nene maŋ sawuŋ i la yaamaroo la, bari i nene maŋ hani baariŋo faŋo le dii n na, n niŋ n teerimaalu ye faŋ seewondi a la. 30 Bari kabiriŋ i ñiŋ dinkewo naata, meŋ niŋ cakoolu ye i la naafuloo kasaara, i ye ninsiriŋ batundoo faa a ye!’ 31 Bituŋ a faamaa ko a ye ko, ‘N diŋo, ite niŋ nte be ñoo kaŋ ne waatoo bee la. N na feŋolu bee mu ite le fanaa taa ti. 32 A beteyaata le, ŋà seewoo niŋ kontaanoo soto ñoo fee, kaatu i ñiŋ doomaa faata le nuŋ, bari saayiŋ, a baluuta le kotenke. A filita le nuŋ, bari a jeta le.’ ”