Right before he told the story of the Prodigal Son who ran way and then came back, Jesus told two other quick stories. The first was about a man with many sheep who lost one and went looking for it. The second story was about a woman who lost a coin and went looking for it.
The assumption seems to be that's the normal thing to do and of course anyone would go looking for something they lost, even if they had others like it. It belongs to them; they want to find it, get it back.
And Jesus mentions the rejoicing when the lost thing is found and then says that in the same way there is rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who...
Who what?
Who is found, right? He's been talking about looking for lost things and finding them and he's saying it's the same with people who are lost -- there's rejoicing when they're found, too, right?
That's not what he says.
He says the rejoicing is "over one sinner who repents."
And then he goes right into the third story, about the son who runs away, gets lost, and then changes his mind, repents, and comes home. And there's a big party and rejoicing. He doesn't deserve the welcome home -- but his father loves him and longs to forgive him. He was lost and now he's found.
When the kids mess up, mom and dad can gently offer forgiveness and a hug. When the kid admits it, the thing is forgiven and they start over. Unless the child says NO -- I won't take your forgiveness, I don't need it, I haven't done anything wrong. Then there's no hug, no forgiveness (they rejected it), no welcome home. They stay lost.
Or it might be like playing hide and seek and when the seeker finds you, you stay in the closet behind the clothes and refuse to come out. You're found but you stay lost...
Apparently, God's finding the lost thing -- the person -- is related to the person changing his mind (repenting). The finding and the repenting are kinda the same thing, almost interchangeable.
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