In these two parables Jesus tells the story of two lost items – a sheep and a coin. Everyone hearing this story can identify both with loosing something and the effort of looking intensely for a lost item.

Jesus uses this familiar experience of losing items and the joy of finding them to respond to the grumblings of the religious self-righteous who were complaining about Jesus spending time with and eating with sinners.
With these parables Jesus teaches two things that reveal the character and heart of God toward sinful man.