The Meaning of Luke 15:5 Explained

Luke 15:5

KJV: And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

YLT: and having found, he doth lay it on his shoulders rejoicing,

Darby: and having found it, he lays it upon his own shoulders, rejoicing;

ASV: And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  when he hath found  [it], he layeth  [it] on  his  shoulders,  rejoicing. 

What does Luke 15:5 Mean?

Context Summary

Luke 15:1-10 - Seeking And Finding The Lost
They that have left the fold in which they were nurtured in early life, and have gone over bleak mountains and through tangled brakes, find themselves in this exquisite picture. But the Lord is on their track. He cannot abide happily with the rest, while one sheep is liable to be torn by beasts of prey or caught away by eagles. He goes after it till He finds it. Don't you think, mother, that the Lord loves that child of yours, now far away, as much as you do? Cannot you trust Him to seek until He finds? Then He will ask you to rejoice with Him. Jesus not only receiveth sinners, but seeketh them. Those who have always lived an outwardly correct life and who do not think themselves in need of repentance are the ninety and nine.
Some have the King's stamp on them, but have rolled away into the dark corner amid dust and shavings. Oh, that we were all more willing to go down on our knees to sweep the floor to find the lost! The nine links of a necklace are useless if the tenth is missing. Christ cannot be satisfied until the lost coin is found. [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 15

1  The parable of the lost sheep;
8  of the piece of silver;
11  of the prodigal son

Greek Commentary for Luke 15:5

On his shoulders [επι τους ωμους αυτου]
He does it himself in exuberant affection and of necessity as the poor lost sheep is helpless. Note the plural shoulders showing that the sheep was just back of the shepherd‘s neck and drawn around by both hands. The word for shoulder (ωμος — ōmos) is old and common, but in the N.T. only here and Matthew 23:4. [source]
Rejoicing [χαιρων]
“There is no upbraiding of the wandering sheep, nor murmuring at the trouble” (Plummer). [source]
When he hath found it []
Matthew, If so be that he find it. [source]
On his shoulders []
Lit., his own shoulders. “He might have employed a servant's aid, but love and joy make the labor sweet to himself” (Bengel). The “Good Shepherd” is a favorite subject in early Christian art. “We cannot go through any part of the catacombs, or turn over the pages of any collection of ancient Christian monuments, without coming across it again and again. We know from Tertullian that it was often designed upon chalices. We find it ourselves painted in fresco upon the roofs and walls of the sepulchral chambers; rudely scratched upon gravestones, or more carefully sculptured on sarcophagi; traced in gold upon glass, moulded on lamps, engraved on rings; and, in a word, represented on every species of Christian monument that has come down to us … .It was selected because it expressed the whole sum and substance of the Christian dispensation … .He is sometimes represented alone with his flock; at other times accompanied by his apostles, each attended by one or more sheep. Sometimes he stands amidst many sheep; sometimes he caresses one only; but most commonly - so commonly as almost to form a rule to which other scenes might be considered the exceptions - he bears a lost sheep, or even a goat, upon his shoulders” (Northcote and Brownlow, “Roma Sotterranea”). A beautiful specimen is found in the mausoleum of Galls Placidia, at Ravenna, erected about 450 a.d. It is a mosaic in green and gold. The figure is a beautiful one, youthful in face and form, as is usual in the early mosaics, and surrounded by his sheep. Facing this appears, over the altar, the form of Christ seated beside a kind of furnace, on the other side of which stands a little open bookcase. He is engaged in casting heretical books into the fire. Are they, indeed, the same - the Shepherd Christ of the Gospels, and the polemic Christ of the ecclesiastics [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 15:5 mean?

And having found [it] he lays [it] on the shoulders of him rejoicing
καὶ εὑρὼν ἐπιτίθησιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ὤμους αὐτοῦ χαίρων

εὑρὼν  having  found  [it] 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: εὑρίσκω  
Sense: to come upon, hit upon, to meet with.
ἐπιτίθησιν  he  lays  [it] 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἐπιτίθημι  
Sense: in the active voice.
ὤμους  shoulders 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: ὦμος  
Sense: a shoulder.
αὐτοῦ  of  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
χαίρων  rejoicing 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: χαίρω  
Sense: to rejoice, be glad.