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Luke 15:1-10

¹ Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. ² And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

³ So he told them this parable: ⁴ “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ ⁷ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

⁸ “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? ⁹ And 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.’ ¹⁰ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Our text shows one scene and that is Jesus associating with the lowlifes, the riff-raff, the scum of the earth. Not only is Jesus talking with them, He is eating with them. Our text reveals this one scene, but two very different reactions to it.

First, is the reaction of the Pharisees and scribes. In the Jewish mind, eating with someone was like putting a rubber stamp with big, red letters “APPROVED” upon their behavior and life. So just imagine the worst of the worst – the burn-outs, the promiscuous, the hoodlums, those who leech off the system, you name it. Jesus is right in there with them. He’s not even shy about it. The scribes and Pharisees see this, and their heads explode. This is just not appropriate for anyone, so they grumble and murmur. That’s the first reaction.

The second reaction is the reaction of heaven itself. The angels look down on this same scene, and they throw a party. Because when heaven looks at the exact same scene, it sees Jesus, the Son of God, keeping His Word and promise.

Heaven sees God doing exactly what He promised to do in our Old Testament lesson (Ezekiel 34:11-24). God is seeking His lost sheep. God is rescuing them from the places where they have been scattered. He is gathering them from the ends of the earth. He is feeding and making them lie down in the good pastures. Yahweh is bringing back the strayed, binding up the injured, and strengthening the weak. God is doing His God thing. He is showing His steadfast love and mercy.

Heaven looks down and sees the holy, eternal, almighty Son of God in the flesh eating with the most despicable people you could imagine, and heaven rejoices.

Now, it is easy to get mad at the scribes and Pharisees. Our tendency is to point the finger at them and say, “They shouldn’t be so hard-nosed. They think they are so good. They just think they’re better than everyone. They should understand no one’s perfect.”

Repent. As soon as you say that, you’ve become just like them. Because, you see, when Jesus tells these parables, heaven continues to rejoice. When Jesus tells these parables, He is still doing His God thing. He is seeking after His lost sheep, the scribes and Pharisees. He wants to bring them into the fold as well. He wants to rescue them, bind them up, and be their shepherd as well. The parables are Jesus doing that very seeking.

Jesus is the Shepherd who goes out after that one lost sheep. He finds it, but then the hard work really begins. The sheep can’t walk. It’s too scared. But the shepherd lays that sheep on his shoulders rejoicing even though he has to lug this 60-pound animal back home. And instead of collapsing after his exertion, he invites the whole town over for a party because he hasn’t lost his wandering sheep.

Jesus is the woman who lights a lamp and sweeps the whole house to find her one lost coin. Then, she calls everyone together to party because she found what she lost.

And here is the kicker. Jesus says, “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

Think about what that means. Now, we all know that everyone needs repentance. No one is righteous. But Jesus is saying that the one who has repentance and faith causes heaven to break out into a raucous party. And with these two parables, Jesus redefines repentance.

Too often, we think that repentance is the least we can do and that repentance is what we do to get or earn God’s forgiveness. We put on a show of feeling sorry and tell God, “Here is my repentance God. Accept me because of this repentance I’m offering to you.” That’s not how repentance works.

Instead, Jesus pictures repentance in these parables as being found. All the sheep contributed to its’ being found was to wander off and get lost. And all the coin did was lay in a dark crack gathering dust. But both are found and restored. That’s repentance because from that picture Jesus says, “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

There aren’t ninety-nine who need no repentance. But there is One who needs no repentance. In each parable, the focus is more on the shepherd than the sheep, or more on the woman than the coin. These parables are about Jesus, how He does His God thing. He rescues the lost. Because of His work, heaven rejoices.

Remember how the multitude of the heavenly host came down the night Jesus was born and rejoiced? Do you hear what Jesus is saying in this verse? Heaven rejoices more over one sinner who repents than it would rejoice over ninety-nine Jesuses who needs no repentance. Every sinner on earth, everyone with inborn sin and everyone with actual sin. Every terrorist, adulterer, child pornographer. Every liar, every oath-breaker, every hypocrite, every braggart, every bully. Every selfish, prideful, bent-in-on-himself person through all of history who repents causes heaven to rejoice more than it did at the birth of Jesus. All because you are the fruit of Jesus’ labor.

Dear sinner, there is joy in heaven over you. Because you have been repented, you have been found, by your Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.