MORE JOY IN HEAVEN
Luke 15: 1-7 ESV
15 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.
Jesus is back to rocking the world of the religious leaders in Israel. I don't believe He was intentionally doing things to anger them. His ways were so contrary to their ways that the conflict was bound to happen. For hundreds of years, no one had questioned these leaders. But along comes John the Baptist, who called them snakes and vipers, and then here comes Jesus, who challenged their ways of operating, and they were steaming.
In our verses for today, the Pharisees, the most legalistic of the religious rulers, were grumbling about Jesus. Their complaint centered around Jesus receiving tax collectors and sinners. Jesus would even sit down and eat with them. To eat with someone was a sign of respect. It was one thing to be around sinners and tax collectors but to eat with them took things to an entirely different level.
Jesus addressed their complaints by sharing a parable. He illustrated heaven's perspective in this fifteenth chapter with the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. Jesus related to the Jewish way of life by His stories of a man who had one hundred sheep. Sheep ownership was common in Israel. If one of the sheep went missing, the man went looking for it. What this man did not do was simply be content with still having ninety-nine sheep. The attitude was not hey, I am happy with what I have. The attitude, that none of Jesus' listeners would argue with, was find the one sheep that was lost. So the man would make a concerted effort to find his lost sheep, even leaving the ninety-nine for a time.
The thing to look for in this parable is attitude. God does not leave us because He has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you." What Jesus was communicating was the attitude toward those who are lost and away from God. Jesus was receiving and eating with people that religion wanted nothing to do with. Religion was focused on the ninety-nine, and Jesus was looking for the one lost sheep.
When the lost sheep was found, the man puts the sheep on his shoulders and comes back to home rejoicing. Then, this man calls his friends and neighbors to rejoice with him because the lost sheep, a valuable asset, has been found. The one was valued and rejoiced over. And Jesus said heaven rejoices more over one lost sinner who comes to the Lord than the ninety-nine who never strayed. Jesus did not say heaven ignores the ninety-nine. Nor does He say that heaven does not value the ninety-nine. What Jesus is saying is that heaven rejoices more, and there is more joy in heaven over the lost being found. Is there joy for the ninety-nine who did not leave the fold? Absolutely, but they have already been found. More joy is when the lost are found and restored.
APPLICATION
The challenge for the church is to make sure we don't grumble about the efforts and expense to reach the lost, those who are away from God. We can't simply be happy with the ninety-nine and forget those who need salvation or need to return to the Lord.
Over the years at The Ark, we have tried to stay aligned with heaven's perspective. We have made efforts to reach people who are away from God. We have tried to remove the barriers that make it harder for people to come to church. We have not forgotten the lost in the nations of the world who have not heard the gospel, which is why we give every month towards world missions. We by no means do everything right, and we have plenty of room for improvement, so we keep praying and reaching out and seeking God. We want to be a part of reaching and receiving those that cause more joy in heaven.