WHAT HEAVEN CARES ABOUT
Luke 15:1-7 NKJV
1 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them." 3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying: 4 "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which 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 neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' 7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
This entire chapter is about reaching those who are lost and away from God. The religious people were complaining about who Jesus was receiving and eating with, and of course, Jesus had an answer.
Tax collectors and sinners would come around to see Jesus and hear what He had to say. That in itself says volumes. One, these people, whom the religious society wanted nothing to do with, would feel comfortable enough to come around Jesus. So His demeanor must have been warm and accepting. The second thing this says is that His words were life-giving, not condemning. Most people are perceptive enough to tell if they are valued and wanted. Tax collectors and sinners were routinely rejected by the Jewish leaders, so they knew when they were being patronized or genuinely treated well. Jesus was the real deal to them and a breath of spiritual fresh air.
Jesus had a story for the Pharisees and scribes who were complaining about the company He kept. Once again, Jesus used animals as a basis of comparison. In His day, sheep were assets and the livelihood of their owners. Sheep had value. And Jesus knew that anyone losing one sheep was unwilling to be content with the knowledge that there were 99 more. Lost sheep needed to be found. And so, effort was put into finding the lost sheep. When the sheep was found, the owner would carry it back to the flock rejoicing. And the owner would even call his friends about the lost sheep being found. When lost sheep were located and brought home, it was a cause for rejoicing—time to throw a found-sheep party.
Jesus then sums up His parable by likening the man rejoicing over his lost sheep being found, to heaven rejoicing over one person coming back to God. Jesus said there was more joy in heaven over one lost person being found. Even more joy there than over the 99 who do not need to repent and make a change. Jesus did not say that heaven loves the one who was lost and then found more than the 99. He simply says that heaven rejoices more over the lost being found.
Jesus goes on to relate a very similar parable of the woman who has ten coins and loses one. And then rejoices when she finds the lost coin. This is the very same principle of coins having value and are worth the effort. Of how much more value are people than coins. The lady rejoices over the lost coin being found. Heaven rejoices over a lost person receiving salvation. People have value, and being lost for eternity is too big a price to pay.
APPLICATION
These parables remind us that from Heaven's perspective, people matter. Regardless of their current condition, people have value. So when someone is saved from an eternity separated from God in hell, there is cause for great rejoicing in Heaven. And if we are wise, there is cause for us to rejoice as well.
PRAYER
Lord, help me to see the value of people as You do—people and their eternal destiny matter to You.