The God Of Joy

December 15, 2019 Preacher: Randy Smith Series: Luke

Scripture: Luke 15:1–10

The God Of Joy

Luke 15:1–10
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Pastor Randy Smith


As we turn the page to chapter 15 in Luke’s Gospel, we are confronted with three well-known parables that all contain the same theme. Something or someone is lost. The object or person is found. The closest one to the object or person then rejoices. The players in the three parables are: a lost sheep, a lost coin and a lost son. This week I would like to cover the first two in verses 1-10, with the majority of our attention on the lost sheep.

Luke was not just a simple historian trying to record chronological facts. As Luke was guided by the Holy Spirit, he wrote with a specific purpose, fitting the stories of Jesus into the narrative he wished to convey. Chapter 15 comes at a very interesting and strategic time.

As you will remember, Jesus in chapters 13 and 14 presented strong teaching as to what is required if you wish to be His disciple. We know that salvation is only by grace, through faith, in Christ. But to eliminate any misconception, Jesus with the skill of an artist pained a clear picture of what He expects among those who desire to follow Him. In two words: Total Commitment.

We should all know the four parts of a good Gospel presentation: The holiness of God. The depravity of man. The Person and work of Christ. Not much of that is in chapters 13-14. The fourth point? Receiving Christ through faith and repentance. Chapters 13 and 14 make this fourth part crystal-clear. What is expected regarding our response? What does true faith and true repentance look like?

You folks remember all this:

13:3 – repentant faith.

13:9 – faith that produces spiritual fruit.

13:24 – striving faith through a narrow door faith.

14:10 – humble faith.

14:14 – compassionate faith.

14:24 – committed faith.

14:26 – loving faith that puts Jesus over self, others and possessions.

14:27 – a willing to suffer for Jesus faith.

 

Now, I do not believe this is a checklist, but I do believe it’s a way we can examine if our faith is genuine or halfhearted. It’s a way we can, 14:28-32, consider the cost as to whether or not we are serious about following Jesus and that we truly desire to come to Him on His terms. We can say, total commitment faith – a willingness to exchange your life for His and submit to Him now as Lord of your life.

Now I say all that by way of review because as we conclude chapter 14, we are forced to sit back and consider the expectations (again – 14:28-32). Jesus is asking for a lot. Salvation is free, but in a sense, it will cost us everything. According to Jesus, the stakes are high. In 13:28 heaven and hell hang in the balance. Am I prepared to take Jesus at His words? And if I do, the big question I need to now ask is how the Triune God, specifically the Father, will respond. Will He be committed to me? Will He receive me reluctantly or wholeheartedly? Does He really care if I come to Him? What to Him is one more follower?

So, here is the main point of our sermon. Chapter 15 describes the joyous reaction of the Father to every particular individual who come to Him through Christ. Chapter 15 describes God’s love for repentant sinners.

A Human Observation

Let’s get moving here with the first point: “A Human Observation.”

As we have witnessed in chapters 13 and 14, the pattern repeats itself in chapter 15. The teaching of Jesus is in response to the horrible actions of the Jewish religious leaders. He continually observes them and then holds them up as a negative example of what not to do.

Look with me at verse 1. “Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him.”

So, Jesus was rejected by the religious leaders and in a sense, Jesus also rejected them. But we see here the most notorious individuals in Israel were following Jesus and receiving His teaching. “Tax collectors” (verse 1) were viewed as traders because they worked for Rome. They extorted money from their own Jewish people and had a reputation of dishonesty. And “sinners” was general term for the spiritual rejects of society. They were rebels to the man-made religious system of the Pharisees. Perhaps this was another name specifically for the prostitutes.

As the Pharisees are observing this, we really need to see things through their eyes. You see, the Pharisees believed these people were unclean. And touching them or moreover the intimacy of eating with them, would make them unclean. Therefore, they looked down on these folks. They avoided any contact with them. They wrote them off because they believed God wrote them off. So, you can imagine their shock when they, verse 1, observed Jesus (as a religious leader) receiving, welcoming these people!

Verse 2 makes that clear. “Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’”

Now, all in the story are deemed religious leaders (Jesus and the Pharisees), but they are divided by two opposing positions. Should it be your goal to avoid sinners or should it be your goal to seek them out? Do you look down on sinners or do you look for sinners? Do you grumble when sinners want God, or do you rejoice when sinners want God? Which teacher’s attitude validates the attitude of God? That is the big question here!

A Human Story

So, to answer those questions, Jesus tells His first parable of chapter 15. In a sense this story corners the Pharisees in a trap. But overall, this is a teaching device – an earthly story that all present would understand intended to convey a spiritual meaning. Let’s go to the second point and examine the story first from a human perspective.

Beginning in verse 3, “So He told them this parable, saying, ‘What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 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 which was lost’’” (Lk. 15:3-6).

Let’s break this down. Being a shepherd was a common occupation in Israel. Unfortunately, those in the occupation we’re viewed as the low-life’s in Israel – dirty, spiritually unclean, dishonest. You sensing a pattern here? Tax collectors (verse 1), sinners (verse 1 and 2), now shepherds (verse 3), a woman in the next parable (verse 8), a rebellious son in the third parable (verse 12). We’ll come back to that.

Anyway, the job description of a shepherd is unmistakable: Watch over the sheep and do not lose any! Therefore, is one sheep wanders off it is imperative that the shepherd do all in his ability to recover the lost sheep. After all, that is his job!

And since sheep are not intelligent and defenseless, a lost sheep is often a dead sheep. It was his job to locate that sheep. This was a diligent, committed, fearless reconnaissance mission. Verse 5 starts off not with “if” but rather “when he has found it.” According to tradition, you would locate that sheep and bring that sheep back whether it was dead or alive.

Now, no responsible shepherd would leave 99 sheep without any supervision to find one lost sheep. If that were the case, you might have found one, but now you would have lost 99! It is believed that a flock of 100 sheep probably had another, possibly two additional shepherds. When one left, another would stay (cf. 1 Sam. 17:28). But the meaning of the parable is not in these small details. The meaning of the parable is that shepherds have a responsibility to protect sheep. And when one sheep wanders off, it’s a “code red” to recover that sheep.

And then when the sheep was found, the shepherd would rejoice. He would lay the sheep over his shoulders wrapped around his neck and carry the sheep home. And when he returned home, he would call his friends and invite them to enter into his joy. Verse 6, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.”

So, before we look at this from God’s perspective, what’s the human principle from this story? We grieve when we lose something. And when we lose something isn’t it true that it suddenly takes on greater value than it did before? We never love our dog more than the day it runs off and we can’t find her. We relentlessly and obsessively search to find the missing object. All of life seems to take a backseat. And when we find it, we express tremendous joy. You’ve been there. We even share that joy with others because we instinctively know that joy shared becomes doubly joyous.

A Divine Principle

Now, how does all this apply to God? Permit me to cover the third and fourth point together. Look at verse 7. “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” So, what can we draw from this? For the remainder of the sermon let me present it in 5 thoughts.

Number one – all people need to repent and come to God through Christ.

When Jesus says, “Ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance,” He is only using pure sarcasm. He is taking a shot at the self-righteous Pharisees who thought they were right with God based upon their birthright and human efforts. All people are sinners and all people as we have been learning in chapters 13 and 14 need to repent (13:3) – forsake their sin and turn to Christ for forgiveness.

Number two – when we come to the Father through Christ on the basis of faith and repentance, we do not find a God that is reluctant, indifferent or aggravated. On the contrary, we find a God that is rejoicing. Like the shepherd rejoicing over the one lost sheep, God rejoices over the one lost sinner that is found. There is personal joy over each and every person. The same thought is repeated three times in chapter 15, each time at the end of each parable to make a clear point.

Verse 7, “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” Verse 10, “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Verse 32, “But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.”

Number three, if this is indeed the attitude of God toward lost sinners, Jesus was in-line with the heart of God and the Pharisees, displayed by their grumbling (verse 2) over lost sinners, were out of touch. They couldn’t deny the truth taught in the parable. They knew the good shepherd goes after the lost sheep. And if a shepherd would do that much for an animal, how much more should they have cared for the human souls in Israel? They were called to shepherd God’s flock and they failed miserably.

The Pharisees did all in their power to avoid the very people in whom God delights. But who are the key players of the story? The shepherds! How that must have infuriated the religious leaders when Jesus made them heroes in the parable. And who did God appear to that first Christmas? The shepherds! Why? Because God is not into self-righteous people who think they need no repentance. God gives grace to the humble who come to Him broken with a childlike heart of dependence. If this story teaches one thing, it is that God delights in saving sinners.

Number 4, the very name Pharisee means “separate ones.” It was their belief (as I said earlier) that they could get contaminated by the sin of others. Now, in a sense people can lead us into sin. That is why we are called in the first Psalm to not “walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!” But the goal for us as Christians is to associate with sinners, not to be led into darkness, but that we might lead them into the light.

You see, they knew these individuals did not observe their traditions. How could they touch them or eat their impure food? Did they tithe off everything they served? And did they ceremonial wash their hands and utensils correctly? So, they avoided people unlike them. But Jesus went after them. He knew they can’t make us impure. And He knew that the goal in associating with them was not a love for their sin, but rather a love to see them as sinners come to God. And if we don’t mingle with these people, they most likely will never have that opportunity.

You see, when we share our faith and sinners repent, we are instruments in the joy not only of the sinner, but as we learn here, our joy and ultimately the very joy of God Himself! But we see even more than that here. This is not only about the sinner repenting to bring God joy, but the joy of God is also seen in Jesus in seeking out lost sinners through us. So, repentance allows us to enter God’s grace. But we also have to say that grace is the first thing in the seeking and that repentance comes as a means of God’s grace.

And number 5, since Israel failed to shepherd God’s flock, God directly took on the responsibility Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ. Prophesied in the Old Testament: “For thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out… I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick” (Eze. 34:11, 16). From Isaiah, “Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, in His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes” (Isa. 40:11).

Jesus, “The Good Shepherd” came to seek out the lost sheep. “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him” (Isa. 53:6). He laid His life down for His flock. He is the Good Shepherd (Jn. 10). And to His sheep He continually leads them to fresh springs and green pastures.

As I said earlier, when the shepherd found the lost sheep, he would bear the sheep’s burden. He would strap that 70-pound animal over his shoulders and carry the sheep home. Likewise, our Good Shepherd would bear the cross for us. He would find us, save us and put us on His back to carry us in the direction of our eternal home. Joy for us. Joy for God.

 

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April 11, 2021

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