Articles
Joy In Heaven - Luke 15
Joy In Heaven - Luke 15
Jesus came preaching the good news of the kingdom of God to the people. We have learned to call it ‘the gospel’. It is defined as “the content of good news (in the NT a reference to the gospel about Jesus)—‘the good news, the gospel.’ (Louw Nida Greek Lexicon). He preached this good news to the Pharisees and Sadducees, but he also preached to tax collectors and sinners. He preached that they should repent but offered them the forgiveness of their sins upon doing so. Giving them hope in their hopeless situation, they heard him gladly. Well, the tax collectors and sinners did, the Pharisees and Sadducees rejected him and his message of repentance. Then they grumbled that He would associate at all with such ‘sinners’. Here in Luke 15, Jesus responded with three ‘lost stories’: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. In the first two Jesus states that there is joy in heaven when one sinner repents. In the last one, the father of the lost boy rejoices at the return of his son.
God is interested in EACH person individually. God, in His holiness and righteousness, will condemn those who sin. Yet, this same God, in His mercy and kindness has provided that sinners can be forgiven. He doesn’t desire the death of the wicked but desires to show mercy when they repent (cp. 2Pet. 3:9; Ezek. 18:23,32; 33:11; 1 Tim. 2:4; Titus 2:11). While God and the angels were rejoicing at the repentance of these tax collectors and sinners, the Pharisees were disgruntled about it. They, in fact, were doing what they could to inhibit such repentance! Such is unthinkable but true.
If then God so desires the repentance of such people, are we promoting this message of repentance OR are we like the Pharisees? Are we, like the older brother, angry that ‘these kinds of people’ can be saved? Remember, ‘these kind of people’ were US at one time. By the mercy of God we are now His children. Let us share this good new unto others. Hugh DeLong
