Rejoicing in Life

Luke 15:1–10 ESV

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.”

Luke 15 is a familiar chapter to us because it speaks of lost things that have been found. There are three parables told by Jesus: the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. Each of these builds on the other to the climax of the father declaring that what was lost has now been found - a line used in the first stanza of “Amazing Grace.” All these parables together show God’s love for us to seek and save us.

As disciples, the message of salvation is the critical first step in our journey. Last week, we talked about the cost of being a disciple of Jesus, but there is also great reward because we find peace with God. A disciple recognizes the need for salvation for all people. There is a desire to be bearers of the good news that Christ has entered human history to bring all who call upon his name into a relationship with God. When we begin our journey of discipleship, there is a joy that comes into our lives. Jesus tells his disciples in John 15:11, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” The psalmist says in Psalm 20:5, “May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!” Being a disciple means that there is great joy in our hearts. Happiness does not mean that we are always happy. Joy can come in times of suffering. Paul’s letter to the Philippians is often called the “epistle of joy,” even though it was written from prison.

In our passage today, we find ways that rejoicing in the Lord is part of the disciple’s life. That joy comes through what God has done for us in Jesus and our service in response to that work.

1. We are all sinners in need of grace.

At the beginning of this chapter, Jesus is confronted by a group of Pharisees and scribes because he has tax collectors and sinners eating with him at the table. According to the law, being in fellowship with those considered unclean was considered dirty. The invitation of Jesus to those who are sinners would be unheard of by any Jewish rabbi. This breach of purity laws was unbecoming of a respected teacher.

The parables that Jesus shares in response to the Pharisees and scribes also invite them to see themselves as sinners. It is easy to separate ourselves from those who are not as pure as we are. The scribes and the Pharisees were trying to keep the law as it had been passed down to them for generations. They were not bad people in the least. These were individuals who were seeking God’s righteousness. The problem was that they missed where they needed God’s grace as much as the sinners that Jesus invited to the table. Jesus shows the Pharisees and scribes that joy is found when we realize that we all need the same grace to be righteous. Paul tells us in Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—” All of us have sinned. There is not one of us in all the world who has not sinned.

Because of sin, God has offered us the gift of his grace and mercy so we can be in a relationship with him. Only by his grace can we come to the table that Christ has prepared. Jesus tells these parables to remind the religious elite that God loves all people deeply. There is not one person that God does not seek after. When that person comes to the fold, we are to rejoice in it. The fact that the Good Shepherd has come to bring in the lost is a point for us all to have great joy because we were once in that same place, and God sought us. His prevenient grace seeks out every sinner and calls them to be in a relationship with him.

2. We are a people who are nurtured for a seek-and-save mission in the world.

Disciples are called to model Jesus in reaching the lost in the world. The parable of the lost coin gives us some insight into this. The woman lights a lamp and sweeps the house until she finds her lost coin. At first glance, we may think that losing cash is not a big deal. How many of us turn on every light in the house and search and search until we find a quarter that we are missing? I dare tell none of us. It seems insignificant. Yet, the woman finds immense value in the coin and searches diligently until it is found. In John 1:41, we see the story of Andrew telling Peter that the Messiah has been found in Jesus. In Ezekiel 34:11, we read how God seeks out the sheep and searches until they are found.

The persistence of seeking the lost is something that so much of the church has lost in recent decades. We live in a culture that does not want to impose worldviews or values upon others to offend someone. Yet, everyone is seeking something to fill the hole in their hearts that Jesus can only serve. The church has neglected to proclaim and teach the gospel that we have a world that stands in opposition to Christ. All the while, people are looking for some way to satisfy that desire to know something beyond themselves to find purpose and meaning in life. They may turn to material things or spirituality based on New Age practices of self-healing and self-realization. But all these things are searching for something within when salvation comes from beyond us in Christ. Anything other than Christ leads to deception and self-absorption.

Instead, we must follow the call of John Wesley and offer them, Christ. How we love each other, and those who are now outside the fold are excellent indicators of how we will reach out to others. Offering Christ is not something that has to be a Bible beat down. It is simply sharing what Christ has done for us and being like Andrew with Peter - “we have found the Messiah.” Telling the story of what you have found should bring joy into your life. When we recognize that we are all sinners who deserve hell but have been given grace and mercy, there should be an overwhelming joy in our hearts to want to tell others the excellent news. The church's primary task is to win people to Christ and help them grow in their relationship with him. That is why we exist. We have a mission to the world to bring the transformative power of the Spirit to all, and there should be an urgency in our hearts to seek the lost, just like the woman who sought the lost coin.

3. We celebrate when there is repentance.

There is a celebration when there is repentance. All the parables in Luke 15 lead to the point where a sinner repents. This is the crux of Jesus’ issue with the Pharisees and the scribes. The sinners who have come to the table to eat with Jesus are people who have repented their sins. Some preachers skip over that point. We want everyone to go to the table but do not require repentance. We want to welcome everyone and not offer that change must take place in the presence of Christ. We say in our communion liturgy this very point, “Christ our Lord invites to his table all who love him and earnestly repent of their sin.” We then confess before God and seek forgiveness of our sins before we partake of the means of grace at the table. When we lose the importance of repentance and forgiveness in offering elegance, we cheapen grace and make it meaningless.

The table is the center of the celebration for repentance, forgiveness, and receiving grace. That is why receiving the grace offered at the table every single chance we get is so important. It is a party, so to speak, celebrating what Christ has done for us. Because we have turned to Christ and been found, we enter a relationship with him wherein he offers us himself so that we can be nourished and fed. The early church celebrated together regularly around the table, according to Acts 2:46-47. Every day, they went to the temple to pray, broke bread in their homes (a reference to the Eucharist), and praised God. As they did so, people were added to their fellowship every day. When we come together around the table, we rejoice in all God has done. He has saved us from our sins. He has given us new life. And he has brought us into fellowship with him and one another.

Disciples celebrate together the love and forgiveness that is offered to us in Christ. We cannot be Christians on our own. There is no such thing as a lone ranger Christian. The table celebration allows us to be thankful for all Christ has done and is doing in and through us. Where there is repentance, there is a celebration. Where there is a turning away from the old life and walking in the new life in Christ, there is a party. The table is where we celebrate here and now what will be at the messianic banquet Christ has prepared for all those who know him and are known by him. All of this is due to God’s amazing grace that leads us to change and transformation by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Today is the opportunity for us to be transformed by God. Today is the opportunity for us to commit that our lives will differ from this day forward. We acknowledge that we are sinners in need of God’s grace. We recognize that we have neglected the call to seek the lost. We believe there is joy in celebrating together around the table as often as we can because it is where we regularly receive God’s grace and mercy found in Christ. Disciples are those who rejoice in life because we have been given a gift that is greater than anything we will ever receive - eternal life. Let us make a difference in the world and share God's goodness with everyone.