Luke 15:1-10; 1 Peter 5:6-11; Micah 7:18-20
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“This man receives sinners and eats with them.” The Pharisees and the scribes intended this as a judgment upon Jesus, but it was in fact a proclamation of Gospel truth. Jesus came to call, not the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Jesus’ receiving sinners is mercy. Jesus’ eating with sinners is grace. Together they are justification and reconciliation with God. And there is rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents.
But there should be rejoicing on earth as well. And that was the problem with the Pharisees and scribes. They should have rejoiced that Jesus received and ate with sinners. They should have done the same themselves. But they didn’t, they couldn’t. Why? Because they had not love. They did not truly love God, but they resented and hated Him. They considered Him “a hard man, reaping where He did not sow, gathering where He scattered no seed.” They hated His Law, and so they eased it and lowered the bar of its demands upon themselves so they could self-righteously boast of keeping it, while keeping it high enough to make it undoable for others. And because they did not love their neighbor, their brother, but kept him under the weight of the Law, they bound themselves under the weight of the Law as well, for if you will not release your brother from his sin, then you have bound yourself as well, enslaved to keeping your brother down. While there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, there is only misery, anger, and resentment on earth for those who refuse to forgive their brother and so reject forgiveness and freedom for themselves as well.
The entirety of St. Luke chapter 15 is Jesus’ response to the Pharisees and scribes who were scandalized that Jesus received and ate with sinners. Jesus answered them with three consecutive parables: The Parable of the Lost Sheep; the Parable of the Lost Coin; and the Parable of the Lost Son (The Prodigal Son). Each of the parables involves something that was lost, followed by great rejoicing when it is found. However, the Parable of the Lost Son exposes the particular sin of the Pharisees and the scribes: They did not love God their Father, therefore they did not and could not love their brother and neighbor.
In the Parable of the Lost Sheep Jesus compares the Pharisees and scribes to a shepherd who has lost a sheep. The Pharisees were the shepherds and pastors of Israel, so they likely accepted the analogy of the shepherd, but that they had lost a sheep would not have set well with them. Jesus posited the question, “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?” Now, I believe that this question is designed to convict the Pharisees, indeed, to convict all of us pragmatists at heart, for who would leave ninety-nine sheep behind in the dangers of the open country to find one stupid, wayward sheep? “That sheep got what it deserved,” they likely thought, just like the sinners they wrote off and condemned whom Jesus received and ate with. “And when he has found it,” Jesus continued, “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 that was lost.’” None of this made any sense to the Pharisees, and it likely makes little sense to us; “All this rejoicing over one lost sheep that has been found? Why all the fuss?” But Jesus says, “there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”
Why is that? How can that possibly be? That doesn’t make any sense, according to fallen, sin-wrecked human reason. Why would one sinner who repents be more celebrated than ninety-nine righteous persons? Ah, but it’s not just ninety-nine righteous persons, but ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Who is there, who has there ever been, who was righteous and needed no repentance? Adam and Eve? No. Abraham and Sarah? No. Moses? No. King David? No. The Pharisees and scribes? No. You and me? No, no, no. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” “There is not one who is righteous, not even one.” And that is precisely the point. The Pharisees and the scribes were not better than the sinners Jesus received and ate with. Indeed, Jesus would, and did, eat with the Pharisees and scribes as well. We’re all sinners. We’re all unrighteous. We’re all hypocrites. And there’s always room for one more. There is rejoicing in heaven over each and every individual sinner who repents. Why do we not rejoice here on earth?
In Jesus’ third parable, the Parable of the Lost Son, it is the often forgotten and overlooked elder son who represents the Pharisees. When he learns that his brother who was lost and presumed dead had returned home safe and sound, the elder son is furious – he is furious with his father for forgiving and restoring his brother! Why? Because the elder son did not love his father, but he resented him and considered him an oppressive burden; likewise, he did not love his brother. The elder son represents the Pharisees and scribes, and too often you and me as well. The elder son should have rejoiced when he learned that his brother was home safe and sound. He should have gone to the feast celebrating his return and restoration. Instead, he remained outside in his anger, resentment, and misery, weeping with rage and gnashing his teeth. That was his choice, and only his choice. The father wanted to receive him and eat with him and rejoice over him, but the elder son refused and made himself to be out. Learn from this Christian and do not make the same choice.
The Church of Jesus Christ is sometimes referred to as a mouth house of forgiveness. Forgiveness is what the Church exists for. Forgiveness is what we are here for today and every Lord’s Day. Nevertheless, it is a truism that only sinners can be forgiven. Only the lost can be found. Only the dead can be raised. Repentant sinners are invited, welcomed, and rejoiced over here, but the righteous are not invited. Those who are proud, self-satisfied, and self-righteous cannot be forgiven. They are the “ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” They cannot be forgiven because they do not believe themselves to have any sin that needs forgiveness; therefore, they do not repent. “If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.” “Who is a God like [the LORD], pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. [He] will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” Indeed, He has slaughtered the fattened calf, His Son Jesus Christ, for you, and all earth and heaven rejoices that you, O sinner, who were lost, has been found; you were dead, and you are now alive in Jesus Christ. The sign of your forgiveness is that Jesus receives you and eats with you. So must you receive repentant sinners and forgive them for Jesus’ sake.
In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.
