“In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
In our prior Life Lesson we were considering a conversation Jesus had with the Pharisees and scribes who were always criticizing everything He did as not in keeping with the Law of Moses. They particularly lit on two points of contention: healing on Shabbat (the Sabbath day of rest) and eating and conversing with tax collectors and sinners. Other than that they could find nothing to show violations of the Law, though they tried to rig a couple of showdowns using the woman caught in adultery and the temple tax. But Jesus kept ALL My commandments and is the only person that ever was born into the earth that did so.
Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. John 15:9-10.
Jesus often spoke to the Pharisees, scribes, and chief priests in parables because they would pay attention to those and answer them, but direct conversation was almost impossible with them because it ended up with them trying to stone Him or arguing vehemently with Him.
In this incidence of conversation, Jesus was addressing their complaints about His associating with sinners. They had nothing to do with sinners and did not try to draw them back into the community, seeing them as unclean and unworthy. But My Son in three parables showed them the great importance to Me of seeking out and saving the lost. He revealed My heart and the heart of Heaven that rejoices even when just one sinner repents and comes back to Me. Every person is one I planned from everlasting and want with Me for eternity. All are alive to Me.
So Jesus first told them of the wandering sheep that gets lost and must be rescued by the good Shepherd and of the joy at that one’s return. He then went from paralleling the seeking out of sinners as lost sheep that are found to the valuable coins of treasured memory that are lost and diligently sought until found, and then, as a conclusion that all parents would understand, to a son that was lost to the father but returned with a changed mind and heart.
So let us proceed with the conversation and consider more about how important every one of you are to Me, how souls are saved, and the interest and role angels take in helping you as heirs of salvation with evangelizing.
So let us begin with parable number 2 of that day.
“Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’ In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:8-10.
Joy, pure exuberant joy, is what I have and all the angels who love Me have when you repent, that is, change your minds, and see and taste My goodness and come to Me.
O taste and see that the LORD is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! O fear the LORD, you His saints; for to those who fear Him there is no want. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; but they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing. Psalm 34:8-10.
You are all precious to Me and I want you to find Me precious to you as well. With Me is the fountain of life and in My light, you see light. In My light is the light of life.
Jesus spoke over Jerusalem of how He longed to gather all the people to Him, like a mother hen with her chicks, so He would bless them and protect them, but they would not come.
If you will note all through the Bible, I am calling you to come to Me. In fact, in the last book in the Bible, in its final chapter, I give you a final invitation to come.
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. Revelation 22:17.
The Spirit and the Church, the bride of Christ, are calling for all to come to have eternal life, but I am also asking you who hear to invite others to come as well. So you hear the invitation, “come,” and you come, and then you call others to come as well.
But there is one other “Come” on which the Bible ends, and that is your call to Jesus to return, “Come Lord Jesus!” Marana tha! Revelation 22:20. Do you ever call that? I ask you to do so.
Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. 2 Peter 3:11-13.
In the future there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that great day—and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved and longed for and welcomed His appearing. 2 Timothy 4:8.
I give life to the dead and call into being that which does not exist. Start calling the nations in. In your prayer time, join with the Spirit and the bride, and call “Come!”
Behold, you will call a nation you do not know, and a nation which knows you not, will run to you. Isaiah 55:5.
And now let us look at the third parable about lost and found, and it is no longer about sheep and coins, for no matter how precious a treasure those may be, they will never even come close to the preciousness of a father’s son.
So Jesus began, “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them.” Luke 15:11-12.
The father in that parable has two sons, the Father is Me, of course, and the two sons represent two kinds of believers, but many believers can exhibit both kinds of behavior in their lives. They are sons and not servants, so you know I am speaking of those who are My children by taking Jesus as their Lord. And they have an inheritance as children of the father.
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. Romans 4:16-17.
And they have the inheritance now. As you do as My children as well. It has pleased Me to give you the Kingdom.
And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. Luke 15:13-16.
The younger son left the father’s house and got pulled into living according to the flesh. But the mind set on the flesh brings death, so the wages of the younger son turned out to be the curse of poverty and famine. He had thought he could run his own life much better and have much more freedom apart from the watchful eye of his father but all he did was destroy the good things the father had given him and ended up alone in a foreign land with nothing. With no more money to spend, his friends were gone. He hired himself out as a servant to one who raised swine, signifying he had now had to hire himself out to an unbeliever and a stranger to the covenant of promise. He was now serving under the sentence of Adam of painful toil that the world, the flesh and the devil will give you. But My blessing makes rich and adds no painful toil of sorrow with it.
The younger son needed a kinsman redeemer.
‘Now if the means of a stranger or of a sojourner with you becomes sufficient, and a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to him as to sell himself to a stranger who is sojourning with you, or to the descendants of a stranger’s family, then he shall have redemption right after he has been sold. One of his brothers may redeem him . . . one of his blood relatives from his family may redeem him. Leviticus 25:47-48.
And in Jesus you have found your kinsman redeemer.
Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. Hebrews 2:14-15.
But let us go back to the parable. The younger son finally came to his senses. In other words, he repented and got right in his mind.
But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”’ Luke 15:17-19.
He realized how good it was in his father’s house and how he was suffering away from it. The world he had so longed for had given him nothing compared to what he had at home with his father. The proud boy had now become humble and was ready to admit he had done wrong. He just wanted to go home and be cared for by his father in a place where he belonged.
So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate. Luke 15:20-24.
This is one of the most accurate and beautiful renditions of who I am to you and who you are to Me that you will find, spoken from the lips of your kinsman redeemer Himself. He knows Me.
I see you wherever you are, there is no pit too deep or place too dark I do not see you and am looking to pull you out of. I am filled with compassion for you. I already forgave you in Christ, so as soon as you repent (change your mind) and return to Me I run to meet you. Sin is no longer an issue, Jesus paid your judgment and took your sentence, the issue is whether you will receive that gift and COME TO ME!
My eyes roam the earth looking for those whose hearts are turned to Me to show Myself strong on their behalf. I am the God of all comfort. I am the God who heals you. But I can only work with you, I only have authority to enter your life, when you will come to Me, that is, turn your heart to Me and let Me into your heart.
The younger son confessed his sin to the father and said he no longer deserved to be called the father’s son. The son did not understand the father’s great love, he thought he could not get back the relationship, that he had severed it by sin and could only get back in the house as a slave. But the father had already run to him, embraced and kissed him as his son, and paying no attention to his denials of being worthy of being a son, the father ordered his servants (the ministering angels are the ones that serve you and they are celebrating your return) to “quickly bring the finest robe (the robe of righteousness) and put it on him (Zechariah 3:1-8), put a ring on his finger (the signet ring of the Covenant) and sandals on his feet (shod with the Gospel of peace—how beautiful on the mountains are the feet that bring good news, glad tidings of salvation (Yeshuah), Isaiah 52:7), and to take the fattened calf and slaughter it. You will notice that is the sacrifice for priests (the young bull (calf)) who have sinned in the book of Leviticus 4:3, and Jesus has made you a kingdom of priests—a royal priesthood, Revelation 1:5-6, 1 Peter 2:9.
And the father did not punish the boy, but instead had a party! Not at all what the younger son was expecting. And what was the father celebrating? Let him tell you,
“Then let us celebrate because this son of mine was dead (the dead spirit of the Adam nature when you live in the flesh and the wages of sin are death) and has come to life again (Jesus did not come to make bad people good, but to bring dead people (spiritually dead) to life (born again from above, a new creation), he was lost (I sent Jesus to seek out and save the lost) and has been found.” Then the celebration began. Luke 15:22-24. And I tell you that in the same way, there will be joy in heaven over one who repents, more than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Luke 15:7. There is joy in the presence of the angels over one sinner who repents. Luke 15:10.
Now, if you have sinned and are under self-condemnation and are repeatedly asking Me to forgive you without having peace about it, stop it right now. Know you are forgiven, loved and reinstated as holy, blameless and without reproach before Me by the cleansing Blood of Jesus.
And, even if you were already saved by confessing Jesus as your Lord, for remember the younger son was already a son when he went away and squandered his inheritance, if when you were dead in your sins, I reconciled you to Myself in Christ, MUCH MORE then, now that you have been justified by His Blood, you shall be saved form the wrath through Him. For while you were My enemies you were reconciled to Me through the death of My Son, MUCH MORE, having been reconciled, you shall be saved by His life. Romans 5:8-10. And you can rejoice and glory in My forgiveness. Celebrate it. Romans 5:11.
And it was not just a quiet celebration the father was giving to welcome his son home. It could be heard throughout the whole land. And the older son wo was in the field, as he came and approached the house, heard the music and dancing. And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ Luke 15:27-30.
The older son represents those believers who do not understand who they are in Christ, what is already theirs in Christ, and what they can do in Christ, but live moral lives and believe they earn their own righteousness by their works. They do not understand My love and they end up never living the abundant life Jesus came to give them. They do not bless others, are not generous, and they judge others without mercy.
The father, if you will note, did not rebuke the son for his jealous, accusatory, and disrespectful behavior. In fact it says the father was pleading with him to enlighten him to what was already his. The father was trying to explaing to him who he was and what he had as a child and heir. He was asking for what he already had, all he had to do was take it. He had never realized what was his and never taken authority over it.
The father said to him, “Son, you are with me always, and all that is mine is yours. 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.” Luke 15:31-32.
It is time for you to grow up to who you are, what you have, and what you can do in Christ. You are not beneath, you are above. I have already blessed you with every spiritual blessing in Heaven in Christ, you just need to come with confidence to My throne of grace and take it. You have to COME. And you do that by prayer. But a prayer of rejoicing as you release your faith over all the good things you already have in Christ. Believers are not beggars and they do not accuse Me of withholding all the good things I have already freely given you in Christ.
The Pharisees and scribes had no comments. So Jesus just kept on telling parables. Luke 16:1-31.
I love you. Receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness and reign in life through Christ Jesus. Like the prodigal son, you have not lost your seat at the royal family table. I raised you there with Christ and sealed you in Him. He will seek you if you go astray and carry you home in His bosom. He is your good Shepherd. He goes after the lost sheep. I never let go of My own. And you are Mine. And I am yours. That is everlasting Covenant, the Covenant of love, that you have with Me in Christ Jesus, your Lord.