"Joy of Repentance"

Overview

The Joy of Repentance

The Parable of the Lost Sheep in Luke 15:1–7 is so familiar that we can easily pass over its riches. Tax collectors and sinners draw near to Jesus; the Pharisees and scribes grumble; Jesus answers with a story. As Jesus himself explained in Matthew 13:13, parables draw on familiar images—seeds, harvests, sons, shepherds—to disclose the kingdom to those given ears to hear. We rightly recognize Jesus as the Shepherd and ourselves as the lost sheep. But the heart of this parable lies in a word we are tempted to rush past: repentance.

To repent is to turn from rebellion against God and his will and to be aligned with him—to stop trusting in our own merit and to rest in the merit of Christ crucified. Two common misconceptions cloud this gift. The first is that repentance is a burden, a shameful admission to be avoided. Scripture says otherwise. In Psalm 32:3–5, David describes the wasting weight of unconfessed sin and the relief that comes when he acknowledges it: "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," and the Lord forgave the guilt of his sin. Repentance is not a stink we must endure; it is a weight lifted from our shoulders by God himself. The second misconception is that repentance is a work we muster up—and then anxiously wonder whether we have done it deeply or sincerely enough. If you long for Christ's forgiveness and cry out for mercy, that very longing is itself the work of God in you.

This is the radical comfort of the third article of the Apostles' Creed. As Luther confesses: "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith." God commands repentance, and God himself makes it possible. The joy in Luke 15:7 is not that the sheep finally found its way home, but that the Shepherd found the sheep, lifted it onto his shoulders, and rejoiced. Luther puts it bluntly: if Christ did not seek you and bring you back, you would simply fall prey to the wolf. But he comes, seeks, finds, and carries you—through his Word and Sacrament, by his life given for yours.

So take heart. If you feel the weight of your sin and want to be free of it, that desire is the Shepherd already at work. He has gone to the cross for you, opened his arms, and given up his Spirit so that the lost would be found. The joy of heaven over one sinner who repents is also our joy now—a foretaste of the marriage feast of the Lamb in Revelation 19, where the Shepherd gathers his bride. Keep the word repentance familiar on your lips, and share it freely, that many more may rejoice with the Shepherd who has carried them home.

Transcript

The familiar. 2s

We are born with a sense of the familiar, of familiarity. 4s

We're born drawn to those voices that we could hear when we were in the womb. 10s

We are drawn to faces that we know well. 17s

We love the old familiar books and movies from childhood. 22s

Or maybe you have a story that one of your grandparents has told, 27s

or perhaps you've told it over and over and over again, 32s

where you're so familiar with the story that you can even recite 37s

with the exact inflection of the regular storyteller. 43s

But you're so familiar with that story that perhaps you pass over 49s

what the story is about. 56s

You pass over the meaning because it's so familiar to you 59s

that you already know it and don't need anything further from it. 64s

Our text today is very much like that familiar story. 71s

So many of us have heard this parable that Jesus taught 77s

from our youth all the way into adulthood. 81s

And throughout our time in the church, 84s

we may have heard this parable told and we may have heard a preacher explain it to us, 88s

but even the explanation becomes familiar. 95s

And so we move on and we move forward because we're so familiar with it 100s

that we don't know what more there is that we can get out of there. 108s

The familiarity of this text does not take away from its worth. 114s

And perhaps today, even though we're very familiar with this parable, 121s

very familiar with this text that we have out of the gospel of Luke, 127s

perhaps we'll find some new truth within it that we haven't found before 133s

or that we haven't sought before. 140s

So let's turn to our parable right now. 143s

We're in Luke the 15th chapter starting in verse 1. 146s

Now all the text collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him 153s

and the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, 158s

this fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them. 163s

So he told them this parable. 168s

This is a very familiar beginning, isn't it? 171s

We hear so many parables that Jesus teaches. 175s

Jesus in the four gospels teaches 55 parables. 180s

And the scene, the setting is also very familiar to us. 186s

Time and time again. 192s

We find Jesus speaking and teaching and the sinners 194s

and the tax collectors drawing near to him. 199s

And as they draw in to be close to him and to hear from him and to eat with him, 203s

the Pharisees and the scribes grumble and murmur to themselves. 211s

And Jesus in turn teaches them a parable. 218s

Jesus spoke in parables for a very specific reason. 224s

We find it in Matthew chapter 13 verse 13, 228s

where he said to his disciples, 233s

the reason I speak to them in parables is that seeing they do not perceive and hearing, 235s

they do not listen nor do they understand. 242s

Jesus was fulfilling prophecy that was prophesied 246s

through Isaiah. He was fulfilling prophecy by teaching in the parables. 250s

And in the parables, Jesus uses familiar experiences 256s

that the Jewish people would be able to connect to in their daily lives. 262s

He uses familiar settings such as the soar of seed or a harvest coming or a son, 268s

demanding his birthright and in our parable today, 276s

he uses the familiarity of a shepherd watching over and caring for his flock. 281s

So we continue in verse 4. 290s

Which one of you? 292s

Having a hundred sheep and losing one of them does not leave the 99 in the wilderness 294s

and go after the one that is lost until he finds it. 299s

When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 303s

And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, 308s

saying to them, rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. 313s

Just so, I tell you there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents 321s

than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance. 329s

The familiarity that we have in this parable for our modern ears that we've heard so often is that 336s

we know that Jesus is supposed to be the shepherd. 345s

Jesus is the shepherd. We hear that and he is the one who gathers the scattered and lost sheep. 349s

And we know familiarly in this parable that we, the sinners and lost of this world, 357s

are the sheep who are scattered. And so we pass over this story. 365s

Because we're so familiar with it. 372s

Yeah, okay, Jesus is the Savior. He is the shepherd. He gathers us. That's nice. 374s

But can we search for something that's a little more lost, a little more hidden within scripture? 379s

Maybe we should turn to Obadaya. But just wait a second. Don't get lost and don't get stuck 386s

and don't pass by because of the familiarity of this parable. Because we already know 395s

what this parable is teaching and who is whom in this parable and what the point is. But let's 406s

pause and look at what other familiarity we are passing over when we choose to move on and move on by. 415s

Let's look at verse 7 again. I tell you there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who 428s

pents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance. Repentants. That is a very familiar word. 436s

We hear it. We use it in scripture. We hear John the Baptist. We hear Peter. We hear Jesus. 447s

We hear Paul and John repent. Repent and believe. Repent. The kingdom of God is near. The kingdom of God 454s

is at hand. We know that word. We are very familiar with repentance. But what is repentance? 464s

To repent is to change from a rebellious state, rebeling against God and his will, 480s

changing from that rebellion to a line with God's will. When we're repenting, 487s

we stop trusting in our own human abilities. We stop trusting in our own merit. 497s

And we instead trust in the merit of Christ and we trust in the sacrifice that he made for us on that 505s

cross. But there are a couple of misconceptions with repentance. We can have a definition. 515s

And we can recite a definition. But what are we thinking in our minds? What are we thinking 524s

about repentance? One of the misconceptions about repentance. And I say this as one who grew up 533s

Catholic and repentance was a big part of growing up in the Catholic faith. And it was a big part 543s

of salvation that we had to repent of our sins. We have a first repentance in the Catholic faith. 552s

And so I've always been down or have an aversion to repentance from that perspective, 561s

that forcing of speaking to someone about what I have done or what I have not done. 573s

Repenting stinks. I don't want to admit my guilt. I don't want to admit my fault. I don't want 580s

to repent. There's a misconception in that repentance does not stink repentance. 592s

Instead, is a gift from God. In Psalm 32 verses 3 through 5. David wrote, while I kept in silence, 602s

my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me. 614s

My strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and I did not 621s

hide my inequity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and you forgave the guilt 630s

of my sin. When we have sin in our lives, which we do, it weighs on us. David writes of his body 638s

wasting away of the heavy hand of the Lord upon him. His strength was dried up under the weight 656s

of his guilt of his sin. And he was called into repentance. And he says, I will confess my transgressions 667s

to the Lord. And what happens in response of that confession, of that repentance? His sins 679s

were forgiven. That weight was lifted. That burden was no longer his to carry because it had been 691s

lifted by the Lord. So repentance is not a burden. Repentance is a gift. Another misconception 700s

is that repentance is a work. Repentance is something that you have to do that you have to 710s

do in order to have that guilt lifted. And indeed we do need to repent. And we are called into 724s

repentance. But there's a guilt that we can put upon that repentance that we can say, I've confessed 732s

my sins, but how do I know if I've confessed fully? How do I know if I confess in the right way? 741s

If I've repented truly and deeply did I repent because I'm scared of God? Do I repent? Because 748s

I love God. And I seek forgiveness from Christ. How do I know if I've repented? 755s

If you are longing for the forgiveness of Christ, if you can cry out like David in the 30s 767s

and Psalm saying, I'm acknowledging my sin to you, I'm crying out to you, Lord, forgive my sins. 775s

Then you too have repented and you too have had the forgiveness of your sins. 784s

And this is played out in one of the most radical beliefs and radical teachings of the 795s

Christian faith and of especially the Lutheran Christian faith. And this is where we come to 804s

another familiarity that we can't pass over. It's easy to pass over because we say these words. 811s

Every single week we're going to say them and confess our faith in these words in just a moment. 818s

Repentance is required. Belief is required for salvation. Yes, that is true. 826s

But what is also true is that we cannot come to repentance. We cannot come to faith 836s

by our own mustering up of ability and by our own strength. And this is where we have the 844s

familiarity of the third article of the Apostles Creed where we do profess and confess 853s

that we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic or Christian church, the communion of 860s

saints, the forgiveness of sins in that we have the radical teaching of Martin Luther that is 867s

scripture. We've gone through the support of these claims through scripture together in a previous 881s

Sunday school class on the Apostles Creed. But in the explanation that Martin Luther gives us 889s

of the third article of the Apostles Creed, he wrote, I believe that I cannot, by my own reason 895s

or strength, believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him. But the Holy Spirit has called 903s

me by the gospel enlightened me with his gifts sanctified and kept me in the true faith in the same 910s

way he calls, gathers and lightens and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it 918s

with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church, he daily and richly 926s

forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. You see repentance is commanded in scripture. 934s

God does command us to repent of our sins and to turn to Him. But anything that God commands, 947s

God also makes possible through His Spirit, through His strength. And this article and the explanation 955s

of this article, when I first heard it, it was the most lifting and exhilarating promise that I could 968s

hear because no longer did the weight of my sin not bear down upon me. But pulling myself out of that 982s

sin, out of the weight and the heaviness of that sin was no longer mine to do. I couldn't do it, 994s

even if I wanted to. The fact that I want to be out of my sin, the fact that you want to find 1003s

yourself out of sin that is repentance, that is Christ, that is the Holy Spirit calling you into 1012s

faith, calling you out of your sin and drawing you into life with Him. So the joy in heaven, 1026s

when we look at this parable, the joy in verse 7 that we read, the joy is not that the sheep has 1039s

found its way back to the shepherd. The joy is that the shepherd has found the sheep. 1049s

When the shepherd has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. He rejoices and 1063s

he calls his neighbors saying, rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. 1072s

We are indeed the sheep. We are the sheep who are wandering. Martin Luther says that we are the 1082s

lost sheep and we cannot find our way to the shepherd ourselves. We can only roam around in the wilderness 1092s

but in order to find us, Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity came down to earth, 1100s

humbled Himself to be with the sheep as the sheep himself and he was the one to put the burden 1113s

of our sin upon his back. Jesus was the one to carry our weight and he continues to carry 1126s

that weight. We are the sheep wandering in the wilderness and we will continue to wander 1141s

until our shepherd finds us and calls us into repentance. My brothers and sisters, 1151s

if you have that longing, if you know that you want to be one of those found sheep and you don't know 1164s

how rejoice because the shepherd has found you. The shepherd went to the cross for you. He opened 1176s

his arms and died giving up his spirit for you because he is the only one who can find the sheep. 1188s

He is the only one who can call those who are lost. Martin Luther continued, 1200s

if Christ your shepherd did not seek you and bring you back, you would simply have to fall 1211s

prey to the wolf but now he comes, seeks and finds you. He takes you into his flock that is 1217s

into Christ and through the word and sacrament. He gives his life for you. He keeps you always 1226s

on the right path so that you may not fall into error. You hear nothing at all about your powers, 1234s

good works and merits. Unless you say that it is strength, good works and merit when you run 1241s

around in the wilderness and are defenseless and lost, no. Christ alone is active here. 1247s

Merit's things and manifests his power. He seeks, carries and directs you. He earns life for you 1254s

through his death. So the lost have been found. The guilt debt has been paid upon the cross 1264s

and we are led home by the shepherd and we are gathered and called into the presence of the 1276s

shepherd. Last week we heard about the joy of Jesus, the joy that was set before him that he gives 1284s

to us the joy of being exalted and elevated into the presence of God. That joy comes through 1294s

her sentence and belief and repentance and belief comes through the Holy Spirit who gives it to us, 1305s

who calls us to himself. That joy is in heaven. That joy is here too because we have that promise 1311s

of forgiveness in Jesus Christ. That joy is yours because you were once a lost sheep, but the 1323s

joy is yours because your shepherd has found you and he carries you upon your back. In Revelation 1333s

19 we read of the joy in heaven. The rejoicing that happens at the marriage feast of the lamb 1341s

and his bride, the church. Brothers and sisters, we will all be called into that marriage feast 1350s

because we have all been found by the shepherd and we pray for those who have not yet been found 1359s

that they too would be saved through the blood and grace of Jesus Christ, our good shepherd and our 1366s

Lord. So it's familiar as that word is, keep it familiar upon your lips and share it with everyone 1375s

that we may all rejoice together in the fullness of time with our shepherd, the lamb. Jesus Christ. 1385s