Good Looks for Us [2-8-26]

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February 8, 2026

Luke 15:8-10

“God Looks for Us”

Let’s start things off with a recap of some of the driving principles of the first two parables of Luke 15. We’ll begin with the first seven verses:

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

So he told them this parable: “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? And when he has found it, 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.’ 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.

Remember where we’re at. Jesus has set his face for Jerusalem. These teachings lay out the purpose for his death on the cross. They are the foundation for understanding our salvation history.

The first principle at play is Jesus confronting the Pharisees and scribes.

Pharisees were focused on the law. They were the spiritual conservatives of their time. They wanted to bring people back to God. Strict adherence to the covenant God made with Israel was their focus. Unfortunately, like most reform movements, they went too far. They took pride in in their own righteousness. Virtue signaling was strong with them. They claimed to have attained a godliness that was merely a superficial veneer.

We’re now at a point where Jesus confronts them on their hypocrisy. In the first two stories…the lost sheep and the lost coin…Jesus exposes them as being clueless about the heart of God. Here’s something you might want to write down, that will come into play later:

THEY HAVE NO INTEREST IN THE JOY OF GOD.

They give neither a hoot nor a holler about what brings celebration to heaven. So Jesus confronts them.

The first story is about a lost sheep. We looked at that last week. The one important piece to that confrontation with the Pharisees and scribes rests in where Jesus is putting them in the story.

Jesus invites them into the position of a shepherd. We almost miss it. He begins, “What man of you, having a hundred sheep…” Think about yourself as a shepherd. Not a welcomed thing. It would be like asking a die-hard Wolverine fan to consider himself a Buckeye fan. Or how about asking a liberal Democrat to consider himself an I.C.E. officer. Yikes. Pharisees have to be thinking, “C’mon, man. Last thing I would consider myself to be is a shepherd.”

Shepherds were dirty. They were untouchable. There is no-way, no-how they could ever be righteous, observant Jews. Yet here Jesus tells the Pharisees to think of themselves as shepherds. That is an in-your-face way to start a story. For his point, Jesus says, “Be like the people you look down on.” And to make it even harder-hitting, Jesus ends on a sarcastic note:

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.

Is sin common to the human experience? Do we need to repent to be in a right relationship with God? Yes and yes. What’s Jesus’ implying? You think you are so wonderful that you don’t need to repent. Because Jesus is being sarcastic, it’s obvious that we all need to repent of our sin.

Repentance is going to hang huge over all three parables of Luke 15.

Before moving on to the Parable of the Lost Coin, here’s a second principle for guiding us in our understanding of Luke 15:

In order to better understand the placement of the Parable of the Prodigal Son {more accurately known as the Lost Son} in the order after the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin, we can’t move too fast through them because we want to get to the Parable of the Prodigal Son, which is a favorite of many believers, and which perfectly drives home the point of all three.

Clear and concise, right?

Let’s gain some clarity with verses eight through ten:

“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? 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.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

In the Parable of the Lost Sheep, Jesus is asking these perfect, self-righteous men to think of themselves as shepherds. What’s he asking here? The confrontation continues. Horror of horrors, Jesus is putting them in the role of a woman. A woman. These Pharisees and scribes lived by the saying, “Better to throw the Torah {the first five books of the Bible} to the pigs than teach it to a woman.” Not good. Not good at all. And Jesus is so hard-hitting, he says that this woman is a fine spiritual example for you to consider. Imagine the pearl clutching of the Pharisees at that.

Jesus is, first of all, trying to move the setting of the Pharisees’ grace needle. They think they’re so wonderful that they don’t need repentance, but really, they do. And it’s only through the humble act of repentance that they will have access to God’s grace and mercy. Here’s what Jesus is trying to get them to understand:

THE PHARISEES LOOKED DOWN ON SINNERS, WHILE JESUS LOOKED FOR THEM.

Amen?

The woman’s coin is worth a lot. One silver coin will buy one sheep. One sheep is lost. And now one silver coin is lost. They are worth a lot to the one doing the searching. Every lost thing has value.

Imagine, if you will, a family of ten sitting down to dinner. Little Sarah is not there. Sweet, darling little Sarah, who can, at times, be quite the stinker, is not at the table. What kind of father would say, “She knows what time we eat. If she’s not here, that’s her problem.” What mother would add, “Well, there’s nine of us here. That’s 90%. Good enough.” No one would grumble when the family starts looking for Sarah. “Why bother looking for Sarah. Let’s eat.” Think how horrible if, three months later, someone asks, “Do you remember little Sarah? Wasn’t she a member of our family? Whatever happened to her?” No loving family would be like that.

Jesus seems to be saying to the Pharisees, “I seek the lost…so should you.”

We have a lovely progression of:

Lost

Sought

Found

And the fourth and wonderful finale:

CELEBRATED

Jesus closes both parables by saying, “There is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.” There’s what? Joy. And where is there joy? In heaven. That is such a beautiful thing. It is such a beautiful conclusion to these first two parables, we’re going to spend the rest of our time talking about God rejoicing in heaven.

A Christian writer recently wrote:

“If God didn’t intervene and just left every person to their own devices, nobody would be saved. The person who is dead to sin would never choose Christ. Only the grace of God can regenerate hearts and convert souls.”

Truth Matters

As Paul writes in Ephesians 2:1-9:

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience - among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved - and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

What is the beautiful thing in both parables? That God seeks and saves the lost. We are saved. Saved from what? Right…we are saved from sin and death. And what is the eternal implication of that gift? We will be in the presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in heaven.

With that in mind, let’s think about heaven. We love the song, “I Can Only Imagine.” It asks the same question. What do you think heaven will be like? If I asked you to describe what heaven is like, what would you say?

Jesus describes heaven for us here. He says there is joy in heaven.

That’s the most important thing to know. Joy. God is the source of all joy because God experiences joy. As Revelation 5:9-14 promises:

And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God

from every tribe and language and people and nation,

and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,

and they shall reign on the earth.”

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,

to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might

and honor and glory and blessing!”

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb

be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Jesus holds out the promise to us of everybody participating in the joy of God. That is heaven. God and God alone is the source of this heavenly joy.

It is such a wonderful thing to look forward to. That is the primary purpose of Jesus setting his face for Jerusalem. That’s the point he makes in all the teachings and healings and miracles. We are heaven bound. It is the completion of the Father’s joy in the work of His Son. There will be overwhelming joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.

So back to our simple question. “What is heaven like?” “What goes on in heaven?” The Bible makes it very clear…worship of God…glorifying of Christ…and endless and perfect joy. That’s what goes on in heaven. Right now, as we worship here on earth, one lost sinner after another, who was sought and then was found, enters into heaven where there is endless joy and worship. All because of what Jesus has set his face for Jerusalem to do.

Here’s the last thing you might want to write down. Knowing what God has done for us in Jesus Christ –

HOW CAN WE NOT REFLECT THE JOY OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER?

One last observation. Both parables…the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin… end with the point:

There is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents…

Repentance is the response to a Savior who, with grace and mercy, seeks to save the lost. There is no salvation without repentance. Which is why Jesus ends these first two parables the way he does. Turn from your sin and turn to Jesus. That’s the only way you will have joy in this life and in the life to come.

We’ll end with a word of encouragement from Scottish evangelist and teacher Oswald Chambers {1874-1917}:

“We preach to men as if they were conscious they were dying

sinners. They are not; they are having a good time.”

Following in the path of our Savior, we must pray every day that the Holy Spirit convicts hearers of their sin and reveals to them that Jesus Christ is the only remedy for their separation from God.

And together, the repentant and saved people of Covenant Church say:

SOLI DEO GLORIA…

To the Glory of God Alone