The Pharisees and Scribes murmured saying, this Man receiveth sinners and eateth with them … joy shall be in heaven … rejoice with Me … and they began to be merry.” Luke 15:2,7, 9, 24 KJV

Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them…  there will be more joy in heaven… rejoice with me…  And they began to celebrate.” Luke 15:2,7,9,24 NASB

The jury was watching His every move. One of the things which marked Him, which was so contrary to their own ways, was that He actually sat at tables with publicans and sinners. He lowered Himself to associate with the scum of society, risking (in their eyes) defilement. The scathing accusation they levelled against Him, which begins Luke 15, was all because of this “reprehensible” habit of His.

What justification would the Lord Jesus provide for His behaviour? Would He assert that as Lord of all, He had perfect right to do as He pleased? Would He charge them with their own unwillingness to receive Him, thus leaving it to the publicans and sinners to be received by Him? How would He answer?

We are all familiar with the three-part parable concerning the lost sheep, coin, and son. Thousands of Gospel messages have been preached from the winsome parable which came from His lips. We have been reminded of the distance which marked the sheep, the darkness into which the coin fell, and the defilement which the son experienced among the swine.

Add to that the picture of the Shepherd who went whatever Distance was needed; the Woman who swept with Diligence until she found it; and the Father’s heart which knew Distress, and we have a composite picture of the Godhead’s involvement in our salvation.

The three-fold parable also shows the increasing guilt which marks us as sinners:

• In the sheep, we are seen without strength
• In the coin, we are seen as sinners who have lost our purpose
• In the son, we are seen as enemies living as though the father is dead

But none of these considerations answer the basic question – why did He receive sinners and associate with them? The answer is given within the parable, and it is staggering in its implications. He does so because it gave joy to a Shepherd to give His life for the sheep; it gives joy to the Spirit of God to illuminate a soul as to its lost condition, and it gives infinite joy to the heart of a Father to forgive.

God actually finds joy in forgiving rebels, in reconciling enemies, in receiving prodigals. The justification for grace is the joy which the entire Godhead finds in lavishing it upon us. What a God we have!

Consider:

Note how different the elder son is in vv 25-32. He knew nothing of the joy of the home, he claimed to have served as a bondservant (v29) and wanted a calf to make merry with his own friends and not with the father (v 29).