“The Joy of the Angels”

A Sermon on Luke 15:10

The fifteenth chapter of Luke is concerned with things that are lost and then found. When they
are found there is unbounded joy over their recovery. The chapter begins with a complaint by the
self-righteous leaders of the Jews that Jesus welcomed sinners and ate with them. Without
knowing it, they were announcing the most wonderful news about Jesus Christ. After all, he had
come to seek and to save that which was lost. He came to call sinners, not the righteous, to
repentance. He came as a physician, not for those who had no need of one, but for those who
were sick. He is a seeker and a finder of lost sinners.

It is worth noticing that Luke tells us, “Then Jesus told them this parable.” The rest of the chapter
is about this parable. No where is it indicated that Jesus stopped telling them “this” parable and
went on to tell them “another” parable. At least this means that we should take the lost sheep, the
lost coin, and the lost son as parts of the whole story. They are all bound together by the rejoicing
occasioned by the recovery of that which was lost.

Where is this rejoicing?

Jesus declared that there is rejoicing in heaven (v. 7), there is rejoicing in the presence of the
angels of God (v.10). This parable is full of joy because lost things are found. The shepherd
found the lost sheep and laid it on his shoulders, rejoicing as he carried it home. He could not
contain his joy, and called his friends and neighbors to tell them the news. “Rejoice with me; I
have found my lost sheep” (v. 5,6). The woman who lost the coin finally located it. She also
called her friends and neighbors and said, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin” (v. 9).
The father said to the unhappy older brother that rejoicing was the order of the day, “because this
brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found”(v. 32). But the parable is
an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. It uses things we know to teach us things we do not
know. It uses things we can see and hear, taste and touch and smell, to show us things that are
invisible to us but no less real. Here we have a glimpse of the joy in heaven that is occasioned by
the repentance of a sinner. The three parts of the parable suggest the three persons of the Trinity
undertaking the recovery of lost sinners. Heaven has an interest in something that happens on
earth. The unseen world rejoices because of something that is done in this world. The sinner
repents, and there is joy in heaven.

If there is rejoicing in heaven, and in the presence of the angels of God, it must mean that
God himself rejoices. Certainly we are entitled to say that this is the explicit teaching of the
parable. To say that there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God, or in heaven, is to say
that God rejoices. But the parable leads us to that conclusion in another way. Who are we meant
to think the father represents, whose son ran away from home? Surely this is a picture of God the
Father. The sinner is like the son who left his father’s house. Like the rebellious son, we have
demanded that he give us what we think is our freedom and our rights, and we have run away
from home. Nevertheless, it is in him that we live, and move, and have our being. He is our
creator. We cannot find peace, rest or happiness if we sever ourselves from our father’s house.
The father knows this, but the son has to learn it the hard way. Eventually he does, when he has
had enough of living apart from his father. He has squandered everything and disgraced himself.
He knows and confesses that he has sinned and is not even worthy to be called a son any more.
But when he returns his father welcomes him with open arms. The father spares nothing to restore
him to the family circle – the best robe, the ring for his finger, new sandals for his feet. Not even
the fattened calf is spared, but is killed for feasting and celebration. The contrast between the
misery and hopelessness of the son in his lost condition and the father’s joy in having him back
again are a picture of God and the sinner. Salvation is about being lost and found. Like the son we
have cut ourselves off from the father’s presence. Like the father, God rejoices to have us back.

If there is rejoicing in heaven, and in the presence of the angels of God, it means that the
Son of God rejoices. He who told them this parable is now at the Father’s right hand. He is
seated in the heavenly realms. He has been restored to the glory that he shared with the Father
from eternity. He is the Lamb at the center of the throne. Everything we have said about God
rejoicing when the sinner repents applies in the same way to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the
Father. He is God incarnate. All the fullness of God dwells in him in bodily form. And yet even
in his incarnation, his deity had never left heaven. When he was on earth he was still fully God.
Though he was sent by the Father to become the God-man and God with us, he was still the God
of whom he speaks when he says that there was rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God. He
is the one who has always existed in the form of God. He is the word who was with God, and
who was God. But he “did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made
himself of no reputation and took upon himself the form of servant” (Phil. 2:6,7). In his
incarnation he did not cease to be God. He became the God man. And so even as he spoke on
earth he rejoiced in heaven over one sinner who repented.

If there is rejoicing in heaven, and in the presence of the angels of God, it means that the
angels themselves rejoice. “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will
inherit salvation?” (Heb. 1:14). Angels have desired to look into God’s purpose to save his people
(I Peter 1:12). An angel of the Lord announced “good news of great joy that will be for all the
people.” It was the news that the Savior had come. The great company of angels gave praise to
God saying, “Glory to God in the highest” (Luke 2:8-14). The holy angels know that the purpose
of their existence is to give praise and glory to God. They keep constant vigil upon the throne of
God and the grace that flows from it to the sons of men. They taught Isaiah that atonement on the
altar could take his guilt away. John “looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering
thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and
the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: ‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!’” (Rev.
5:11,12). Angels are great and mighty creatures, yet they are only creatures. They know that many
of their fellow angels have forever abandoned their communion with God and have no hope of
recovery. Yet God’s plan to save sinful men does not produce in them resentment, but rejoicing.
They see in God’s salvation a never ending source of wonder and amazement at the wisdom and
power of God, and they gladly give him the glory. The angels themselves rejoice when sinners
repent.

Why is this rejoicing?

Why does God rejoice?

We know that God must rejoice when a sinner repents because God knows all about sin and
the consequences of sin. He understands with infinite wisdom the power of sin. He knows what
it does to people, how it controls them and puts them in terrible bondage. He knows about the
horrific spiritual darkness caused by sin. He knows what sin has done to the human race. “The
Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on
the earth, and his heart was filled with pain” (Gen. 6:5,6). How can such language be used of
God, the Creator of all things? It defies human understanding. Yet if man’s sin could cause God
grief and pain, is it any wonder that he would rejoice when a sinner repents?

God rejoices when a sinner repents because he knows that the wages of sin is death. He
knows that sinners are under the threat of wrath and judgment. He knows that sinners who do not
repent will perish in their sins. God understands what it is to perish – to perish everlastingly,
completely, and irrevocably. Men may discuss and debate it. Theologians may speculate about it.
But God knows precisely what it means for a man to perish in his sins. Thus he pleads with
sinners: “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? Rather, am I not pleased when they
turn from their ways and live?” (Ezek. 18:23). “As surely as I live, I take no pleasure in the death
of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways!
Why will you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezek. 33:11). If God takes no pleasure in the death of the
wicked, surely he rejoices when sinners repent.

God rejoices when a sinner repents because it is his purpose to bring sinners to repentance.
God has spoken about this through his prophets. He anticipated the repentance and return of his
people with the promise that he would rejoice over them when they returned to him (Isaiah 62:1-
5; Zeph. 3:14-17). This is God’s sovereign purpose. It is the purpose of him who works all things
according to the counsel of his own will. It has always been his purpose to bring salvation to the
ends of the earth. He has sent his only begotten Son into the world, for the purpose that whoever
believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. He works all things together for the
good of those who are the called according to his purpose. He has an eternal purpose in Christ
Jesus to save his people from their sins. “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he
might destroy the works of the devil” (I John 3:8). The woman with the lamp and the broom
teaches us that he sends his servants into the world in the power of the Holy Spirit to command
all men everywhere to repent. We preach repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus
Christ (Acts 20:21). We beseech sinners to be reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ.
God makes everything subservient to this purpose. He moves men and nations. He uses the forces
of nature. He rules and overrules in all things and in all ways to accomplish his sovereign will. It
is no wonder that God rejoices when sinners repent. It is his eternal purpose “to keep you from
falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy” (Jude
24).

God rejoices when a sinner repents because bringing them to repentance is his own work.
God has a purpose and he himself accomplishes his purpose. It is not in the sinner to repent.
Repentance must be given to him as the gift of God. Repentance is not generated by the sinner,
but granted by God (Acts 11:18; II Tim. 2:25). When a sinner repents, it is no credit to himself.
Repentance is the result of God’s work in the sinner. The psalmist said, “may the Lord rejoice in
all his works” (104:31). If he is entitled to rejoice in his works of creation and providence, surely
he must rejoice in his works of redemption.

Why does the Son of God rejoice?

The Lord Jesus Christ rejoices when a sinner repents because the Father rejoices. We have
said that he rejoices because he is God, and God rejoices. But as the Son of God he has
accomplished the plan of salvation arranged by the Father. The Father has given a people to the
Son to be saved by him, and he has successfully fulfilled the Father’s good pleasure. He can now
say, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do…I have
revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to
me and they have obeyed your word” (John 17:4,6). He has suffered and died for those whom the
Father had given him. It was his delight, his food and drink, to do the Father’s will. The three
persons of the Holy Trinity have undertaken the gospel plan of salvation. If the Father rejoices
when a sinner repents, so does the Son.

The Lord Jesus Christ rejoices when a sinner repents because sinners who repent submit to
him as Savior and Lord. Jesus came preaching that men should repent and believe the gospel
(Mark 1:15). He sent his disciples out to preach that men must repent (Mark 6:12). The Lord
Jesus told them after his resurrection that “repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in
his name to all nations” (Luke 24:47). “God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and
Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel” (Acts 5:31). “After he had
provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Heb. 1:3).
He has ascended up on high. He is seated at the Father’s right hand until his enemies shall be
made his footstool. The joy that was set before him, for which he endured the cross and despised
its shame, included the joy of seeing sinners trusting his finished work and coming to repentance.
Isaiah prophesied that he will see the result of the suffering of his soul, and he will be satisfied.
Can there be any doubt that he rejoices when a sinner repents?

The Lord Jesus Christ rejoices when a sinner repents because he came to save his people
from their sins. The sinner who repents is a sinner who is saved from his sins. The salvation
Jesus has secured for sinners is a complete salvation. It is a many faceted demonstration of
sovereign grace. Salvation is redemption through his blood. The sinner who repents is a sinner
purchased for God at the cost of his blood shed on the cross. Salvation is the provision of a
righteousness from God for sinners who have no righteousness of their own. The sinner who
repents is a sinner who no longer trusts in himself but who trusts in the righteousness of God.
Salvation guarantees the forgiveness of sins. The sinner who repents is a sinner whose sins are
forgiven. Salvation includes a new birth and a new life that bears fruit for God. The sinner who
repents is born again and begins to live for God. Jesus is the Shepherd who seeks and finds the
lost sheep, who takes charge of the sheep, who takes care of the sheep. When he brings it home
with great rejoicing he does everything for the sheep. He laid down his life for his sheep. He laid
down his life as their substitute, their sacrifice, and their sin bearer. When lost sheep are saved,
the Shepherd rejoices.

The Lord Jesus rejoices when a sinner repents because he came to demonstrate God’s love
to sinners (Rom. 5:8). “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son
to be the propitiation for our sins…we love him because he first loved us” (I John 4:10,19). The
sinner who repents is a sinner who begins to know the love of God. The repenting sinner is a
sinner who begins to love God, to love the Lord Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God, the church of
God, the word of God, and the people of God. He can say with the apostle Paul, “I have been
crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live
by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). The sinner who
repents is a sinner who begins to love what God loves, and to hate what God hates.

Why do angels rejoice?

Angels rejoice when a sinner repents because they do not rejoice in their own works, but in
the mighty works that God has done. We would be surprised to learn that, when God rejoices,
the angels of heaven would not rejoice. But they do rejoice, and they rejoice over a sinner who
comes to repentance. They know it is a work of God. God is glorified and his attributes are put
on display to a watching universe when he gives the sinner repentance and remission of sins. The
angels are obsessed with the glory of God.
Angels rejoice when a sinner repents because they remember the days of the first creation,
and they know that God is beginning a new creation. God had asked Job long ago, “Where
were you when I laid the foundations of the earth…while the morning stars sang together and all
the angels shouted for joy?” (38:1-7). The angels saw God’s creation in its pristine, uncorrupted
beauty. They saw what happened to it when sin entered, and death came by sin. They saw the
rebellion of Lucifer, the son of the morning. They saw Satan and his followers cast out of heaven.
They saw the temptation and sin of our first parents. They saw them banished from the garden.
They saw the angels posted with the flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life. They have
seen firsthand the difference between paradise created and paradise destroyed. They well
remember that God had called everything he had made “very good.” And when a sinner repents,
they recognize the almighty hand of God at work again. They know it can only be explained as a
new creation. When God gives a sinner a new heart and puts a right spirit within him, he repents.
It is very good, and the angels rejoice.

Angels rejoice when a sinner repents because the angels know more than we know. Even
though they may never feel the joy that our salvation brings, they know that joy. Although they
themselves are not saved from sin, they know what sin is and what salvation has accomplished.
They know what awaits sinners who do not repent. And they know what awaits sinners who do
repent. They know that there is a hell to shun and a heaven to gain. Whatever awaits the
unrepentant sinner is known not only to God, but also to the angels. They know that many of their
fellow angels are destined to be banished from the presence of God forever. They know that a
lake of fire has been prepared for them. But angels also know something of the realities of
heaven and communion with God. They experience the joy, the peace, the holiness, and the
complete satisfaction of being always in the presence of God. When a sinner repents, they
rejoice, because they know this sinner has escaped the one to be forever established in the other.

Angels rejoice when a sinner repents because that sinner joins them in doing what they most
love to do. The holy angels love to serve and praise God. The four living creatures are said to do
this day and night, and to never stop saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who
was, and is, and is to come” (Rev. 4:8). The same is true of the great multitude that no one could
count, appearing in robes made white in the blood of the Lamb. “They are before the throne of
God and serve him day and night in his temple” (Rev. 7:15). “Praise the Lord, you his angels, you
mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you
his servants who do his will” (Psalm 103:20,21). Angels serve the Lord, and the sinner who
repents becomes their “fellow servant” (Rev. 19:10; 22:9).

What does this rejoicing mean to you?

It means that the worth of the human soul must be beyond human calculation. Imagine the
implications of a statement like this. There is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. This can
only mean that there is no greater loss than the loss of a soul. And there is nothing greater that can
be said about the recovery of a soul than to say that there is joy in heaven because of it. “What
good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and lose his soul? Or what can a man give in
exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36,37). Notice, there is rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who
repents. Have you repented? Do you have any idea of the priceless value of your soul? If you are
a believer, can you remember when the Shepherd found you, when the light of the gospel first
shined in your heart, when you returned
to the Father’s house? Spurgeon said,
‘Ah! Little did you think what a commotion there was in heaven. If the Queen had ordered out all
her soldiers, the angels of heaven would not have stopped to notice them; if all the princes of
earth had marched in pageant through the streets, with all their robes, and jewelry, and crowns,
and all their regalia, their chariots, and their horsemen – if the pomps of ancient monarchies had
risen from the tomb – if all the might of Babylon and Tyre and Greece had been concentrated into
one great parade, yet not an angel would have stopped in his course to smile at those poor tawdry
things; but over you the vilest of the vile, the poorest of the poor, the most obscure and unknown
– over you angelic wings were hovering, and concerning you it was said on earth and sung in
heaven, ‘Hallelujah, for a child is born to God today.’”

It means that all who repent will certainly be saved. There is rejoicing in heaven over one
sinner who repents. The joy of heaven is not reserved for when the sinner dies and goes to
heaven. There is joy when a sinner repents, because the sinner who repents is a sinner who is
saved. If it were possible for a sinner to repent and then fall away and be lost, would heaven
rejoice? To see a sinner put into a situation in which he had to keep himself saved would be a
cause for weeping rather than rejoicing. Heaven rejoices when sinners repent because heaven
knows that those who repent are saved.

It means that for a sinner to die without repenting must be the worst thing imaginable. If
heaven is full of joy when a sinner repents, it is because heaven knows what the consequences are
of not repenting. Heaven knows that religious sinners, church going sinners, moral sinners,
friendly sinners, generous sinners, talented sinners, and every other kind of sinners will be forever
banished from the presence of God if they do not repent. Jesus said that the people of Nineveh
will stand in judgment over unrepentant sinners who have heard these things, because “they
repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here” (Luke 11:32).
It means that heaven must rejoice in all the things that God has ordained to bring sinners to
repentance. If heaven does, so should we. Do we rejoice in the preaching of the gospel, the word
of God, the fellowship of a gospel church, the ministry of prayer, the privileges of the Lord’s
Day? Do we seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness? Do we want his will to be done on
earth as it is in heaven? Do we rejoice in the gospel plan of salvation that God has devised to
bring sinners to repentance? Do we rejoice in God’s sovereignty, his electing grace, his
distinguishing love? Do we hear a sermon that is intended to bring sinners to repentance with an
attitude of indifference, or do we plead with God to give it success? Do we make honest efforts
to be faithful to the gospel by understanding it and living it? Are we concerned about biblical
evangelism and missions, and do we pray that God will give his word success in bringing sinners
to repentance?

It means that we cannot be ready for heaven unless we have repented. Heaven rejoices when
sinners repent. Has heaven ever rejoiced over you? Will you take the position that there will be no
joy in heaven if you can help it? Jesus said, Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. There
is every reason to repent, and no sane reason not to repent. God now commands you to repent as
you hear these words. He has placed this issue before you, and you cannot take one step further in
life without trampling it under your feet. There is nothing of greater urgency than this. The angels
will rejoice if you repent. The Lord Jesus Christ has done everything for sinners. In return he
looks for sinners to repent. Will you repent? The Shepherd seeks his sheep. The Father seeks his
child. The gospel light is searching and shining in this place today for that lost coin. God stands
ready to rejoice. Jesus waits to rejoice. The angels are ready to celebrate your return. Will you
repent?