What other scriptures highlight God's joy in repentance and restoration? God’s Delight in Finding the Lost Sheep — Luke 15:5 “And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders.” • The verse is literal: Jesus pictures Himself lifting a sinner onto His own shoulders, carrying the weight personally, and rejoicing. • That single, specific joy sets the tone for every other passage below. Celebration in Heaven — Luke 15:7, 9–10 • Luke 15:7 — “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent.” • Luke 15:9 — The woman calls friends to say, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost coin.” • Luke 15:10 — “There is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.” • Twice Jesus says “joy” fills heaven; once He illustrates that joy by a neighborly party. Heaven’s response is not grudging acceptance but loud celebration. The Father’s Welcome Home — Luke 15:20–24 • “While he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.” • “Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us feast and celebrate.” • God is pictured running, embracing, clothing, and feeding the one who returns—each verb dripping with restoration. Prophets Echo God’s Joy • Ezekiel 18:23 — “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? … Wouldn’t I prefer that he turn from his ways and live?” • Ezekiel 33:11 — “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from his way and live.” • Isaiah 55:7 — “Let the wicked man forsake his own way … for He will freely pardon.” • Zephaniah 3:17 — “He will rejoice over you with singing.” • Jeremiah 31:3-4 — “I have loved you with an everlasting love … Again I will build you.” • Hosea 14:4 — “I will heal their apostasy; I will freely love them.” • Micah 7:18-19 — God “delights in loving devotion” and “casts all our sins into the depths of the sea.” • Psalm 103:10-13 — “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions.” Apostolic Confirmation of God’s Heart • Acts 3:19 — “Repent … so that your sins may be wiped away, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” • 2 Peter 3:9 — God “is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.” • 1 Timothy 1:15-16 — Paul, the “worst” sinner, became an example so that Christ “might display His perfect patience.” • 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 — “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation… God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them.” Thread That Ties It All Together • Every cited passage—OT prophecy, Gospel parable, or apostolic teaching—speaks with one voice: the Lord takes personal, active delight in forgiving and restoring sinners. • Repentance is never met with reluctance. Scripture insists God sings (Zephaniah 3:17), throws banquets (Luke 15), wipes out sins (Acts 3:19), and re-creates lives (2 Corinthians 5:17). • The shepherd, the homemaker, the father, the prophet, and the apostle each reveal facets of the same unchanging joy: God loves to rescue and restore. |
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