Title: If You Repent, You Will Be Happy
Contents
1. Words that begin
An old woman snatched a handbag with money and said, “Oh my money! Oh my money!” As I was doing this, I stomped my feet and ran back and forth, then sat down and cried and cried.
People lament when they lose what they have and work tirelessly to find it. But he does not know, let alone lament, that he has been lost. Those who do not know or turn their back on the Creator God, who has the attributes of eternal love, truth, righteousness, and freedom, are all lost. Unbelievers, whether ordinary people or masters, have lost the image of God that God the Creator has bestowed upon them. They have lost the attributes of God, such as love, truth, righteousness, and freedom. In the end, even the salvation of eternal life will be lost.
As promised, God sent His only begotten Son, Christ Jesus, into the world to seek out the lost. Luke 19:10 says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
2. Response of Jewish religious leaders and sinners to Jesus
In the Old Testament times, God sought the lost mainly through the law and the prophets, and in the last days, God sent his only begotten Son, Christ Jesus, to seek the lost. Jesus preached and taught the gospel of salvation, healed the sick, and freed those who were possessed by spirits that were so evil and unclean that they could not lead a normal life. With the authority of the Messiah, Jesus gave a new lesson with the authority to cast out evil spirits and showed the divine power to destroy the works of the devil.
The ultimate purpose of all these messianic proclamations, education, and miraculous works is to receive the forgiveness of sins and the salvation of eternal life by believing that Jesus is the Messiah or Savior.
The reactions of those who heard this wonderful call of love and power of the Lord Jesus were divided into three categories as they are today.
First, the Jews were skeptical and followed Jesus, wondering if they could satisfy their curiosity or receive miraculous grace. Those Jews did not follow for the messianic glory of Jesus, but to satisfy their own selfish greed. Those Jews did not follow Jesus to obey the words of Jesus, but to carry out their own will. Because it was such a public, they shouted as if shaking the heavens and the earth to crucify Jesus, who was no longer worth using.
Second, sinners and tax collectors, the marginalized and abandoned in the Jewish society at the time, sought Jesus to receive the forgiveness of sins, salvation and eternal life. Jesus welcomed tax collectors and sinners who were marginalized because of collusion with Rome, the colonial empire, who came to them with a repentant and believing heart, preaching the gospel and teaching them. you said Jesus welcomes those who seek salvation, realizing that they are sinners who need salvation, regardless of their wealth or status, with open arms.
Third, the Pharisees and the scribes blamed and criticized Jesus. The Jewish leadership, including them, were religious leaders who almost knew the literal meaning of the Law and the Prophets, so they seemed to be the first to recognize Jesus as the Messiah and seek it out with repentance and faith, but in reality it was the other way around. Instead of recognizing the Lord Jesus, who came according to God's promise, he complained about accepting sinners and eating together in violation of the law. Furthermore, they envy Jesus, framed him, and tried to destroy him by killing him. The spiritually ill or dead Jewish religious leaders had an excellent intellectual understanding of the Law and the Prophets, but did not have the spiritual understanding to understand their purpose. Therefore, they could not realize that Jesus, who came and works, is the Messiah.
3. Jesus' Parable of the Lost Sheep
Jesus, who did not know the gospel that he really needed to know, spoke in parables when he heard the criticism mixed with the resentment of the Jewish religious leaders who were gripped with pride and pride for knowing God's Word well. “Which of you has a hundred sheep, and if one of them is lost, does not he leave the ninety-nine in the field and go looking for the lost one?”
As W. Barclay said, “The Jewish shepherd had a difficult and dangerous task. Pastures were scarce. The narrow central plateau was only a few miles wide, leading to barren cliffs and horribly barren deserts. The sheep would have gone astray because there was no fence to hold back. The shepherd is personally responsible for the lost sheep. If a sheep was lost, the shepherd had to at least take the fleece home to show how the sheep died.”
Regarding “Do you not leave the ninety-nine in the field and go after them to find what was lost?”
As W. Barclay said, “Many of the flocks were not individuals, but flocks that belonged to the community. Two or three shepherds would have taken it.” However, in the case of this parable, it should be regarded as personal property.
Perrin commented, “This shepherd forgot the normal course of action and rushed out in search of the lost sheep, with no one in the bins to oversee the sheep.” But no matter how foolish the shepherd may be, he cannot go out looking for the one lost sheep, preparing to lose more sheep, leaving the ninety-nine sheep alone in the field. It should be seen as leaving it to another shepherd or assistant and looking for it.
Our Lord God does not neglect the one lost just because there are 99 people who have been saved. He is despised by all, and he treasures and seeks out those who even contemplate suicide because they themselves are not worthy of living. They are also looking for atheistic philosophers who are skeptical about where God is.
2 Peter 3:9 says, “But he is patient with you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.”
But what is truly amazing and sad is that some religious leaders abuse the offerings given to God for their own lust for honor or authority, making money friends, and causing the Lord to stumble those whom the Lord has sought. Also, instead of pouring out our whole spirit and mind and body on the gospel of Christ, pouring it out into the left or right, which is the current trend of the world, causes the people who were called by the blood of the cross to stumble.
Jesus described the supreme joy of a shepherd who found his lost sheep after all his soul and soul toil. “And when they found it, they rejoiced, and brought it home, carrying it on their shoulders, and called their friends and neighbors together, and said, Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep. God only likes finding the lost, so he does not care about all the heartbreaking words and deeds such as denying God, ignoring the voice of the Spirit, and mocking God's messengers. He is so happy that he makes a feast to say that he found the lost with everyone in heaven. How amazing is God's love?
Don't be fooled. The only love that never dies is the love of God who seeks the lost.
4. Conclusion
In conclusion, Jesus said, “There will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” The Greek word for “repent” is metanounti (μετανοο?ντι), which is neither conversion (回心) meaning to turn one's mind to eat, nor conversion (悔心) meaning to repent of a mistake. Repentance, or metanounty, means turning your back on God and living toward the world, then turning your back on the world and living toward God.
Regarding the “ninety-nine righteous who need no repentance”, Martin Luther commented that they were justified by faith, and J. Wesley commented that they were relatively righteous and outwardly blameless. . But no man is without repentance. It was a satire on the scribes and Pharisees, people who considered themselves righteous and did not need to repent.
I hope that all of us will live a life of evangelism, cherishing the heart of the Lord Jesus more and more, who is looking for the lost by destroying the works of the devil.
(Poongseong Methodist Church. Book: Complete Commentary on 27 New Testament Books/ Interpretation of Difficult Scriptures I, II/ Salvation Before Jesus Came/Paul’s Understanding of Man/ Prosperity Prayer/ Seasonal Sermonbooks/ Sermonbook 18. -3051)