Jesus Rejoices in Your Repentance
Psalm 51:16-17—You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
What is it that you think makes Jesus happy? Is it when you’ve been especially holy? When you’ve been an exceptional husband or wife? A compassionate friend? A grateful and obedient child? A faithful employee?
All these things do bring joy to Jesus. But there is one thing more than anything else which brings Jesus joy. This one thing is what Jesus desires to come before anything else, and, in turn, works to produce all those wonderful things I’ve mentioned and much more which also bring Jesus joy. The one thing above all else is your confession to him that you are exactly what you are—a weak and miserable sinner who would be lost to hell without the grace and mercy of God. You see, Jesus Rejoices in Your Repentance.
We see this very clearly in Psalm 51, a psalm of King David. Remember that David wrote this psalm after Nathan had confronted him with his sins of laziness, adultery, and murder. Notice David says: “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.” You might think this strange since God commanded his Old Testament people to bring him sacrifices and burnt offerings for their sins. The point David makes is that outward acts aren’t the be all and end all of our repentance and relationship with God. Everything with God always begins and ends with our heart, along with everything else in between.
To imagine that just going through the motions or doing the “right” things makes you good with God is plain and simple self-righteousness. In this kind of relationship, you intend to make yourself your own savior and end up turning Jesus into nothing more than a cheering spectator.
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” It is your anguish, sorrow, and confession to God which acknowledges that you still daily struggle to love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself which brings delight to your God. Isn’t that so strange? And yet, of course this is the way it must be, for our thoughts and ways are, by nature, entirely unlike that of God’s! And here is an amazing thing—not only your cry for Jesus’ mercy through repentance, but also your firm belief that you do indeed have his mercy through his forgiveness…this brings Jesus great joy! By confessing all that is wrong with you and in faith looking to Jesus and seeing that everything is right with him which he gives to you for your salvation, this is your life, your joy, your delight—and Jesus’ too!
Therefore, even though is sounds like a crazy contradiction, you rejoice in your own repentance, because Jesus Rejoices in Your Repentance. And not only that, you also rejoice in the repentance of others, even those who have committed awful and grievous sins against you.
So my friends, as you rise and as you go to bed, and as you go about your day with everything in between, repent of the evil you have committed in thought, word, and deed. Joyfully do so, because you know that it not only brings Jesus joy, but you shall every time hear from his lips that most joyous message of the gospel—“I forgive you!”