Luke 15:7

ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, in heaven, that is, in the heart of God. Heaven is a synonym for God in Luke 15:18; Luke 15:21. ἢ = more than, as if πλέον had preceded, so often in N.T. and in Sept [129] = Hebrew מִן. The comparison in the moral sphere is bold, but the principle holds true there as in the natural sphere, even if the ninety-nine be truly righteous men needing no repentance. It is rational to have peculiar joy over a sinner repenting, therefore God has it, therefore Christ might have it. This saying is the third great word of Christ's apology for loving the sinful. For the other two vide on Matthew 9:9-13 and Luke 7:36-50.

[129] Septuagint.