The Journey: Jesus Welcomes Sinners 4-2-2020
By Dean Foster
April 2, 2020
The Journey: Jesus Welcomes Sinners
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
Luke 15:1&2
Welcome to the Journey.
The first two verses of chapter 15 in Luke's gospel give context and set the mood. Jesus must have been on the stone steps or a bench in the temple courts where he went to teach. Tax collectors and other sinners were gathered around to hear him. Luke tells us that as he spoke and ate with this group of friends, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law somewhere nearby. The religious leaders weren't there to listen and learn from the young Rabbi though, they were keeping an eye on him.
Luke writes how the Pharisees and teachers of the law watching Jesus "muttered" to each other, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." I want to ask, why do they "mutter" about his wonderful display of grace? How can they complain about seeing the precious truth that, "Jesus welcomes sinners" right there in broad daylight? O.K., I know they are the Pharisees. I get it. What would it hurt though, if this one time they whispered to each other with a sense of wonder, "This man (God Incarnate) welcomes sinners and eats with them!" What if there was a sense of awe in their voices, as though they were astonished by what he was doing! Instead of muttering, what if somehow, they saw the way God himself had come into the world to receive the broken, the lost, the heavy-laden sinners! What if a hopeful idea could be found to change the tone of their whispers?
That brothers and sisters, I am afraid was not the case; Luke writes that they "muttered" those words as a complaint. Wonder and awe were not their tone, only grumbling and protest. The only thing the Pharisees saw were the worst of sinners, the most unclean. They saw those dregs of society being openly welcomed, even cared about and spoken to no less, by a young Rabbi, a holy man. They must have been disgusted and found it unacceptable.
The Pharisees and Sadducees didn't care about the tax collectors or the others that were coming to Jesus. They didn't care about the people at all. As far as the Pharisees were concerned there were enough people in their religious club. Their religious sect within Judaism was like any of our denominations within Christianity today. They felt they had the "right" people and the "right" beliefs. What bothered the Pharisees and the teachers was this young Rabbi spreading his rebellious ideas. Stirring up the sinners until they get some wrong ideas, until they don't want to stay down where they belong. The people and the riffraff had to know to keep their place. Keep their place and stay on track. Do as they are told and what is expected of them.
Tax collectors were nothing more than tribute collectors for the Roman occupiers. Flat out traitors. How low can you get? How could this Rabbi Jesus accept them, forgive them, and treat them as he would anyone else? "Man of God?" How could he be?
There it is again—"Jesus welcomes sinners"—he forgives them all. Just think of the relief it must have been to those outcasts shunned by society for so long. What a feeling it was for those who hadn't felt like men for so long. They'd forgotten what it was like to have someone show them even a shred of respect. Or be treated like a human being. What sweet peace it must have been to have someone like Jesus forgive them out there out in the open like that.
He welcomed them like long-lost friends. True, it must have been jaw-dropping for people to see Jesus laughing and eating with those scoundrels and other sinners right there on the steps at the temple. They were traitors and thieves, as low as they could be. Still I sense the light of his forgiving love breaking through, warming their hearts. Perhaps the hearts of believers in the crowd. All of us who enjoy being with him, loving him and the vision of them with him the same as he is with the rest of us. Oh well, like Father, like Son, like Holy Spirit, I guess.
With or without hearing the whispered complaints of the Pharisees, Jesus would have known what made them squirm on their benches. He would have known they couldn't see that those who came to him were only lost to a religion, but not to God. He never lets us go. He finds us when we are lost out of fear; He finds us when we are lost because of pride; He finds us when we are lost because we choose to be. And a million, million other reasons, He will find us. He told this parable to help the Pharisees and others understand.
The Lost Sheep
4Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."
Jesus wanted the found everywhere to know that the lost only need to be turned around and shown the way home. They ache for the way to God, their loving Shepherd, and who better than those who know Him and know the way to show them.
It has been said that sheep are the dumbest animal on the planet. I heard it first when I was a small boy from a friend of my dad who raised sheep. We were all out in his barn and he said, "Just look at their faces." I did and to be kind, they don't strike you as inspired test takers. There may be exceptions, but I read about something that happened back in 2005. 405 sheep jumped to their deaths in Istanbul, Turkey. The Associated Press reported that "First one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff, Turkish media reported."
In closing let me thank Jesus for all he tells us about reaching the lost here in Luke 15. Please pray and consider his parables for yourself. Also, please remember this one thing Journeymen, if you ever decide to graze a hundred sheep or Turkeys on a hillside. Either skip breakfast that day or PUT UP A FENCE!
This is the Journey
