Luke 15: 1-10
Luke 15:1 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
Luke 15:2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man received sinners, and eateth with them.
We see two groups of people here, "obviously lost" (publicans and sinners) and the "religiously lost" (Pharisees and scribes).
The publicans and sinners were considered outcasts. They lived sinful lifestyles. According to religious people, they were beyond God's salvation.
Think:
On the other hand, the Pharisees and scribes were socially pure and religiously educated, but they didn't know God.
The religiously lost:
On the other hand, you have the scribes, the Pharisees, who thought they were on God’s team:
They were:
- Socially pure, in fact, the word “Pharisee” meant set apart. They didn’t go to wild parties, probably because no one wanted them at their parties.
- Religiously educated, which meant when they went to church, they knew when to stand and kneel. They said “Aman” at all the right times.
They all knew the rules, but they didn’t know God.
Luke 15:2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man received sinners, and eateth with them.
This word is translated as “murmured.” To murmur greatly or to keep murmuring is associated with the idea of complaint, to express a grumbling attitude.
They murmured in discontent, expressing indignant displeasure and judgmental attitudes towards Jesus, who. received sinners and ate with them.
They probably said things like this:
- "Can you believe Jesus is associating with those kinds of people? He's supposed to be a holy man!"
- "What's the point of having rules if Jesus is just going to ignore them and eat with sinners?"
- "I don't know how he can call himself a teacher and still socialize with prostitutes and thieves."
- "We're the ones who know the law, and he's just disrespecting it by associating with those kinds of people."
- "This is not what we expect from a spiritual leader. He's supposed to set an example, not condone sin."
- "What's next? Is he going to start attending wild parties and drinking with the drunkards?"
Jesus explains why he hangs out with sinners by telling two stories: a story about a lost sheep and a story about a lost coin.
The big idea in both stories is this: when we repent, God rejoices.
Luke 15:4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
Luke 15:5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
Luke 15:6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
Luke 15:7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
Back then, a rabbi would refuse to corrupt himself by associating with people they considered unclean. They refused to teach a “sinner” the Bible.
The key to understanding both these stories is knowing that they are meant to contrast God's attitude with the attitude of the religious leaders.
The attitude of Jesus:
- Jesus welcomes and receives sinners despite their sinful lifestyles and outcast status.
Luke 15:1 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
Many people get confused because they forget that two things can be true at the same time.
Jesus indeed hates sin. The writer of Hebrews says this of Jesus: “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity.” (Heb 1:9)
- What does Jesus think of drug addiction? He hates it!
- What does Jesus think of pornography? He hates it!
- What does Jesus think of gossip? He hates it!
- What does Jesus think of racism? He hates it!
But Jesus loves sinners: if you are a drug-addicted pornographer who is racist and likes to gossip, Jesus loves you.
How does Jesus demonstrate his love?
- He expends great effort to pursue sinners.
Notice vs, 4 and 8.
Luke 15:4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
Luke 15:8 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?
Interestingly, both stories, The Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin, represent groups of people the Pharisees look down on.
They considered shepherds unclean and would never willingly associate with them. They also thought that women's moral character didn’t meet their standards, so they would not willingly associate with them.
In both stories, the hero spends tremendous effort pursuing the lost and goes to great lengths to find something of small value.
What’s one sheep compared to 99? What’s one coin compared to 9? The point here is that God cares about sinners so much that he sent his son to save them.
No matter how insignificant you are to the rest of the world, you mean so much to God that he sent his son to die so that you can be reconciled to him.
2 Corinthians 5:18And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.
God, in Christ, reconciled lost sinners to himself. This is why Jesus came to the earth, to seek and to save the lost.
We are reconciled to God not because of our works but because of the work of Christ.
God didn’t wait for us to get our act together; he looked for us.
This is our example.
2Corinthians 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
God has given us the same ministry; therefore, we must spend our time, energy, and resources seeking the lost.
Since they are not going to come to us, we must go to them!
Another way the love of Jesus is demonstrated is in the celebration of finding the lost.
Luke 15:8 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?
Luke 15:9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.
Luke 15:10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
Here, we see God values and loves the people the religious authorities of Israel rejected and despised.
This is evident because of the emphasis on God’s joy. “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” (Vs 10.)
The reaction was not, oh well, I found the lost sheep; it was as if the shepherd found a family member.
The lesson that Jesus is trying to teach.
We should learn to love what God loves; if we don’t, we will become Pharisees and fail to reflect God’s nature.
The proof that we are on the right track concerning this issue is two things:
- We will spend our time and resources pursuing God’s passion (seeking the lost.)
- We will rejoice with heaven when sinners come home.
The lesson Jesus teaches is that we should learn to love what God loves and reflect God's nature. This is evident when we spend our time and resources pursuing God's passion (seeking the lost) and rejoicing with heaven when sinners come home.