Jesus who Receives Sinners

“Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him.  But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them" (Luke 15:1-2).

Are you welcoming your brothers and/or sisters in Christ who are committing sins against you and even against God?  How about your own family members who sins against you?  Do you accept them in your heart? 

When we look at the today’s passage, Luke 15:1-2, we can see that the tax collectors and “sinners” all gathered around Jesus to hear him (v.1).  And Jesus welcomed them and ate with them (v.2).  And guess what?  The Pharisees and the teachers of the law didn’t like it.  They grumbled because Jesus received them and ate with them.  To them, Jesus gave 3 parables: (a) the parable of a lost sheep (vv.4-7), (b) the parable of a lost coin (vv.8-10), and (c) the parable of a lost son (vv.11-32).  And by telling these parables, Jesus tried to show his heart toward the sinners so that they might also receive them as well.  We can think about Jesus’ heart toward the sinners in three ways:

First, Jesus goes after the lost soul.

Look at Luke 15:4, 8 - “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?  …  Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?”  Jesus’ heart is toward the one lost soul.  He is looking for him/her.  And He continually looks for him/her until He finds him/her.  That was why He came to this earth.  And that was why He died on the cross.  But unlike Jesus, those religious leaders, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law didn’t look for the lost souls.  They didn’t receive them as Jesus did.  Actually, they despised them.  Why?  It was because they thought themselves as righteous people (v.7).  When we think that we are righteous, we will never be able to receive even one lost sinner who needs Jesus and His gospel.  I think we will be far away from him/her and even despise him/her like the Pharisees and the teachers of the law.  Who are we to judge others and call them sinners when we ourselves are sinning against God?  Didn’t Jesus come to save the lost sinners?  We must go after the lost soul.  We must look for him/her as Jesus did.  Maybe He is actually going after the lost soul through you and me.

Second, Jesus waits for the lost soul.

Look at Luke 15:20 - "And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”  When we look at the parable of the lost son, it’s little bit different from other two previous parables.  In the previous two parables, the Lord is actively looking for the lost sheep or coin.  But when we look at the parable of the lost son, the father is passively waiting for his son to return.  And in the parable of the lost son, when the son repent and return to his father, the father saw him even when the son was still a long way off and felt compassion for him” he ran toward the son and embraced him and kissed him (v.20).  This is our Father’s heart!  He is waiting for the lost souls to repent and return to Him.  Shouldn’t we have His heart so that we may actively wait for the lost souls to repent and return to God?  I remember when I was a teenager; my father was waiting for me and my brother to return home even after 2 am or so.  We felt guilty.  At least, I did.  And I didn’t know what to do.  I know I need to stop living a sinful lifestyle and repent my sins to God.  But I couldn’t.  Actually, I didn’t want to do that.  It was in my college freshman year that God really broke my heart and enabled me to repent and return to Him.   And I clearly remember that God forgave my sins and embraced me as his child.  Like our Father God, we must be willing to forgive and receive a “sinner” with our hearts.  We must not despise him/her as the religious leaders did in Jesus’ time.  We must accept him/her and embrace him/her with our heart.

Third, Jesus rejoices when the sinner repent and return to God.

Luke 15:7, 10, 32 - "I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.  …  In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.  …  'But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found”.  Our Father God loves to see the lost sons and daughters repenting and returning to Him.  He rejoices and rejoices when the lost son comes home.  It’s because “this son of mine was dead and has come to life again” (v.24).  It is because “this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found” (v.32).  But when we look at the parable of the lost son, the first son didn’t like to see his father rejoicing over the return of his younger brother.  Actually, he became angry (v.28).  He became angry because his younger brother has devoured his father’s wealth with prostitutes and his father killed the fattened calf for him (v.30) and had music and dance party (v.25).  He was angry because he though that his father didn’t do anything for him even though for so many years he has been serving him and has never neglected his commands (v.29).  There was not even young goat given to him so that he may celebrate with his friends (v.29).  In a word, he couldn’t rejoice with his father when his lost brother returned home.  Here, the first son refers to the Pharisees and the teachers of the law.  And the younger brother refers to the tax collectors and the sinners.  The tax collectors and the sinners repent their sins and believe in Jesus (Mt.21:32) but the Pharisees and the teachers of the law didn’t.  Therefore, Jesus said “"I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you” (v.31).  Aren’t we like this first son, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law?

Let me conclude this message.  When we look at the Bible, Matthew 11:19 and Luke 7:34, the Scripture says that Jesus was a friend of tax collectors and “sinners”.  Jesus received (welcomed) them and ate with them (Lk.15:2). This should how must Jesus loved them - his intimate love toward them.  Why did Jesus do that?  It was because Jesus came to call the sinners to repentance (Lk. 5:32; Mt. 9:13, Mk.2:17).  That’s why Jesus is still looking for the lost soul (Lk. 15:4).  And He does so continually (v.8).  And He is still waiting for the lost sinner to repent and return to Him.  That’s why Jesus preached “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Mt. 4:17).  And those who heard His message, when they repented their sins and believed in Jesus, He rejoiced.  It was because the lost has been found (Lk. 15:7, 10, 32).  Therefore, like Jesus we must receive sinners.  And we must love them as Jesus has loved them.  We must actively look for them and when we find them we must proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to them.  Also, we must pray, expect and wait for them to repent and return the Lord.  When they repent and receive Jesus as their person Savior and Lord, there will be great joy and celebration in heaven.  God’s joy will be our joy!

As I think about my L.A. friends who I love dearly,

James Kim