"This man receiveth sinners."
"Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them." Luke 15:1-2 KJV.
Luke 15 is a fascinating chapter. At the top of the chapter we see Jesus hanging out with the "outcasts" of society. And naturally, this caused the Pharisees and scribes to murmur. This word "murmur" is a strong word in the original Greek: diagonguzo. Dr. Luke is the only New Testament writer to use the term. Its roots are gonguzo - (grumble, murmur, mutter, complain) and dia - (used here to intensify the verb.) Thus it means to complain aloud, to grumble out loud.
And what were these religious leaders grumbling and complaining about? They are actually complaining that Jesus - "This man receiveth sinners." Of course the Son of man would have no problem hanging out with the sinners of His day. And of course, the religious leaders would take offense at this and complain aloud. Some of the leaders would have viewed these sinners as "unclean" and unapproachable. But not Jesus. These "sinners" were the heart of His mission, His raison d'etre. However, let me be quick to point out that Jesus wasn't hanging out and eating with sinners just for the sake of socializing and having a meal, or to be voted "most popular" by the people. His aim was their salvation in the Kingdom of God. In other words, his mission was their redemption.
In Luke 19:10 we find one of the clearest passages in the Bible that details the major reason Jesus entered the world of man. It states, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." John 3:17 strikes a similar note: "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." At that time, the people of Israel were under the impression that the Messiah would come as a political leader to condemn the Gentiles. But in John 3:17, Jesus tells Nicodemus, a high ranking religious leader, that JAH sent him into the world, not to condemn sinners but to save sinners.
So in Luke 15 as Jesus is going about fulfilling the Father's will to seek and to save the lost, notice two points of interest. First, the publicans (tax collectors) and sinners "drew near to Him to hear Him." (Luke 15:1 NKJV). I find it interesting that the ordinary sinners of the day were drawn to Jesus. I could be wrong, but I don't think they were drawn to the Pharisees and scribes! So what was it about Jesus that sparked within people a desire to draw near Him and hear Him? Which leads me to ask, as a follower of Christ, are ordinary people drawn to me, do they desire to hear what I have to say?
The second point of interest is instead of praising Jesus for reaching out to the lost, the religious leaders criticized Him. How could they be so uncaring and cold-hearted towards the object of God's affection? JAH loves the broken hearted sinner who comes to Him in faith and repentance. But the religious leaders had no such concept of a caring and forgiving heavenly Father.
So in response to their criticism, Jesus shares a parable that contains three episodes: 1) The story of the lost sheep, 2) The story of the lost coin, and 3) The story of the lost son. Bible teacher James Borland states, "In each case, the lost object is found and produces rejoicing. The sheep is innocently lost, the coin carelessly lost, but the son willfully lost." Jesus tells us the lost sheep is found, and there is rejoicing. Jesus states the lost coin is found, and there is rejoicing. And I love how, in the last and longest episode, Jesus throws in a twist. He tells us the lost son is found, and the father calls for rejoicing. But alas, the elder son refuses to join in the celebration! Instead of rejoicing, the elder son is bitter. So in verse 32, the father explains, "It was meet [right] that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found."
What a rebuke to the bitter religious leaders who were on the sidelines grumbling and complaining! Instead of rejoicing, they're bitter. These blind guides forgot their mission to seek and save the lost! So Jesus reminds them via three back-to-back episodes that God understands the predicament of lost sinners, and He wants sinners to be reunited with Him.
Consider again John 3:17 and Luke 19:10. In these two verses we're able to understand the heart of JAH and the mission of Christ: "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." and "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." The Pharisees and scribes forgot all about that. But before we condemn them, we must ask ourselves, have we forgotten the mission also? Are we aware that we too have a mission?
On Easter Sunday Jesus arose victorious from the tomb. And guess who is the first person Jesus shows himself to? Mary Magdalene, a woman with a past. She shares her experience with the others but they don't believe her report. As you can imagine, the disciples of a crucified Messiah were so discouraged and fearful. Let's pick up the account in John 20:19-22.
"Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the LORD. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:"
So I ask you, why did the Father send Jesus into the world? Answer: To seek and save the lost. And when the risen Savior completed his part of the mission, he passes the same mission to us. "As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." The Father sent Jesus to seek and save the lost, and then the risen Jesus sends us to seek and save the lost. This is now our mission as disciples of Christ. "Even so send I you."
We should all be glad that Jesus did not allow the grumbling and complaining of others to stop him from completing his mission. May JAH grant us the grace and empowerment of the Holy Spirit to complete our part of this same mission: To seek and to save the Lost!
In closing, I leave you with a favorite passage from Mark 1:16-17 KJV, "Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them. Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men." Grace, Peace and Jahspeed!
