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"Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, 'This Man receives sinners and eats with them.'"
(Luke 15:1-2)
Luke 15 is a very revealing text on who Jesus is. It helps me understand why the crowds would line up to praise Him in Luke 19 as He triumphantly entered into Jerusalem. He loved people; yes, even the hated tax collectors and sinners. But just like in Luke 15, the Pharisees in Luke 19 are there to protest, and they even tell Jesus in Luke 19:39 to rebuke the disciples for praising Him.
Luke 15 contains a trilogy of parables with one central theme, and that is, God rejoices when the lost are found! God loves the lost, and He sent His Son as a missionary and Savior to redeem that which was lost. There is no one like Jesus! He was born of the Virgin Mary at Christmas, lived a perfect life, died for our sins on Good Friday, and praise God, He arose from the dead on Resurrection Sunday! I was sharing this message with a Muslim man just last week. He told me he did not believe some of the basic teachings of Islam. I focused on who Jesus is and what the Gospel is.
The three parables increase in their teaching on value. The sheep is important but not as expensive as the coin in the headdress of the dowry of a married woman, and last and the most precious of all is the son in the third parable (the Parable of the Prodigal Son). God rejoices over the lost when they are found.
This week, we will walk through Luke 15:1-7 and highlight certain aspects. Then, toward the end of the week, we will focus on some truths from the text.
In Luke 15:1-2, we see the most important character in the story: Jesus, and He is the center of the controversy that erupts. He disrupts the spiritual status quo, and when He does, it brings Him into the crosshairs of the religious crowd. The second group mentioned in verses 1-2 are the tax collectors who were hated because they worked for the Romans in collecting taxes from their own people. They charged more than was required, so they became wealthy but very hated. The Talmud placed tax collectors within the same category as thieves and murderers. The third group of characters was the Pharisees and scribes. The first order of business for them was something I believe they were incredibly gifted at: complaining! The Greek word translated "complained" is an onomatopoeia, which "refers to words whose pronunciations imitate the sounds they describe." The word is diagoggyzo, which means to complain or murmur. They were the religious leaders of Israel and incredibly pious and judgmental. Instead of reaching out to the downcast, the sinners, and pointing them to God for salvation, they only judged and condemned them. So, when Jesus came, ministered to the downcast, and did what the Pharisees and scribes should have been doing as the spiritual pastors and shepherds, they resented Him for it, and they eventually killed Him for His rebuke of them. Don't underestimate the power, pain, and hurt of a person who believes he or she is right and God has given them permission to act that way.
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