Now all the tax collectors and “sinners” (irreligious) were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the Scribes grumbled, saying “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
So He told them [these] parable[s] … a hundred sheep … ten [$100 bills] … two sons … one was lost … found who or what was lost … led to great rejoicing.
Why were the tax collectors and irreligious coming to Him? Listening to Him? What was attractive to them about Jesus?
The Pharisees and Scribes’ attitude toward the irreligious was separation, disdain, distance and judgment. There is nothing attractive about that kind of attitude.
The Pharisees and John the Baptist both insisted on high moral standards. But there was a difference between them. Crowds thronged to John the Baptist. To the Pharisees? Not so much. What was the difference?
The Pharisees focused on rules for rules’ sake. This, for example, is what got them in trouble over the Sabbath. In their zeal for compliance with the Sabbath, they missed the point that the Sabbath was given as gift to bless and edify those who would observe it. All of the commandments have this object. The Pharisees lost sight of Who had given the rules and why He had given them, which was to bless the observant, not oppress or enslave them.
John the Baptist was also zealous for righteousness. (“Bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance.”) But John the Baptist saw past mere external compliance, which can be hypocritical and deceptive, to the heart. For John the Baptist, external repentance was not enough. He called for externally observable behavior that would reveal the heart – generosity (sharing clothing) and forsaking oppression (not over taxing).
The people perceived these differences.
Enter Jesus. Jesus was also zealous for righteousness. But Jesus also understood the object of the commandments. He saw past the externals and saw the heart. He spoke to this inward condition in the parable of the two men praying, one a self-justified Pharisee, and the other a guilt ridden tax collector (Luke 18:9-14).
Jesus receives sinners. Now that is an answer to a sinner’s prayer. It is one thing to receive Jesus (where is that in the Bible?). What is far more profound is that He receives us.
And they (we) know it. Prostitutes show up at dinner parties not to solicit, but to worship. Extortionist tax collectors host Jesus and their extortionist friends. These, who were farthest from God’s standards of righteousness, were attracted to Jesus, desired to come into His presence, and invited others. Why?
When Jesus encountered the woman at the well in John 4, He confronted her sin, and did not excuse it. But He also did not condemn her. His message to her was not to demand anything of her or from her, not even water, but the converse. Jesus was the one offering. To give. That is Jesus. A giver. That is grace. Giving.
Sinners – all of us – know two things: 1) we are sinners; and 2) we need something we cannot obtain or generate ourselves. We may not even know what it is we need: freedom; grace; forgiveness. Jesus tells us that if we come to Him, He will give, and we will receive.
The woman with the issue of blood, the synagogue ruler with the sick and dying daughter, the centurion with the sick servant, Zachius, blind beggars, the Samaritan women’s towns people, the paralytic carried by his friends, the crowds around the Sea of Galilee, the Garasene demoniac, Mary Magdalene, Herod — everyone wanted to get near Jesus. Why? Because somehow, they all knew He had what they wanted and needed. Grace. Love. Acceptance. Their sin, while not acceptable, was not a barrier. Not only did their sin not keep them from Jesus, they knew their malady would be cured by Jesus and so they came in spite of it. Because of it.
How does Jesus’ message get through today? How would He communicate it through you and me?
Perhaps we need to stop telling people their sin has separated them from God. Sin didn’t separate anybody from Jesus.
Infirmity, deficiency and need do not disqualify one from receiving, but qualify one. The sick go to doctors and hospitals. The hungry go to grocery stores and restaurants. The needy, when they hear about Jesus, go to Him.
We live in a world that does not acknowledge sin. This makes proclamation that we have an answer for it uninteresting and irrelevant at best, and smug and vicious at worst. But everyone has needs, even if not well understood. How do we let people know they will be welcomed and received by Jesus, regardless of their needs and shortcomings, and will find their needs fulfilled?