The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 15:2,
"This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
This observation about Jesus was made by some Pharisees and teachers of the law as they observed "sinners" gathering around Jesus. Pharisees and the teachers of the law were scrupulous in their deportment to live good, upright and ethical lives and felt their devotion to regulations they had developed to keep them from violating laws in the Scriptures could earn them God's acceptance. Surely, if someone came and announced he was God's Son, he wouldn't be spending time with sinners! Would he?!
Following the account of this observation, Luke provides three parables Jesus told that express the joy in heaven that is generated when a repentant sinner turns to God. Sinful man is the target of Jesus' ministry here. On another occasion Jesus explained he came to save sinners, not the righteous. Righteous people don't need saving. He said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Luke 5:31-32.
The truth is we are all sinners, including the do-gooders. We simply are born into a lost and fallen race of mankind that is at odds with God in sin and rebellion. No amount of ethical living can change that. Something of that sinful condition is evidenced by a pride that can be expressed as a do-gooder compares himself with others around him.
I am reminded of an account Jesus provided, "To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 'Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: "God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get." But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.'" Luke 18:9-14.
What grips my heart is that it is the sinful the Lord came for and that leaves room for me! How thankful I am that God isn't looking to take good people into his kingdom but sinners (and we are all sinners). The acknowledgment that I am a sinner qualifies me for the salvation God provides! He is looking for a turn in the hearts of sinners, a turn fostered by faith as a response to the gospel. These are the ones God is taking into his kingdom. Jesus said, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Luke 19:10. Not what wasn't lost. That leaves room for me!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
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