At the
church where I serve, we have been spending our time together looking
at various encounters that people had with Jesus that are recorded for us in an
account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Luke. This week I would
like for us to pick up where we left off last week. And as we jump back into an
account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of
Luke, we are going to discover another timeless truth that can occur when we
encounter Jesus. So let’s discover that timeless truth together, beginning in
Luke 15:1:
Now all
the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both
the Pharisees and the scribes began to
grumble, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them."
Luke brings
us into this section of his account of Jesus life by providing for us the context
in which this encounter with Jesus would take place. Luke
explains that as Jesus was traveling toward the city of Jerusalem, large crowds
were accompanying Him. And part of these large crowds consisted of tax
collectors and sinners.
These tax collectors and sinners were people who did not
measure up to moral standards of the day in a way that resulted in them being
viewed as outsiders. These were people who were far from God and who were
viewed as outsiders by others.
Luke
explains that as these tax collectors and sinners who were far from God and who
were viewed as outsiders were listening to the message and teachings of Jesus,
both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, "This
man receives sinners and eats with them".
Another
section of the crowd, composed of the self righteous religious people of the
day, responded to Jesus welcoming and engaging with those who were outsiders
that were far from God by grumbling and complaining out loud. "How can
this Jesus want to be around these outsiders" they grumbled out loud.
"How can Jesus be friendly, engaging and teach people like these who are
far from God" they complained.
"How can Jesus go out to eat and hang out with such people".
Because that
is what self righteous religious people do. Self righteous religious people
unlovingly judge others as being outsiders, while considering themselves to be
insiders who are better than anyone else. After providing for us the context
for this encounter with Jesus, Luke gives us a front row seat to this encounter
with Jesus in Luke 15:3:
So He told them this parable, saying,
"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? "When he has found it, he lays it on his
shoulders, rejoicing. "And when he comes home, he calls together his
friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found
my sheep which was lost!' "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.
Luke tells us that Jesus responded to the grumbling and
complaining of these self righteous religious people by telling a parable. Now
a parable is an earthly story that reveals a deeper spiritual truth. Now this
parable, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would
have sounded something like this:
"What one of you, if you were a teacher and you had
100 children with you on a hiking trip to the Hualapai's and realized that you
had lost one child, would not leave the 99 children with another teacher and go
search for the child who you had lost. And once you found that lost child,
wouldn't you take that child by the hand and bring him back to be with the
other children, And wouldn't you rejoice with your fellow teachers in the fact
that you found that lost child? I tell
you, that in the same way there is more joy in Heaven over one person who was
an outsider who was far from God that changes the trajectory of their life that
was moving away from God back to God so that they become right with God than
over the 99 people who are already insiders who are right with God". Jesus
then told a second parable to the crowd, which Luke records for us in Luke
15:8:
"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? "When she has found it, she calls together
her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin
which I had lost!' "In the same
way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one
sinner who repents."
Now this parable, if communicated in the language we use
in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: "What one of
you, if you had $1,000 in your wallet, and lost $100, would not get out your
flashlight and look over and under everything in your house until you found
that $100? And when you found that $100, wouldn't you let everyone know on
Facebook and Twitter what had happened? Wouldn't you ask everyone around you to
rejoice in the fact that you had found that $100? I tell that in the exact same
way there is rejoicing by the angels in Heaven over when one person who was an
outsider that was far from God changes the trajectory of their life that was
moving away from God back to God so that they become right with God".
Jesus point in
telling these parables was that while the self righteous religious people
viewed those who were outsiders that were far from God as being insignificant,
God viewed those who were outsiders that were far from God as very significant.
While the self righteous religious people were not concerned about those who
were outsiders that were far from God,
there was great concern in Heaven for those who were outsiders that were
far from God. While the self righteous religious people had joy about being an
insider, there is more joy in Heaven when an outsider becoming an insider than
there is over those who are already insiders.
Jesus then hammers
His point home with a third parable. A parable that we will begin to look at
tomorrow…
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