But, before we can begin to look at these stories, we really need to give attention to the reason Jesus told them. We often overlook the first two verses of this chapter as we dig toward the meat contained in the other verses.
Luke 15:1-2 reads:
Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach.
This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was
associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!
Both sentences blow me away. The first is amazing. The second is baffling and just plain sad. Jesus had been preaching long enough that people would gather in advance just to hear His life changing words. His actions had already demonstrated a care for the everyday folks that was uncommon. Those combined to draw the different groups together to see what this Jesus was all about.
One word in that first sentence sticks out as very important -- "often." The "tax collectors and other notorious sinners" didn't just show up once and go home, they found something in Jesus that kept bringing them back. They heard a teaching they could relate to. They saw the chance to get out of their lifestyle and really be accepted by someone who seemed to care.
Verse two shows us what these people typically received -- scorn. And, this scorn came from the most unlikely of sources -- the people who were supposed to be representing God. These are the people who would confront the sinners and scum as they tried to enter the temple, run them off, then high-five each other for keeping the temple clean and pure.
Probably the saddest part is that this very thing happens on a regular basis in churches today. Sometimes it's subtle. Like people turning their backs and ignoring newcomers who don't fit the model church goer ilk. Or, talking down to people with a known sordid past.
Sometimes it's more direct, like what Jesus experienced. The Bible records for us that the religious leaders openly complained that the riff raff were coming to hear Jesus speak. Their grief was that Jesus gave these people the attention that was below the status of the religious crowd.
Maybe you've seen the direct route taken in your church. A former pastor of mine tells the story from his days as a youth pastor. A teenage girl from a poor household began coming to the church, and was taking an interest in Jesus. Her family didn't have the money to buy good "church" clothes, so the girl wore what she had. One Sunday morning, a deacon in that church scolded the teen in the main hallway for her attire, not knowing that really was the best she had. He ordered her to go home and not return until she had proper church clothing. Sadly, the girl went home crying and never returned. Yet, this "religious leader" was later found getting high-fives and pats on the back from his fellow "leaders" for the way he dealt with the girl.
Whether subtle or direct, we need to understand that behaving like the religious leaders mentioned in Luke 15 is not the way Jesus treated people. To our benefit, and maybe as a kick in the seat of our pants, we get verse three that follows the complaints of the religious with these words, "So Jesus told them this story...." Since the Pharisees and teachers of religious law didn't get the big picture, Jesus had to show them how important everyone is to God.
Tomorrow, I'll take a look at the rest of Luke 15. What an amazing chapter. Why not read it today.
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