Luke 15:1-2
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.”
In verse 1, tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Jesus. . .
Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Why do you think Jesus attracted “sinners”?
But the Bible was very specific about how many, it was “all the tax collectors and the sinners.” We are not only seeing some of the sinners, we are seeing all of them in the area. Jesus was a phenomenon. He was a Rabbi, a teacher of the Scriptures, an instructor for the life of faith. A person with this position not only teaches the faith, but lives it for his followers to follow suit. They talk the talk, and walk the walk.
However, in verse 2 . . .
And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”
The Pharisees and scribes were also religious leaders. They are educated in the Scriptures, respected by the people, and have authority in the community. So why do these religious leaders have a problem with Jesus drawing sinners to him? Where is the disconnect between what Jesus did and what the Pharisees expect of him?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- What were the Pharisees and scribes upset about?
- How would people in that culture interpret a meal like that?
- Why might the Pharisees think they were in the right?
It was not normal or expected for Jesus to draw in sinners. Sinners (a broad term) are those who broke one or many laws of God. Tax collectors were seen as traitors, because they took their fellow Jewish brothers’ money and gave it to the Romans, the occupying force of the time. But the worst part of it is, tax collectors were known to pocket some of the tax they collected for themselves. Both of these groups are seen as undesirable, unworthy, and unclean. You may ask, why not just forgive these sinners and tax collectors? It’s because in that time, being forgiven wasn’t just between you and God, it relied on your reputation and your ability to follow the law without mistakes. But for those whose reputations were already stained, they were branded as sinners.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Why would forgiveness and restoration be so hard to attain in that culture?
So that is the world we are dealing with. It’s a world where. . .
- Forgiveness is not freely given and easily attained.
- Separation is encouraged, instead of restoration.
You might be judging the Pharisees and scribes in your own hearts by now. How dare they not accept all? How could they call themselves religious leaders, and yet deny those who need faith and forgiveness the most? I would ask you to keep an open mind. The religious leaders were not perfect themselves (as we can clearly see from their treatment of others), and our modern world is not so different from theirs. Don’t mistake tolerance with acceptance.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- What’s the difference between tolerance and acceptance?
- How do we see this distinction play out in society?
Our world now preaches tolerance, but imagine a relationship with your parents, your brothers and sisters, your husbands and wives, where they tolerate you, instead of accepting you. It’s not the ideal relationship is it? This world lives with the same rules as the religious leaders did.
- Forgiveness is not freely given and easily attained.
- Think about the last celebrity who had to apologize to the world about something they did. How many were forgiven? maybe a few. How many remain with the stain of what they did? almost all of them.
- Separation is encouraged, instead of restoration.
- If the news really showed us the truth, we would only need one news source, and/or every news source would be identical on every channel. But the reality is, that even our news outlets are biased on what they show, and actively attack competing news outlets with animosity and disdain.
But Jesus really did preach something different. He preached forgiveness, and lived acceptance. He preached restoration, and lived it by “eating with” the sinners. This is where we begin our journey. Know that Jesus is opening the door for us to live in him, where every person is forgiven, accepted, and restored.
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