Tax collectors and other nortorious sinners often cam eot 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! —Luke 15:1-2 NLT
Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stodd by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people–cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” –Luke 18:9-13 NLT
We have to
for their story.
Healthy people don’t need a doctor–sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent. –Luke 5:31-32 NLT
We can’t lose touch with God’s
to rescue people.
So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ –Luke 15:3-6
In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over inety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away! –Luke 15:7