The Lost is Found

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.”

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 15:1-7

We are not sure what motivated the Pharisees and scribes to complain about Jesus ministering to sinners.  Perhaps they were jealous of the attention the sinners received, or perhaps they believed that they were the only ones who were good enough to be holy. 

We can be sure that they heard Jesus’s message of forgiveness and God’s love for all people.  And, perhaps that is what irritated them – that people who they considered unworthy of God’s love received God’s love. 

Jesus makes it clear that God loves us all and none of us are beyond redemption and forgiveness.  When we extend the hand of Christian fellowship to those who have the most to be forgiven, we are ministering as Jesus ministered.   And, the angels rejoice when any one asks Jesus to be their Lord, Master and Savior.