"Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Jesus"

Scripture: Luke 15:1-10

The scribes and Pharisees took great offense at Jesus because he associated with sinners and treated them graciously. The Pharisees had strict regulations about how they were to keep away from sinners, lest they incur ritual defilement.Jesus characteristically answered the Pharisees' charge with a parable or lesson drawn from everyday life. What does Jesus' story about a lost sheep and a lost coin tell us about God and his kingdom?

The shepherd's grief and anxiety is turned to joy when he finds the lost sheep and restores it to the fold. The housewife who lost a coin faced something of an economic disaster, since the value of the coin would be equivalent to her husband's daily wage. Her grief and anxiety turn to joy when she finds the coin.

The poor are particularly good at sharing in one another's sorrows and joys. What was new in Jesus' teaching was the insistence that sinners must be sought out and not merely mourned for. God does not rejoice in the loss of anyone, but desires that all be saved and restored to fellowship with him. That is why the whole community of heaven rejoices when one sinner is found and restored to fellowship with God. Seekers of the lost are much needed today.