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.” (Luke 15:1-2)
As usual, the one's who need help and know it come to Jesus. The one's who need help but don't know it complain. Jesus addressed this kind of sarcsim before, by saying “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Mark 2:17; Matthew 9:12; Luke 5:31) The Pharisees and scribes were just as sick as the tax collectors and the sinners; and so is every single one of us today if we haven't accepted salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, for ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23) Jesus can only help those who want to be helped. He will not force Himself on anyone who doesn't want His help.
But He doesn't give up on any of us, as He explains in the following parable: So He spoke this parable to them, saying: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does he not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. (Luke 15:2-7)
Every single human being who has lived, is living or will live means something to God. We are all of value! He shares another parable: “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, [drachma a valuable coin often worn in a ten-piece garland by married women] if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:8-10)
If we can respond by rejoicing over finding lost things, how much more will God rejoice over us repenting of our sins and accepting salvation! God wants to have a relationship with us for eternity, and He has done ALL that needs to be done for that to happen. ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered... “I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick;... “You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God,” says the Lord God. (Ezekiel 34:11-12, 16, 31) AMEN
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