Eating with Sinners
One of the common charges against Jesus during His ministry was that He fellowshipped with sinners. He attracted sinners and not only did He not send them away, He actually brought them in very close to Himself.
In Luke 15, we read of tax collectors and sinners gathering around to hear from our Lord, and the Pharisees and scribes murmuring in disgust, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” In direct response to their complaint, Jesus delivered three connected parables – the Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Parable of the Lost Coin, and the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The unifying theme of all three parables being God’s purposeful pursuit of sinful man—He leaves the flock of ninety-nine in order to find the one lost sheep. He searches the whole house for a single missing coin. And He runs to meet His returning son in the road.
Why does Jesus eat with sinners? Because that is what God does. That is who God is. He seeks and finds lost sinners like you and me, and He pardons, sanctifies, and makes us His own. And as each parable ends, He does all this with great rejoicing in heaven and on earth.
The Pharisees could have dined with Christ, but as religious hypocrites, they did not know their sin; they did not know that they needed Him. But if you know yourself to be a sinner this morning, then our Lord Jesus is delighted to meet with you here at His Table.
So come, and welcome, to Jesus Christ.