Luke 15:1-2 says, “Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.”
During the ministry of Jesus Christ, the religious rulers would look for faults and mistakes of Jesus. The Pharisees and scribes would ask difficult questions in the hope of tripping up Christ in His words. Of course, Jesus never made a mistake, He never had faults, and would answer with such wise and powerful responses. Jesus is the Son of God and “in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”
In Luke 15, all the publicans and sinners drew close to Jesus in order to hear Him. The Pharisees and scribes saw this as a fault of Jesus. They spoke against Christ with the accusation, “this man receiveth sinners.” They spoke these words as a condemnation. However, these men had no clue of the significance of the words they had just spoke…”this man receiveth sinners.” It cannot be truer than that statement.
“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” “There is none good, no not one.” Every human being is a sinner. These religious men had not realized that they were sinners as well. They would see men with obvious outward sinful lifestyles and look down to them and call them “sinners.” No matter the type of sin, we are all still sinners. Those Pharisees and scribes were also guilty of sin, possibly less noticeable, but still wicked from the heart.
Understanding our sin condition, we have a horrible penalty. “The wages of sin is death.” We have a death sentence because of our sin. There is only one way out of this predicament. John 14:6 says, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay our debt freely. Through Him, that is our only hope. Some of the greatest words we could ever hear is that “this man receiveth sinners.” He is able and willing to receive all sinners. Jesus loves us so much. He will take us as we are. No matter how much we sin, or what type of sin, He will still receive us. We have a wonderful Saviour who loves us. Be like those publicans and sinners. Come to Him and He will accept you. Just as the Pharisees said “this man receiveth sinners.”
(By Matt Shold)
