Luke chapter 15. Let's begin again in verse one. Then drew near unto him all the
publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and
the scribes murmured, saying, this man receiveth sinners, and
he eateth with them. Now I wanna ask you a very serious
question. Do you know when a sinner will
come to Christ? Do you know when a sinner will
come to Christ? When they see that they need
Him. When you see that Christ Jesus
can provide everything for you that God demands of you, when
being accepted by God means everything to you. Now if it doesn't mean
anything to you, it doesn't much matter. But when you see that
only Christ can provide that acceptance, that's when you'll
come to Christ. It's a constant need of grace
and forgiveness that keeps a saved sinner coming to Christ. We come
to Christ and we keep coming to Him because we find all we
need in Him. And what great gospel news we
find in these first two verses. When the publicans and sinners
drew near to Christ, Christ received them. When what the religious
world considered to be the worst of the worst, the publicans and
the sinners, came, drew near to him, Christ received them.
The Pharisees murmured. They complained. When he did
this, they grumbled. Well, this man received sinners.
And not only that, why, he even eats with them. Most people won't
eat with someone that they don't like. You become pretty personable
with someone when you eat with them. And the Pharisees, they
were just shocked by this. They had no such dealings with
such disgusting and deplorable sinners. So first of all, we
see that there was something about the Lord Jesus Christ that
made him approachable. These were not the type of people
who would have been attracted by any pomp or show of religion. And it certainly wasn't because
the Lord was dressed with religious dress or priestly apparel that
drew them to Him. He conducted Himself as an ordinary
man. Why people are so impressed with
Religious robes that priests and even some preachers now wear
is beyond me. To me, it just screams self-righteousness
and holier than that. The Lord dressed himself as a
common man did. There was no outward beauty in
him, the scripture says, that we should desire him. And he
wore the normal attire of a man that lived in the eastern part
of the world at that time. And these publicans and these
sinners certainly didn't come to Christ because of all his
religious reasoning or debating. He wasn't trying to prove or
debate that there was a God. He simply declared God in his
kingdom. The Lord wasn't trying to impress
or convince anyone with his doctrine. He didn't try to dazzle anyone
with his superior knowledge of the doctrines of sovereign grace,
election, and predestination. He simply declared, I testify
that which I do know. I'm telling you what I've seen
of the Father, and I bear witness of the truth. They didn't come
and approach the Lord Jesus because of any great display of intellect
that He showed, even though He was God in the flesh, all-knowing,
knowing all things. He never spoke down to them.
He simply spoke to men as a man whose words had authority and
with cutting force they melted through the hardness of men and
women's heart and convicted them of their sin. He was simple and
plain. He was honest and sincere. He told them the truth while
His words were full of hope. He simply addressed their needs
and how they could be saved from the wrath of God to come. So
what was it that attracted these people to the Lord Jesus Christ? They were not your common church-going,
sermon-hearing people. And the remarkable thing is that
they find themselves listening to Him, not only with their physical
ears, but with their hearts, and they're drinking up every
word that His mouth pours out. And they looked upon Him, and
they knew He was a real man, yet different from every other
man. By the Pharisees, they walked around in their garments and
they stuffed their sleeves with the prayers of the Jews to appear
holy. But this man, Jesus of Nazareth,
he was the physical and fleshly embodiment of pure holiness. And they knew it. And these ungodly
sinners could see the difference. It's still the same today. Those
in this repulsive group of Republicans and sinners that came to Him.
Those who took the time to sit and listen to Him. Those who
took the time to eat with Him. They knew that this man, Jesus
Christ, truly and genuinely loved them. He cared about them. He had their best interest at
heart. And they could feel and recognize
His sincerity. But the so-called religious men
of that day, they brought charges against the Lord Jesus. What
were these charges? Well, they charged Him with the
horrible crime of receiving sinners and eating with them. These devout
and self-righteous hypocrites who sought acceptance with God
through their deeds and their religious affiliations charged
Christ with the crime of receiving sinners. The only hope that any
of us have of being accepted and received by God is that God
might be pleased to accept and receive us. And when Christ came
into the world to do just that, men complained and men murmured
and they charged God with unrighteousness. In Matthew chapter 9, the Lord
Jesus sat at meat in the house and many publicans and sinners
came down and sat with him. And when the Pharisees saw it,
they said to his disciples, why does your master eat with publicans
and sinners? Why does he even associate with
them? In Matthew chapter 11, after calling Christ a gluttonous
man and a wine-bibber, they made this horrible accusation. Why? He's the friend of publicans
and sinners. Publicans and sinners. He's friends
with them. He shows himself friendly to
them. Well, that's the best news I
ever heard. When he went to Zakiah's house,
they whispered, he's gone to be the guest of a sinner. Who
is this man that would dare befriend such detestable people? I'll
tell you who He is. He's the Lord of glory. He's
God in the flesh. And He came into the world to
save sinners. And Paul rejoiced because he
said, I'm chief. He came into the world to seek
and to save that which was lost. He's the friend of sinners. He
associates with sinners. He walks and talks with sinners.
He has a personal interest in sinners. He eats with them. They feel comfortable in His
presence. And that's what makes the gospel
such good news. Jesus Christ is the friend of
sinners. This is a real gospel for real
sinners. And men that serve God for reward. There's no gospel reward for
men and women who dress themselves in fig leaf aprons of self-righteousness. But there's mercy for the miserable. There's something for a sinner
that has nothing, who is nothing and can do nothing. There's something
for them. There's a lot of folks in this
world that are too good to be saved. You know what I mean by
that, but there are none too bad to be. Christ died for the
ungodly. He came not to call the righteous,
those who think themselves to be righteous, but sinners to
repentance. God commended His love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. For when we were yet without
strength and due time, Christ died for the ungodly. Aren't
those such precious words? If you're ungodly they are. In
those five words I find great hope for me. Great hope for any
sinner. Christ died for the ungodly. If you're heavy laden with the
burden of sin, come to Christ and He'll give you rest. That's
not my promise to you, that was His promise. Listen to this. Come, let us reason together.
Though your sins be as scarlet, they will be as white as snow.
Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Listen
to this. Oh, everyone that thirsteth,
come to the waters. Come without money. Come without
merit. Come without price. Come without your works. Come
without your deeds. Come just as you are, and buy
wine, milk, without money and without price. Why? Because it's free. Salvation's
for sinners. Grace is for the guilty. Mercy's
for the miserable. Help is for the helpless. So
what have we seen thus far? Publicans and sinners were drawn
to Christ. I wonder who caused that drawing. I know who did. God did. It's called fetching grace. They
drew near to hear him, and many of them heard him, not just with
their ears, but with their hearts. But then we had the scribes and
the Pharisees, and they murmured and complained, and they asked,
can you believe that this man, Jesus, receives sinners and eats
with them? That's just disgusting. Now that
word receiveth comes from a Greek word that means hospitable. If
someone's going to complain and murmur about me, I hope that
it's how hospitable I am to others. What was the Lord's response
to all this? Well, look at verse 3. It says,
and he, speaking of Christ, spake this parable unto them. This
was a specific parable. The Lord spake this parable. And he spoke it unto the Pharisees
and the scribes who were murmuring at him receiving and eating with
sinners. Now I want you to notice first
that this is one parable. It's one parable in three parts.
Christ spake this parable. It's singular. You see that?
Just one parable, but a parable in three parts. And each story
is dependent upon the other to make the whole point of the parable. And in this parable, the Lord
is going to tell exactly why he received sinners. It's the
only way that any will be saved. This parable is about what the
Lord does, not about what the sinner does. But what the Lord
does, look at verse four. He says, what man of you, having
a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety
and nine in the wilderness and go after that which is lost until
he find it? And when he hath found it, he
layeth it on his shoulders rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth
together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, rejoice with
me, for I have found my sheep which was lost. And I say unto
you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that
repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons which need
no repentance. Now we're told in the first part
of this parable about a shepherd. The Lord is speaking of Himself
here, the Good Shepherd. Did you notice the use of those
little pronouns, He? He uses throughout these verses.
What shepherd having a hundred sheep, if He lose one? These
were the shepherd's sheep. Does He not leave the ninety
and nine and go after that which was lost until He find it? He's not going to stop until
that lost sheep is found. Until He find it. He doesn't
give up. When he, the shepherd, hath found
it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. The shepherd does
all this redemptive work mentioned here. What does the sheep do? And when he cometh home, he calls
his friends and his neighbors together, saying, rejoice with
me, for I have found my sheep, which was lost. Now the first
part of this story is all about the shepherd, not the sheep.
The sheep was lost. The sheep didn't walk home. The
shepherd laid the sheep upon his shoulders and he carried
it home. And there was great rejoicing
at sea. Then the Lord moves on to the second part of this parable,
the lost coin, verse 8. Either what woman, having ten
pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle,
and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she
calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with
me, for I have found the piece which I had lost. And likewise,
I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels
of God over one sinner that repented. Now, what is it we see here in
this lost coin? Well, it's the illuminating work
of the Holy Spirit. A woman had 10 silver coins and
she lost one of them. What did she do? She lit a candle. She shined some light on the
subject. She swept the house. She sought
that coin diligently until she found it. And all Christ's redemptive
works will be crowned with success. The work is always accomplished. The shepherd accomplished the
work when he sought the sheep and brought it home. And the
woman sought the coin until she found it. And then what did she
say? She said, rejoice with me. I
have found the peace that was lost. And the Lord tells us just
straight up in verse 10, there is joy in the presence of the
angels of God over one sinner that repents. Do we see what
the Lord is telling these self-righteous hypocrites in this parable? Why,
in the story of the coin, the coin was lifeless and dead. What a picture of you and I,
the lost sinner. We're dead in trespasses and
sin without any hope. We are laying in our hopeless
condition, even unaware of our lost state, just like that coin.
That coin didn't know it was lost. It was lifeless. This woman lit a candle. She
illuminated the house that was dark. She made light in the room. And it was the light that found
the coin. Without the candle, the coin
would have never been found. So this candle is the Word of
God. What a picture it is. The Holy
Spirit takes the Word of God and makes it alive to chosen
sinners. He convicts certain sinners of
their sin, He shows them their need, and then He shows them
the remedy. And that remedy is Christ. And then we come to the third
part of the story, the story of the rebellious son. And we
won't take the time to read all these verses given here again,
but there are several things that I want to point out to you
in light of God receiving sinners here. That's what this parable
is about, parable in three parts. The younger son comes to his
father and he says, Father, give to me the portion of goods that
belong to me. I was thinking as I read that
verse, it's never a good idea to request or desire what we
have coming, or what we deserve, or what belongs to us. Thank
God, mercy is God not giving us what we deserve. Anyway, this
young man got his inheritance and he went down to a foreign
country and he wasted every single dime. So much so, spending it
on sinful living that he became poor and poverty stricken. He
had nothing to eat and nothing to buy food with. And that's
exactly what happened to the sons and daughters of Adam. We're
told that this young man came to himself. How? Did he just figure this out on
his own? Where would we be without the Holy Spirit revealing the
things of Christ to us? Have you ever thought about that?
Oh, if God had just left me alone, left me to myself, where would
I be? The Holy Spirit revealed something
to this wayward son, and he said, I'm going home. He said, in my
Father's house, the servants have it better than I do. They
have bred despair. What was it that caused him to
come to his senses and repent of his way? Was it the sorrow
that providence brought? Was it the contemplation of his
selfishness? Was it the starvation that he
was experiencing? Was it the guilt of his rebellious
actions? Or was it the Holy Spirit bringing
to his remembrance his father's love? and the gracious benefits
of His Father's house. Truly, it's the goodness of God
that leads men and women to repentance. When this Father saw him a great
way off in verse 20, the Scriptures say that the Father saw him and
had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. You
know, I can just picture the Father Every day at the same
time, standing there and just looking out at that road in front
of the house, looking for his son to come home. And when this
young man came home, the father said that it was meet, that it
was fit, that it was right, that it was proper to make merry and
be glad. He said, for this my son was
dead and is alive again. My son was lost and is found.
And we see in all three of these stories that the outcome was
a cause of joy. The shepherd with the lost sheep
along with the woman with the lost coin said, Rejoice with
me for I have found that which was lost. The father in the third
story said, Let's make Mary and be glad for my son that was dead
is now alive and my son that was lost is now Friends, there's
joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents. And it was for the joy that was
set before him that Christ endured the cross, despised the shame,
and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. That's
what it took, and that's what it's gonna take to bring all
Christ's sheep into the fold. And it's done so joyful. What was the chief glory of the
shepherd in the first story? Was it when he stood there in
the green pastures looking over his sheep? Was it when he led
them beside the still waters, protecting them from the wild
animals? Or was it when we see him returning
home with that dumb, lost sheep on his shoulder? with his clothes
torn and bleeding from the thorns and the thistles he went through
to get to that lost sheep. What was the greatest glory of
the prodigal's father? Was it in the patience that he
showed toward his spoiled son? Was it the honor the father showed
when his son wasted his inheritance and brought shame upon his father's
name? Was it the pity that His Father
showed Him when He returned filthy and unshaven, smelling like a
pig-pen? Frail, defeated and broken, was
it then? No, the Father's greatest glory
is when He runs to the Son, the Son that had wronged Him, and
falls on His neck and kisses Him. That's the Father's greatest
glory. That's what this parable is about.
It's about God receiving sinners. It's about Christ coming to accomplish
the redemption of His chosen people. The first part of the
parable is the work of the Son and redemption, suffering and
the sacrifice of the shepherd, leaving all and going out to
find His sheep and searching until He finds them. The second
part has to do with the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit uses the light of God's Word, the candle of the Word,
to find God's sheep. Through the light of the Word,
He's revealed to us what we are, where we are, what we need, and
who can meet that need of glory. Then we see in the latter part
of the parable, the father, he's looking for the returning son.
He's been standing there a long time waiting for that son to
be brought home. And he sees him and he comes
out to meet him. Oh, I'm telling you, this is
about Christ receiving sinners. And he fell upon his son's neck
and kissed him. He bestows upon him the best
fatted calf. Shoes for his feet, a ring for
his finger, a robe for his back. Everything that he needs is provided
to him by the Father. This is all about how God receives
sinners and about how Christ is the sinner's friend. Now let's
go back to verse one and see the beauty and the salvation
of God's elect. With all this in mind, then drew
near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
Oh, there's something about this man. No man ever spoke like he
did. He sounds like one who came into
the world to save sinners. He acts like one who finds great
joy in doing so. He is no doubt a man on a mission,
and he tells the worst of the worst that he came to seek and
to save that which is lost. And he tells us of other sheep
that he has that he must also bring. He was a friend to sinners,
and dear sinner, he still is. You can still draw near to him.
You need not be concerned of rejection. This man receiveth
sinners. This man receiveth sinners. He's not ashamed to be called
their friend or their brother. This man even eats with them.
He is the bread from heaven. He is the fountain that flows
forth with rivers of living water. This man has finished the work
of redemption. He's the God-man. He's God the
Son. It is His Spirit that has effectually
called and revealed and enlightened you with the breath of life,
giving you life. He is the Heavenly Father that
delights to show mercy on His prodigal children. He's the sinner's
friend. The real question is, are you
a sinner? And do you desire to be received? Are you drawn to such a Savior?
Do you desire to hear Him? If you are, then I have good
news for you. What is it? This man, the God-man,
receives sinners. Why wouldn't you come? Why wouldn't
you come? May God enable you to trust in
Him.