Two Groups

We sin because we are sinners, and everyone is a sinner. But depending on the perspective, not everyone looks like one. Sin is deceptive. We learn to be self-justifiers, self-righteous, and self-affirming. But to be those things is to walk the path away from God. That is a path Jesus came to save us from.

Luke tells the tale of two groups of people. Group One, the tax collectors and sinners, are evil and know it. Group Two, the Pharisees and scribes, are evil and don’t know it. Group One knows they don’t deserve Jesus but they seek him out anyway. Group Two thinks they’re better than Jesus so they judge his every move. They run him up the scales, weighing his actions against their many laws. He measures up to better than a sinner but worse than a Pharisee. He’s an in-between, not as bad as he could be, but far from perfect.

Group One is always welcomed by Jesus. He never shoos them away, hurrying to the next event. He lingers with them, asking for a drink of water from a well, entering their home for dinner, attending to their various illnesses. And Jesus’s patience with this group angers Group Two. But Group Two is always welcomed by Jesus as well. They, however, don’t really want him around. To them, he’s an interloper, a problem, a nuisance. He receives sinners and eats with them. He intentionally dirties himself in their presence, taking upon himself their filth. But what they don’t see is that the same Jesus who eats with sinners talks with the Pharisee. He comes into their space, enters their world, and calls all equally to repent and believe. Jesus receives all. Only one group, however, receives Jesus.

So Jesus takes his chance to show the heart of God to those who don’t know they need him. He tells them stories to sneak past their guarded hearts. And in so doing, he reveals to us today the massive heart of Christ for sinner and saint, for tax collector and rule-follower. He shows us how big the love of God really is.