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This week we are beginning our study of Luke Chapter 15. Please read verses 1 to 10 every day this week and, if possible, use a different translation each day, asking God to open your eyes to fresh revelation from His Word.
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Luke 15:1-2 (Williams New Testament)
‘Now all the tax-collectors and notorious sinners were crowding around Him to listen to Him. And so the Pharisees and scribes continually grumbled, and said, “This fellow is welcoming notorious sinners, and even eating with them.”’
When I was in Secondary School, there was a boy in my class who I remember distinctly. He was always telling people how much money he had. He was always boasting about his father’s fantastic job and how much better he was than anyone else.
He would insist that there wasn’t anything he couldn’t do and he made sure to tell you at every opportunity.
There were a number of boys who were in a similar position who had wealthy parents and they all ‘hung around’ together. They were well liked by the teachers and so would walk around the school with their heads held high, enjoying their status.
Those of us who had more ‘humble’ backgrounds would be made to feel inferior while they ‘looked down their noses’ at us. Their clothes were better and many of us felt ashamed at the non-branded football kit we wore.
It is in this kind of context that we see Jesus in our verses today. The Pharisees considered themselves to be so much better than anyone else. In fact, they considered that they were contaminated just by being in the presence of such people. In the Message translation used yesterday, there was a phrase ‘doubtful reputation’. Basically, anyone whom the Pharisees felt didn’t live up to their own expectations was classed as being ‘publicans and sinners’. They felt dirty just by being close to them and so eating with them was something that would never be considered.
Jesus, however, was frequently found in their company. After all, He even chose a tax collector to be one of His closest disciples and would often be found dining with them. While He was in reality so much ‘better’ than them, the book of Philippians tells us that Jesus “didn’t regard equality with God something to be grasped but made Himself nothing.” Instead of taking a superior position, He actually met them at their own level in order to raise them to a whole new level. Jesus sought to reveal God’s heart to them and to show them God’s plan for their lives. The Pharisees complained that Jesus was not keeping the law, and yet it was actually Jesus who was bringing the fulfilment of that law.
The ‘sinners’ could clearly see the difference between the good news that Jesus was bringing and the legalistic attitude that sought to divide and separate. It was therefore no surprise to see them gathering around Jesus to hear what He had to say. He was fulfilling the words of Isaiah by “proclaiming good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.” His words were setting these people free from the legalistic oppression that was being forced upon them by the Pharisees.
His words still set people free today. My prayer today is that none of us take a position of superiority over anyone. Yes, we are blessed beyond measure and we are so privileged to be chosen by God, but we also have the obligation to be salt and light. May our lights shine bright today and always.
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