Dinners with Sinners

Andrew Murch · It’s no coincidence that last week’s passage ends with Jesus’ words: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear,” and then this week’s passage begins with the religious elites grumbling and complaining about the sinners that are drawing near to Jesus. Jesus answers their complaints, as he often does in Luke’s Gospel, with three stories. These parables all have a similar theme: heaven rejoices when a lost sinner repents. In this week’s passage, we get the first two parables: the story of the lost sheep and the story of the lost coin. In these stories, we not only see God’s heart for the lost, but we also gain the correct perspective of those who have already repented.