Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Luke 15:1-21

This morning while visiting Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia, we were introduced to a young man who led worship for just the second time in a church setting. He was confident with a strong voice and comfortable manner about him and he seemed to be able to read his audience based on the songs that were sung.

If you’ve ever spoken to a room full of people, you’ve probably noticed that there are some who are fully engaged as listeners. They may even take a few notes. There are others who seem somehow preoccupied with something else on their mind. And then there are those who sit with their arms crossed. Not only are they less than interested, they appear to be hostile to your message or presentation.

In the passage above, Jesus is fully engaged by a varied demographic group. You’ve probably heard that tax collectors have never been popular and even though many hesitate to use the word today, we know what it means to be sinners. But there was another group of faces in the crowd, those with their arms crossed and their disapproving looks, the religious people of the Jesus’ day criticizing the Teacher and his methods.

Jesus didn’t turn those away who are less than desirable. He didn’t make an effort to pacify the people with power in the community. Instead, he made every effort to reach each person in the crowd and, as we will see as we consider the stories in the fifteenth chapter of Luke, His was a message of search and rescue and celebration.

Will we participate?