Luke 15:1-4

Rachel Workman: 15 Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. ² This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! Every person on this earth is sinful. Where would I be if Jesus couldn't associate with a sinner like me?

³ So Jesus told them this story: ⁴ “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? I'm can't imagine Jesus looking for me. But I'm grateful he did. 

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John Burnett: 15  Now all the tax collectors and the ^[a]sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. ² Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

³ So He told them this parable, saying, ⁴ “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the ^[b]open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?  Jesus had an unfair advantage because He knew what they were thinking but he constantly chastised them for their self-righteousness.  You would think the brightest minds of their time would wise up and listen to the One who constantly one-upped them.  He came to save sinners like me but when you can’t see your sin, you look at others sin.

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Mike Grimm: 15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” The religious leaders were always careful to stay “clean” according to Old Testament law. In fact, they went well beyond the law in their avoidance of certain people and situations and in their ritual washings. By contrast, Jesus took their concept of “cleanness” lightly. He risked defilement by touching those who had leprosy, and by neglecting to wash in the Pharisees’ prescribed manner, and He showed complete disregard for their sanctions against associating with certain classes of people. He came to offer salvation to sinners, to show that God loves them. Jesus didn’t worry about the accusations. Instead he continued going to those who needed Him, regardless of the effect these rejected people might have on His reputation.

³ Then Jesus told them this parable: ⁴ “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? We may be able to understand a God who would forgive sinners who come to Him for mercy. But a God who tenderly searches for sinners and then joyfully forgives them must possess an extraordinary love! This is the kind of love that prompted Jesus to come to earth to search for lost people and save them. This is the kind of extraordinary love that God has for all of us. When we feel far from God, don’t despair. He is searching for us.

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Reading for Luke 14:5-7

5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not