Jesus was approachable

JESUS WAS APPROACHABLE
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
THE APPROACHABLENESSOF JESUS NO. 809
A SERMON DELIVERED ON SUNDAY EVENING, MAY 3, 1868, BYC. H.
SPURGEON,AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
“Then drew near unto Him all the publicans and sinners to hear Him.” Luke
15:1.
THE most depraved and despisedclassesofsocietyformed an inner ring of
hearers around our Lord. I gather from this that He was a most approachable
person, that He was not of repulsive manners, but that He courted human
confidence and was willing that men should commune with Him. Upon that
one thought I shall enlarge, this evening, and may the Holy Spirit make it a
loadstone to draw many hearts to Jesus. Easternmonarchs affectedgreat
seclusion, and were liable to surround themselves with impassable barriers of
state. It was very difficult for even their most loyal subjects to approach them.
You remember the case ofEsther, who, though the monarch was her husband,
yet went with her life in her hands when she ventured to present herself
before King Ahasuerus, for there was a commandment that none should come
unto the king exceptthey were called—atperil of their lives. It is not so with
the King of kings. His court is far more splendid; His person is far more
worshipful, and you may draw near to Him at all times without hindrance. He
has setno men-at-arms around His palace gate;the door of His house of
mercy is setwide open; over the lintel of His palace gate is written, “For
everyone who asks receives;and he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks it

shall be opened.” Even in our owndays great men are not readily to be seen;
there are so many back stairs to be climbed before you can reachthe official
who might have helped you, so many subordinates to be parleyed with, and
servants to be passedby, that there is no coming at your object. The goodmen
may be affable enough themselves, but they remind us of the old Russianfable
of the hospitable householder in a village who was willing enough to help all
the poor who came to his door, but he kept so many big dogs loose in his yard
that nobody was able to getup to the threshold, and therefore his personal
affability was of no service to the wanderers. It is not so with our Master.
Though He is greaterthan the greatest, andhigher than the highest, He has
been pleasedto put out of the way everything which might keepthe sinner
from entering into His halls of gracious entertainment. From His lips we hear
no threats againstintrusion, but hundreds of invitations to the nearestand
dearestintimacy; Jesus is to be approached, not now and then, but at all
times, and not by some favored few, but by all in whose hearts His Holy Spirit
has enkindled the desire to enter into His secretPresence. The philosophical
teachers ofour Lord’s time affectedvery greatseclusion;they considered
their teachings to be so profound and eclectic that they were not to be uttered
in the hearing of the common multitude. “Farfrom here, you profane,” was
their scornful motto. Like Simon Stylites, they stoodupon a lofty pillar of
their fancied self-conceit, anddropped now and then a stray thought upon the
vulgar herd beneath, but they did not condescendto talk familiarly with them,
considering it to be a dishonor to their philosophy to communicate it to the
multitude. One of the greatestphilosophers wrote overhis door, “Let no one
who is ignorant of geometry enter here.” But our Lord, compared with whom
all the wise men are but fools, who is, in fact, the wisdomof God, never drove
awaya sinner because ofhis ignorance;He never refused a seekerbecausehe
was not yet initiated, and had not any thirsty spirit to be chasedawayfrom
the crystalspring of divine truth. His every word was a diamond, and His lips
dropped pearls; and He was never more at home than when speaking to the
common people, and teaching them concerning the kingdom of God. You
may thus contrastand compare our Lord’s gentle manners with those of
kings, and nobles, and sages—butyou shall find none to equal Him in
condescending tenderness. To this attractive quality of our Lord I intend, this

evening, as God shall help me, to ask your earnestattention. First, let us prove
it; secondly, illustrate it; and, thirdly, enforce or improve it.
The Approachableness of Jesus Sermon#809
Tellsomeone today how much you love Jesus Christ. Volume 14
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I. First, let us PROVE THE APPROACHABLENESSOF CHRIST, though it
really needs no proof, for it is a factwhich lies upon the surface of His life. 1.
You may see it conspicuouslyin His offices. Those officesare too many for us
to take them all tonight. We will just cull a handful, saythree. Our Lord Jesus
is said to be the MediatorbetweenGod and man. Now, observe that the office
of Mediator implies at once that He should be approachable. A daysman, as
Job says, is one who can put his hand upon both—but if Jesus will not
familiarly put His hand on man, certainly He is no daysman betweenGod and
man! A mediator is not a mediator of one— he must be akin to both the
parties betweenwhom he mediates. If Jesus Christ shall be a perfectMediator
betweenGod and man, He must be able to come to God so near that God shall
call Him His fellow, and then He must approachto man so closelythat He
shall not be ashamedto call him brother. This is preciselythe case with our
Lord. Do think about this, you who are afraid of Jesus;He is a Mediator, and
as a Mediator you may come to Him. Jacob’s ladder reachedfrom earth to
heaven, but if he had cut awayhalf-a-dozen of the bottom rungs, what would
have been the goodof it? Who could ascendby it into the hill of the Lord?
Jesus Christ is the great conjunction betweenearth and heaven, but if He will
not touch the poor mortal man who comes to Him, why then, of what service
is He to the sons of men? You need a Mediatorbetweenyour soul and God—
you must not think of coming to God without a Mediator, but you do not need
any mediator betweenyourselves and Christ. There is a preparation for
coming to God—you must not come to God without a perfectrighteousness,
but you may come to Jesus without any preparation and without any
righteousness, becauseas MediatorHe has in Himself all the righteousness
and fitness that you require—and is ready to bestow them upon you! You may

come boldly to Him even now—He waits to reconcile youunto God by His
blood. Another of His offices is that of priest. That word “priest” has come to
smell very badly nowadays, but for all that it is a very sweetword as we find it
in Holy Scripture. The word “priest” does not mean a gaudily-dressed
pretender who stands apart from other worshippers within the gate, two steps
higher than the rest of the people, and professesto have power to dispense
pardon for human sin, and I know not what beside. The true priest was truly
the brother of all the people;there was no man in the whole camp so brotherly
as Aaron. So much were Aaron and the priests who succeededhim the first
points of contactwith men on God’s behalf, that when a leper had become too
unclean for anybody else to draw near to him, the last man who touched him
was the priest. The house might be leprous, but the priest talked with him and
examined him, the last of Israel’s tribes who might be familiar with the
wretchedoutcast. And if afterwards that diseasedman was cured, the first
person who touchedhim must be a priest. “Go, show yourselfto the priest,”
was the command to every recovering leper, and until the priest had entered
into fellowshipwith him, and had given him a certificate of health, he could
not be receivedinto the Jewishcamp. The priest was the true brother of the
people; he was chosenfrom among themselves;he was at all times to be
approached;he lived in their midst, in the very centerof the camp, ready to
make intercessionfor the sinful and the sorrowful. So is it with our Lord. I
read just now, in your hearing, that He can be touched with a feeling of our
infirmities, and that He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without
sin. Surely you will never doubt that if Jesus perfectlysustains the office of
priest, as He certainly does, He must be the most approachable of beings—
approachable by the poor sinner who has given himself up to despair, whom
only a sacrifice cansave. He must be approachable by the foul harlot who is
put outside the camp, whom only the blood can cleanse. He must be
approachable by the miserable thief who has to suffer the punishment of his
crimes, whom only the greatHigh Priest canabsolve. No other man may care
to touch you, O trembling outcast, but Jesus will! You may be separatedfrom
all of humankind, justly and righteously by your iniquities, but you are not
separatedfrom that great Friend of sinners who at this very time is willing
that publicans and sinners should draw near unto Him. As a third office let
me mention that the Lord Jesus is our Savior; but I see not how He can be a

Savior unless He can be approachedby those who need to be saved. The priest
and the Levite passedby on the other side when the bleeding man lay in the
road to Jericho;they were not saviors and could not be. But he was the savior
who came to know where the man was, stoopedover him, and took wine and
oil, and poured them into the gaping fissures of his wounds. He was the savior
who lifted him up with tender love, and sethim on his own beast, and led him
to the inn. He was the true saviorand O sinner, Jesus Christ will come just
where you are, and your wounds of sin, eventhough they are putrid, shall not
Sermon #809 The Approachableness ofJesus
Volume 14 Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ.
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drive Him awayfrom you! His love shall overcome the nauseating
offensiveness ofyour iniquity, for He is able and willing to save such as you
are! I might mention many other of the offices of Christ, but these three will
suffice. Certainly if the Spirit blesses them, you will be led to see that Jesus is
not hard to reach. 2. Considera few of His names and titles. Frequently Jesus
is calledthe “Lamb.” Blessedname!I do not suppose there is anyone here
who was ever afraid of a lamb! That little girl yonder, if she saw a lamb,
would not be frightened. Every child seems almostinstinctively to long to put
its hand on the head of a lamb; O that you might come and put your hand on
the head of Christ, the Lamb of God who takes awaythe sins of the world—
“Oh see how Jesus trusts Himself Unto our childish love, As though by His
free ways with us Our earnestnessto prove! His sacredname a common
word On earth He loves to hear; There is no majesty in Him Which love
may not come near.” Again, you find Him calleda Shepherd; no one is afraid
of a shepherd. If you were traveling in the East, and you saw Bedouins or
Turkish soldiery in the distance, you might be alarmed, but if someone said,
“Oh, it is only a few shepherds,” you would not be afraid of them. The sheep
are not at all timid when near the shepherd. O poor wandering sheep, you
perhaps have come to be afraid of Christ, but there is no reasonwhy you
should be, for this heavenly Shepherd says, “Iwill seek out My sheep, and will

deliver them out of all places where they have been scatteredin the cloudy
and dark day.”— “See Israel’s gentle Shepherd stands With all engaging
charms.” Timid, foolish, and wandering though you may be, there is nothing
in the goodShepherd to drive you away from Him, but everything to entice
you to come to Him. Then, again, He is called our Brother, and one always
feels that he may approachhis brother! I have no thought of trouble or
distress which I would hesitate to communicate to my brother, here, for he is
goodand kind. I do not think I could be in any trouble which I should not
expecthim to do his best to help me out of; I never feel that there is any
distance betweenhim and me, nor do you, I hope, feel so with regardto your
brothers. Even so is it with this brother born for adversity. Believer, how is it
that you are sometimes so backwardand so cold towards Jesus?Christ is
approachable— “The light of love is round His feet, His paths are never dim;
And He comes near to us when we Dare not come nearto Him.” You need
not think that your troubles are too trifling to bring to Him; He has an open
ear for the little daily vexations of life; brothers and sisters, you can come to
the goodelder Brother at all hours—and when He blames you for coming, let
me know. He is called, too, a Friend; but He would be a very unfriendly friend
who could not be approachedby those He professedto love! If my friend puts
a hedge around himself, and holds himself so very dignified that I may not
speak with him, I would rather be without his friendship; but if he is a
genuine friend, and I stand at his door knocking, he will say, “Come in, and
welcome;what can I do for you?” Such a friend is Jesus Christ; He is to be
met with by all needy, seeking hearts. 3. There is room enough for
enlargementhere, but I have no time to say more, therefore I will give you
another plea. Remember His person. The person of our Lord Jesus Christ
proclaims this truth with a trumpet voice. I say His person, because He is
Man, born of woman, bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh. The Lord Jesus
Christ is God, but if He was God only, you might well stand at a distance and
shudder at the splendor of His Majesty. But He is man as well as God, and so
it comes to pass, as Dr. Watts puts it— “Till God in human flesh I see, My
thoughts no comfort find. The holy, just, and sacredThree

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Are terrors to my mind. But if Immanuel’s face appears, Myhope, my joy
begins; His name forbids my slavishfear, His grace removes my sins.”
When I see Christ in the manger where the horned ox fed, or hanging on a
woman’s breast, or obedient to His parents, or “a Man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief,” a poor man without a place where to lay His head,
then I feel that I can freely come to Him. Think of Him as being precisely such
as you are, in all and everything except sin, and then you will never have a
thought that He will chide you for drawing near, or drive you away when you
venture to supplicate Him. But I want especiallyto sayto you that if you could
but see my Master’s personas He was when here on earth, you would have
henceforth and foreverthe thought that you might not come to Him expelled
from your mind. I know not what may have been His beauties, or what may
have been the appearance ofHis lovely countenance—butof this I am
persuaded, that if He could but come here tonight, and I could vacate this
platform for Him whose shoelaceI am not worthy to unloose, you who groan
under a sense of unworthiness would not run away! If Moses stoodhere with
his flaming countenance, you would shade your eyes, and ask that if you must
look upon him he might weara veil. But if Christ were here, oh, how you
longing, seeking ones wouldgaze upon Him! There would be no drooping of
the eyelids, no covering of the face, no alarm, no anguish—His face is too
sweetfor that! And if the Mastershould walk down the aisles, the most timid
of you would long to touch the hem of His garment, and to kiss the floor where
He had set His feet. I know you would not fear to look into that face!And then
that voice!How you would be charmed, you poor trembling seekers, ifyou
heard Him say, “TakeMy yoke upon you, and learn of Me.” You would
discoversuch meekness andlowliness in Him that you would not think of
starting back;oh, if your eyes could but see Him I feelpersuaded that,
graciouslydrawn by His charms, your hearts would hastento Him! Well,
believer, come to Him, come to Him! Come close to Him! Come with your
troubles, and tell Him all about them. Come with your sins, and ask to have
them washedawayanew— “Let us be simple with Him, then, Not backward,
stiff, or cold, As though our Bethlehem could be What Sinai was of old.”

And you, poor trembling sinner, come to Him! Come to Him now, for He has
said, “He who comes to Me I will in no wise castout.” Oh, if your eyes were
opened to behold Him, you would perceive that the glory of His person lies not
in the splendor which repels, but in the majesty which divinely attracts! 4. If
this suffices not, let me here remind you of the language ofChrist. He
proclaims His approachability in such words as these, “Come unto Me, all you
that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” You rough-handed
sons of toil, you smiths and carpenters, you plowers and diggers, come unto
Me, yes, come all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
And again, “If any man thirsts, let him come unto Me and drink.” He invites
men to come!He pleads with them to come!And when they will not come, He
gently upbraids them with such words as these, “You will not come unto Me
that you might have life.” And, again, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill
the prophets, and stone them which are sentunto you, how often would I have
gatheredyour children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her
wings, and you would not.” It is not “I would not,” but, “you would not.”
Why, the whole of Scripture in its invitations may be said to be the language
of Christ, and there you find loving, pleading words of this kind, “Come now,
and let us reasontogether:though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as
white as snow;though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” “Let
the wickedforsakehis way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let
him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God,
for He will abundantly pardon.” All our blessedLord’s sermons were so many
loving calls to poor aching hearts to come and find what they neededin Him. I
pray that the Holy Spirit may give an effectualcall to many of you tonight; it
would gladden the heart of the Redeemerin the skies if you would come to
Him for salvation! You may come since there is no barrier betweenyou and
the Saviorof men. What is it that keeps you back? I repeatit with tears, what
is it that keeps you back?
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5. The old proverb truly says that, “actions speak louderthan words,” and
therefore let us review the generalways and manners of the Redeemer. You
may gatherthat He is the most approachable of persons from the actions of
His life. He was always very busy, and busy about the most important of
matters, and yet He never shut the door in the face of any applicant. Her
Majesty’s cabinethave to discuss most important political matters just now,
but comparedwith the work which filled the Savior’s hands and heart, their
discussions are mere trifles. Our Mastermight wellhave claimed seclusion
but He did not. He soughtit but He found none, save only at midnight, when
He watched and prayed. No sort of appeal for audience did Jesus frown upon;
there were certain mothers in the land, poor simple-minded women, and they
took it into their heads one day that they would like to have the Master’s
hands put upon the heads of their little ones. So they came, bringing their
boys and girls; but some of the disciples said, “The Mastermust not be
disturbed by children; go your ways, and take your children back.” But what
said Jesus? How different from His followers!He rebuked their harshness,
and said, “Allow the little children to come unto Me, for of such is the
kingdom of heaven.” You see, He is a child’s friend! Dearyoung people, think
of that! Jesus does not drive you away!Though He is so greatand glorious
that all the angels ofGod worship Him, yet He stoops to hear the prayers and
praises of little children! Seek Him now, for those who seek Him early shall
find Him. Let me tell you another story. There was a woman in the city who
was a sinner. You know the meaning, the dark sad meaning of that title in her
case;I need not explain that. Poorsoul! Her sin had causedher to be despised
and shunned by everyone, but she had been forgiven, and in gratitude she
poured the precious ointment on her beloved Savior’s feet, and then wiped
them with the hairs of her head. And when the Pharisee Simon would have
her rebuked, the loving Mastersaid, “She loves much because she has had
much forgiven.” He is approachable by all, then, even by the worst!Even the
harlot need not fear to draw near to Him—His touch can make her pure. I
have noted one thing in Christ’s life, and noted it with delight; our Lord was
always preaching, and He often grew weary, as we do, and therefore He
needed a little retirement, but the multitude came breaking in upon His

solitude, following Him on foot when He had sailedawayto escape them. This
was troublesome, and to us it would have been irritating, yet He never uttered
an angry, fretful syllable. There was no rest for Him because ofthe eager
crowd, but did He ever say, “How these people tease Me;how they worry
Me”? No, never! His big heart made Him forgetHimself; He was
approachable to all at all hours—evenhis meals were disturbed, but he was
gentle towards those thoughtless intruders. Notonce was He harsh and
repulsive. His whole life proves the truth of the prophecy, “The bruised reed
He will not break, and the smoking flax He will not quench.” He graciously
receives the weak and the feeble ones who come to Him, and sends none away
empty. 6. But, if you need the crowning argument, look yonder. The man
who has lived a life of service at last dies a felon’s death! Look upon His head
girt with the crown of thorns! Mark well His cheeks from where they have
plucked off the hair! See the spit from those scornful mouths staining His
marred countenance!Mark the crimson rivers which are flowing from His
back where they have scourgedHim! See His hands and His feet which are
pierced with the nails, and from which rivers of blood are flowing! Look to
that face so full of anguish! Listen to His cry, “I thirst, I thirst”! And as you
see Him there dying, canyou think that He will spurn the seeker?As you see
Him turn His head and say to the dying thief by His side, “Todayshallyou be
with Me in paradise.” You dare not belie Him so much as to deem that you
may not come to Him! You will outrage your reasonif you start back from
Jesus crucified! The cross of Christ should be the hope, the anchor of faith!
You may come, sinner—black, vile, hellish sinner—you may come and have
life even as the dying thief had it when he said, “Lord, remember me.”—
“There is life in a look at the crucified One!” Surely you need not be afraid to
come to Him who went to Calvary for sinners. Why linger? Why hesitate?
Why those blushes, sobs, and tears?— “Why are you afraid to come, And tell
Him all your case? He will not pronounce your doom, Norfrown you from
your face. Will you fear Immanuel? Or dread the Lamb of God, Who, to
save your soul from hell,

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Has shed His precious blood?” Did I hear a whisper? Did anybody saythat
Christ is now in heaven, and that He may have changed? Ah, groundless
insinuation! Do you know what He is doing in heaven at this moment? He is
exalted on high to give repentance and remissionof sins; what a help that is to
those who are coming to Him! This repentance is the greatestneedof coming
sinners, and He from the skies supplies it! Moreover, “He ever lives to make
intercessionfor us.” His occupationin the skies is to plead for those sinners
whom He redeemedwith His blood, and therefore He is able to save them
unto the uttermost. Since He is the intercessorforsouls, there is no reason
why you should start back, but every reasonwhy you should boldly come to
the throne of the heavenly grace, becauseyou have a High Priestwho is
passedinto the heavens— “Compelledby bleeding love, You wandering
sheepdraw near! Christ calls you from above— His charming accents hear!
Let whoeverwill, now come, In mercy’s breastthere still is room.” Here I
leave this part of the subject. Some of you little know how heavily this sermon
is hanging on my mind; I preach my very soulto you this night; I wish I knew
how to preach so as to win some of you for my Lord this evening. I should be
glad to go even to the schoolof affliction if I might learn to preach more
successfully, but I can do no more. May the Eternal Spirit, in answerto the
prayers of His people, which I hope are going up now, be pleasedto make you
feel the sweetattractions ofthe cross ofChrist, and may you come to Him so
that it may be said againtonight, “Thendrew near unto Him publicans and
sinners.” II. I now shall proceed, with as greatbrevity as I cancommand, TO
ILLUSTRATE THIS GREAT TRUTH. I illustrate it, in the first place, by
the waywhich Christ opens up for sinners to Himself. What is the way for a
sinner to come to Christ? It is simply this—the sinner, feeling his need of a
Savior, trusts himself to the Lord Jesus Christ. This was the perplexity of my
boyhood, but it is so simple now. When I was told to go to Christ, I thought,
“Yes, if I knew where He was, I would go to Him; no matter how I wearied
myself I would trudge on till I found Him.” I never could understand how I
could get to Christ till I understood that it is a mental coming, a spiritual
coming, a coming with the mind. The coming to Jesus which saves the soul is a

simple reliance upon Him, and if tonight, being sensible of your guilt, you will
rely upon the atoning blood of Jesus, you have come to Him, and you are
saved! Is He not, then, approachable, indeed, if there is so simple a way of
coming? There are no good works, ceremonies,orexperiences demanded—a
child-like faith is the royal road to Jesus! This truth of God is further
illustrated by the help which He gives to coming sinners in order to bring
them near to Himself. He it is who first makes them coming sinners; it is His
Eternal Spirit who draws them unto Himself; they would not come to Him of
themselves. They are without desires towards Him, but it is His work to cast
secretsilkencords around their hearts which He draws with His strong hands,
and brings them near to Himself. Depend upon it; He will never refuse those
whom He Himself draws by His Spirit! RestassuredHe will never shut the
door in the face of any soulthat comes to feed at the gospelbanquet, moved to
approachby the power of His love. He said once, “Compelthem to come in,”
but He never said, “Shut the door in their faces and bolt them out.” I might
further illustrate this to the children of God, by reminding you of the way in
which you now commune with your Lord. How easyit is for you to reachHis
ear and His heart! A prayer, a sigh, a tear, a groanwill admit you into the
King’s chambers. You may be in a very sad frame of mind, but when you
come to Him, how soonHe makes your soul like the chariots of Amminadab;
dark may be your midnight, but as soonas you draw near to Him your night
is over. “He gives liberally, and upbraids not.” While He acts thus with you,
the sinner may very well believe that He will receive him too. The
approachablenessofChrist may also be seenin the fact of His receiving the
poor offerings of His people. The very holiest deeds which you and I cando
for Christ are poor and faulty at the best. As I sat studying at my table last
night, there was before me a little withered flower, a sprig of wallflowerwhich
has been lying for some weeks onmy table. It comes from a very, very poor
child of God, many
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miles away, who gets a blessing from reading my sermons. She has nothing in
the world besides to give me, but she sends me this flower, and I value it
because it is a tokenof Christian affectionand gratitude. So is it with our
Master;the very best sermons that we preach, and the largestcontributions
we give to His treasury are only just like that poor little withered wallflower,
but the Masterputs our service in His bosom and keeps it there, and thinks
much of it because He loves us. Does not that prove how generous, how
condescending, how tender He must be? Believe Him to be so, you fearful
souls, and come to Him! The ordinances wearupon their forefront the
impress of an everapproachable Savior. Baptism in outward type sets forth
our fellowshipwith Him in His death, burial, and resurrection—whatcanbe
nearer than this? The Lord’s Supper in visible symbol invites us to eat His
flesh and drink His blood: this reveals to us most clearly how welcome we are
to the most intimate communion with Jesus. The heavenof heavens shall
afford us yet another illustration. There are tens of thousands now in the skies
who came to Jesus just as they were, in all the filth and carelessnessofthe lost
estate, and He receivedevery one of them into His heart of love and arms of
power. There are many thousands on earth, there are some thousands now in
this Tabernacle, who cantestify that they have found Jesus to be a very tender
and generous friend. Now, if He has receivedus, why should He not receive
you? Be encouragedto believe that inasmuch as He has receivedothers He has
open arms for you also. Let me joyfully remind you that Jesus neverhas
rejecteda seeking sinner. There is not to be found in all the kingdoms of the
universe a single instance of a sincere seekerafterChrist being castaway, and
there never shall be, for He has not said to the seedof Jacob, “Seekyou My
face in vain,” but He has said, “Him that comes to me I will in no wise cast
out.” beloved, if there had been a single soulcastaway, we should have known
of it by now! It is 1868 years now, and if a solitary penitent had been rejected,
we should have heard of it before now, for I will tell you of one who would
have spread it abroad, and that is Satan!If he could get a single instance of a
soul who had repented and trusted Christ, but found that Christ would have
nothing to do with him, it would be a standing scandalagainstthe cross which
Satanwould delight to publish! I know, poor sinners, what the devil will tell

you when you are coming to Christ—he will describe Jesus as a hard Master,
but you tell him he is a liar from the beginning, and a murderer, and that he is
trying to murder your soulby making you swallow his poisonous lies! III. In
the third place, we come TO ENFORCETHIS TRUTH, or, as the old
Puritans used to say, improve it. The first enforcement I give is this: let those
of us who are working for the Masterin soul-winning, try to be like Christ in
this matter, and not be as some are apt to be, proud, stuck-up, distant, or
formal. Oh, dear, dear! The lofty ministerial airs that one has seenassumed
by men who ought to have been meek and lowly! What a grand setof men
some of the preachers of the past age thought themselves to be! I trust those
who played the archbishop have nearly all gone to heaven, but a few linger
among us who use little grace and much starch;the grand divines never shook
hands with anybody, except, indeed, with the deacons and a little knot of
evidently superior persons. Among Dissenters itwas almost as bad as it is in
most church congregations where you feelthat the goodman, by his manner,
is always saying, “I hope you know who I am, sir; I am the rectorof the
parish.” Now, all that kind of stuck-upishness is altogetherwrong;no man
can do goodin that way, and no goodat all comes ofassuming superiority and
distance;the best teacherfor boys is the man who can make himself a boy,
and the best teacherfor girls is the woman who canmake herselfa girl among
girls. I often regretthat I have so large a congregation. You will say, “Why?”
Why, when I had a smallercongregationatPark Street, there were too many
even then, but I did geta shake of the hand sometimes;but now there are so
many of you that I scarcelyknow you, goodmemory as I have, and I seldom
have the pleasure of shaking hands with you—I wish I did. If there is anybody
in the wide world whose goodI wish to promote, it is yours! Therefore I wish
to be at home with you, and if ever I should affectthe airs of a great man, and
setmyself above you all—and separate myself by proud manners from your
sympathy—I hope the Lord will take me down and make me right again! We
may expectsouls to be savedwhen we do as Christ did, namely, getpublicans
and sinners to draw near to us. Now, that is a practicalpoint which, though
you have smiled about it, will not I hope be forgottenby you. There is this to
be said to you who are unconverted—if Jesus Christ is so approachable, oh,
how I wish, how I wish that you would approach Him. There are no bolts
upon His doors, no barred iron gates

8
8
to pass, no big dogs to keepyou back. If Christ is so approachable by all needy
ones, then needy one, come, and welcome!Come just now! What is it that
keeps you back? You think that you do not feel your need enough, or that you
are not fit to come—bothof which suspicions are self-righteousnessin
different shapes. O that you did but know your need of Jesus, in order to be
able even to do as much as feel your need; you are a poor, miserable bankrupt
before God, and Christ alone canenrich you! Do not talk of fitness; there is no
such thing— “All the fitness He requires, Is to feel your need of Him: This
He gives you; ‘Tis the Spirit’s rising beam.” Come, then. There is such mercy
to be had; there is such a hell to be escapedfrom; there is such a heavento be
opened for you; delay not, but believe at once. Come, come, come!— “Come,
and welcome! Come, and welcome, sinner, come!” I stand at mercy’s door
tonight, and say to every passerbyin the name of the Master, “My oxen and
fatlings are killed; come, come, come to the supper!” O that you would come
this very night! Some of us are coming to the Lord’s Table to celebrate His
love because we have first come to Him. I do not ask you who are not saved to
come to that table—you ought not to come; you must first come to Jesus, and
then you may come to this ordinance. Meanwhile, the best thing you cando is
to come to Christ. And let me ask you to remember this that in proportion as
Christ is accessible, so your guilt will be increasedif you do not come to Him!
If it is easyto come to Him, what excuse canthere be for you if you refuse to
acceptHim? I have tried to tell you what the way of salvationis; if I knew how
to use better language, oreven coarserlanguage,if that would suit you, it
should be alike to me if I might but touch your consciences, break your hearts,
and bring you to Christ, but I declare before you that if you will not come to
my MasterI can do no more; I shall be clearof your blood at the last, and in
the Dayof Judgment your ruin must be upon your own heads. But let it not be
so!Jesus bids you come! O you needy ones—letyour need impel you to come

at once that you may find eternalLife in Him! The lastword is—if Jesus is
such a Savior as we have described Him, let saints and sinners join to praise
Him. How marvelous that our dear Lord should be so condescending to us
unworthy ones as to come all the way from heaven to earth for us! Oh,
matchless love that made Him stoop to grief and death! Oh, unspeakable
condescension, to come thus to poor sinners’ hearts bearing mercies in both
His hands, and freely giving them to undeserving rebels! For this unspeakable
grace let us praise Him! You who are coming to His table, draw near with
praises in your mouths. Come praising the condescending love in which you
have participated, and which has savedyou from eternaldeath! Even you who
sit as spectators,I do trust will have your minds filled with grateful
thoughts— “Jesus sits onZion’s hill He receives poorsinners still.” Blessed
be His name, world without end!
Luke 15:1 1
Now the tax collectorsand sinners were all
gathering around to hear Jesus.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
A Bitter Charge The Highest Tribute,
Luke 15:1, 2
W. Clarkson The great Teacher himself said that the things which are highly esteemed among
men may be abomination in the sight of God; and we may safely assume that the converse of this
proposition is true also. Certainly, in this bitter charge brought against our Lord we now perceive
the very highest tribute which could be paid him.
I. A BITTER CHARGE AGAINST THE SAVIOUR. It is not easy for us to realize the intensity
of the feeling here expressed. The Jews, arguing from the general truth that holiness shrinks from
contact with guilt, supposed that the holier any man was, the more scrupulously would he avoid
the sinner; and they concluded that the very last thing the holiest man of all would do was to
have such fellowship with sinners as to "eat with them." Their patriotic hatred of the publican,
and their moral repugnance toward "the sinner," filled them with astonishment as they saw him,

who claimed to be the Messiah himself, taking up a positively friendly attitude toward both of
these intolerable characters. Their error was, as error usually is, a perversion of the truth. They
did not understand that the same Being who has the utmost aversion to sin can have and does
have the tenderest yearning of heart toward the sinner; that he who utterly repels the one is
mercifully pitying and patiently seeking and magnanimously winning the other. So the men of
acknowledged piety and purity in the time of our Lord failed completely to understand him, and
they brought against him the charge which might well prove fatal to his claims - that he was
having a guilty fellowship with the outcast among men and the abandoned among women.
II. THE HIGHEST TRIBUTE TO THE SAVIOUR. In that attitude and action of his which
seemed to his contemporaries to be so unworthy of him we find the very thing which constitutes
his glory and his crown. Of course, association with sinners, on the basis of spiritual sympathy
with them, is simply shameful; and to break up their association with the intemperate, the
licentious, the dishonest, the scornful, is the first duty of those who have been their companions
and have shared their wrong-doings, but whose eyes have been opened to see the wickedness of
their course. It is for such to say, "Depart from me, ye evil-doers; for I will keel) the
commandments of my God." But that is far from exhausting the whole truth of the subject. For
Christ has taught us, by his life as well as and as much as by his Word, that to mingle with the
sinful in order to succour and save them is the supreme act of goodness. When a man's character
has been so well established that he can afford to do so without serious risk either to himself or
to his reputation, and when, thus fortified, well armed with purity, he goes amongst the criminal
and the vicious and the profane, that he may lilt them up from the miry places in which they are
wandering, and place their feet on the rock of righteousness, then does he the very noblest, the
divinest thing he can do. It was this very thing which Jesus Christ came to do: "He came to seek
and to save that which was lost." It was this principle which he was continually illustrating; and
nothing could more truly indicate the moral grandeur of his spirit or the beautiful beneficence of
his life than the words by which it was sought to dishonour him: "This Man receiveth sinners,
and eateth with them." It is this which will constitute the best tribute that can be paid to any of
his disciples now. "There is nothing of which any true minister of Jesus Christ, whether
professional or not, ought to be so glad and so proud, as to be such that the enemies of the Lord
shall say tauntingly, while his friends will say thankfully, 'This man receiveth sinners.'"
III. THE GREATEST POSSIBLE ENCOURAGEMENT TO OURSELVES. There are men who
know they are sinners, but care not; there are those who do not know that they are guilty in the
sight of God; and there are others who do know and who do care. It is to these last that the
Saviour of mankind is especially addressing himself. To them all he is offering Divine mercy;
restoration to the favour, the service, and the likeness of God; everlasting life. On their ear there
may fall these words, intended for a grave accusation, but constituting to the enlightened soul the
most welcome tidings - "This Man receiveth sinners.' - C.

Biblical Illustrator
This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
Luke 15:1, 2
Christ's influence with the masses
W. E. McKay.The masses were drawn to Christ's teachings.
I. THE REASONS FOR THIS ADMIRATION.
1. All lack of affectation — no parade of greatness, no false assumption of humility. His manner
was what beauty is to the landscape, what the sublime, majestic repose of the ocean is to the
ocean's greatness. His manner ever reflected the moral grandeur of His being.
2. The originality of His methods.
3. The grandeur and claims of His doctrines.
4. The authority with which He spoke.
5. The adaptation of style and matter to the people.
6. His profound earnestness.
7. His scathing denunciation of the hypocrisy of the ruling sects.
II. THE EFFORTS OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES TO UNDO THIS INFLUENCE. Not
because they loved men, but because of caste, of pride, and cold-hearted selfishness.
III. CHRIST'S MANNER OF MEETING THIS OPPOSITION. He takes every opportunity to
overcome their prejudice, and enlighten their minds, seeking to impress upon them the superior
glories of the new disport. sation.
(W. E. McKay.)
Christ receiving sinners
J. Burns, D. D.I. THE DESCRIPTION OF SINNERS CHRIST WILL RECEIVE.
1. Sinners of all ages.
2. Sinners of all stations.
3. Sinners of all degrees.
II. INTO WHAT JESUS RECEIVES SINNERS.
1. Into His forgiving grace and favour.
2. Into His family.
3. Into His heaven.
III. THE WAY AND MANNER IN WHICH CHRIST RECEIVES SINNERS.
1. In the way of acknowledgment and confession.
2. In the way of repentance, or turning from sin.
3. In the way of humility and faith.Now as to the manner:
1. Most freely.
2. Most tenderly.

3. Most readily.Application:
1. The subject is one to which every believer's heart responds.
2. The subject is full of encouragement to the inquiring sinner.
3. The subject is limited to the present life. Here only He receives.
(J. Burns, D. D.)
This man receiveth sinners
W. R. Clark, M. A.These words were originally spoken as a reproach against our Lord. When we
repeat them it is with widely different feelings. They are to us a message of joy — nay, the only
true grounds of joy and hope to man.
I. THE PERSONS REFERRED TO. "This man": "sinners."
1. The contrast in its most general aspect. They — "sinners" — evildoers, violators of God's law.
He — "holy; separate from sinners."
2. Take the outward life of both. His — faultless, beneficent. Theirs — the reverse.
3. Consider the spirit of His life, and of theirs. Perfect love and confidence in God; perfect love
and devotion to the good of man. They, governed by selfishness; destitute of faith; living under
influence of impulse, passion, etc.
II. THE RELATION EXPRESSED BETWEEN THESE TWO CLASSES OF PERSONS.
1. What should you expect? A man is known by his companions. Like seeks like.
2. Yet, He receiveth sinners.
(1)To mercy and pardon.
(2)To grace and guidance.
(3)To love and friendship.
3. And all this He does
(1)freely;
(2)readily;
(3)eternally.
III. WHAT IS OUR INTEREST IN THIS SUBJECT?
1. To some, none. But why, and how? Are they not sinners? How, then, can they be saved? Is
there another who can thus receive?
2. Do you fear to come? Why? Consider His words of invitation and promise. Consider His acts
of welcome and beneficence.
3. Are we received? See that you never abandon His protection.
(W. R. Clark, M. A.)
E. Horton.I. WHO IT IS THAT RECEIVETH SINNERS?

1. "This man." That Christ was "man," may easily be shown from the united and ample
testimony of Scripture. Revelation makes no attempt to conceal this fact. It treats it as a matter
that is necessary to be known, and as fully and readily to be believed, as His essential and eternal
divinity. Godhead without manhood could have effected no atonement for the world's
transgression.
2. But "this man" was Divine, He was God "manifested in the flesh," combined all the glory of
the Deity with all the weakness of man — all the infirmities of the creature — with acts and
attributes splendid and incomprehensible! He was frail as flesh, yet omnipotent as God. Thus
was our nature infinitely enriched, though sin had beggared it of all worth.
3. "This man" gave to the universe the most amiable, attractive, and stupendous manifestation of
the Deity ever witnessed, a "manifestation" altogether different from any which had been
previously afforded. Here was no throne of sapphire, no city of pearl, no retinue of celestials, no
blaze of unapproachable brightness, no footpath on the firmament, no chariot rolling "on the
wings of the wind," and studded with the stars of the skies. The majestic symbols of the presence
and power of the Infinite were kept back, and here was man in weakness, destitution, reproach,
suffering, and death. "This man" showed how low the Deity could stoop, how much the Deity
could love, how infinitely the Deity could redeem, with what frail and broken things the Deity
could rebuild His moral universe.
II. HOW THIS MAN RECEIVETH SINNERS.
1. He "received" them universally; His arms of love are ready to embrace all.
2. "Christ received sinners "without upbraiding them on account of their sins.
3. Observe the delightful and blessed certainty that "sinners" have of being "received" by Him.
III. WHAT DOES CHRIST'S RECEPTION OF SINNERS COMPREHEND? To what are they
received? The world receives its votaries, but only to oppress them with its vexations and
vanities. Satan receives sinners, but only to slavery and wretchedness. Doth Christ receive them?
It is —
1. To a state of reconciliation with Himself; He casts around them His Divine complacency,
makes and calls them "His friends."
2. Christ "receives sinners" into a state of holiness. He sanctifies all the powers of the intellect,
all the. affections of the heart, and all the actions of the life.
3. Christ "receives" them under the special protection and guidance of His providence. They rest
under the pavilion of the Almighty Redeemer, are encircled as with a wall of fire, and fenced
round and defended by the angels of glory.
4. Christ "receives" them into the full immunities of His kingdom of grace. In that kingdom "all
things are theirs."
5. Christ "receives the sinners" He thus sanctifies and blesses into heaven. This is the last and
greatest gift of God in Christ. This will perfect every holy principle and every religious joy.
(E. Horton.)
Jesus receiving sinners

J. Jowett, M. A.I. THE WORDS, AS THEY WERE INTENDED, CONTAIN A FALSE AND
MALICIOUS CALUMNY. "This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them." The fact itself
was undeniable: but what interpretation did the Pharisees wish to put upon it?
1. They meant to insinuate that the followers of Jesus consisted chiefly of worthless and
disreputable characters; and this was false.
2. These murmurers meant to insinuate, further, that Jesus loved the company of sinners for its
own sake; and this again was false.
3. Or, perhaps, they meant to insinuate, that those whom He favourably received continued
sinners still; and this was as false as the rest.
II. THE SAME WORDS UNDESIGNEDLY EXPRESS A MOST GLORIOUS TRUTH. They
truly describe —
1. The persons on whose behalf the Son of Man is interested — "This man receiveth sinners."(1)
None but sinners — among the race of Adam, at least — have any concern or part in Jesus
Christ.(2) The vilest of sinners are not shut out from partaking in that mercy, which is equally
needful to the most virtuous.(3) Once more — sin still dwelleth even in those who have partaken
of the mercy of Christ; yet doth He not cast them off. And why? Because He is not displeased to
behold sin in His followers? God forbid! No — but because He delights to see them "fighting
manfully" against it, and gradually overcoming it through the power of His grace.
2. The regard which He shows toward them — He "receiveth them, and eateth with them."(1) He
receives them to His own favour, and to that of His Father.(2) He receives them to spiritual
communion with Himself, and with His Father.(3) He receives them, finally, to His visible
presence in the kingdom of His Father.
(J. Jowett, M. A.)
J. P. Eyre, M. A.I. THE IMPIOUS CALUMNY INTENDED. You all know that the proverb has
been accepted in all ages, and clothed in all languages, "A man may be ever known by his
associates." Tell me his friendships, and I will tell you his nature, for according to his
companionships must be his character. Now these Pharisees would force home this proverb upon
the holy Saviour. Could He come forth from that Father's bosom, could He have just stepped into
this naughty world out of that world of holy love, and not be the Friend of publicans and sinners?
— ay, the very best Friend they ever had, for He came to seek and to save the chief, as He said
most feelingly who had not been a publican and a sinner, but a Pharisee and a sinner. This shall
be to eternity His praise and glory. But then it is said, or it is thought, by some Pharisees and
scribes, that such a reception of the sinner is a patronage of his sin — that such a gospel of free
grace has a perilous tendency to release man from moral duty; that if good works do not enter
into the ground of the sinner's salvation, no obligation remains for the performance of them by
the man — just as these Pharisees implied that receiving sinners was to be a patron of their sin.
Refute this error whenever it shows itself, as the Lord refuted the slander of the scribes — by the
revealed mind of God. I mean by the pure word of Scripture; on the one hand saying, "Not by
works of righteousness which we have done, but according unto His mercy He saved us"; and on
the other hand affirming "That faith should work by love."
II. THE PRECIOUS TRUTH ASSERTED. The eater never did bring forth such sweetness as
when this testimony was extorted from wicked men. Why this revelation of the Father's will? My

brethren, the great foundation of all Divine revelation, from the forfeiture of Paradise downward
through all its prophecies, and through all its promises, the great foundation of all revelation lies
in this little fact, "God receives sinners." Open your Bible, read through the Scripture; it gives
you the character of God. Surely the errand of the beloved Son must be in harmony with that
character. Listen! hear the declaration of your Father's mind: "I have no pleasure in the death of
him that dieth, saith the Lord." Listen to the exhortations of your Father's love: "Let the wicked
forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let Him return unto the Lord, and He
will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." Listen to the
proclamation of His own name: "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering,
and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and
transgression and sin." Hear His promise: "I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions,
and as a cloud thy sins: return unto Me; for I have redeemed thee." Hear His remonstrance:
"How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as
Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? Mine heart is turned within Me, My repentings are
kindled together. I will not execute the fierceness of Mine anger, I will not return to destroy
Ephraim; for I am God, and not man." Oh! declarations, expostulations, proclamations, promises,
remonstrances, surely these must have their sign and seal in Him, of whom it was said, "See
Him, and you see the Father"; of whom it could be said, "The voice of those human lips is the
very echo of the voice of God."
(J. P. Eyre, M. A.)
The approachableness of Jesus
C. H. Spurgeon.I. First let us PROVE THE APPROACHABLENESS OF CHRIST, though it
really needs no proof, for it is a fact which lies upon the surface of His life.
1. You may see it conspicuously in His offices. Our Lord Jesus is said to be the Mediator
between God and man. Now, observe, that the office of mediator implies at once that he should
be approachable. Another of His offices is that of priest. The priest was the true brother of the
people, chosen from among themselves, at all times to be approached; living in their midst, in the
very centre of the camp, ready to make intercession for the sinful and the sorrowful. So is it with
our Lord. You may be separated from all of human kind, justly and righteously, by your
iniquities, but you are not separated from that great Friend of sinners who at this very time is
willing that publicans and sinners should draw near unto Him. As a third office let me mention
that the Lord Jesus is our Saviour; but I see not how He can be a Saviour unless He can be
approached by those who need to be saved.
2. Consider a few of His names and titles. Frequently Jesus is called the "Lamb." I do not
suppose there is any one here who was ever afraid of a lamb; that little girl yonder, if she saw a
lamb, would not be frightened. Every child seems almost instinctively to long to put its hand on
the head of a lamb. O that you might come and put your hand on the head of Christ, the Lamb of
God that taketh away the sin of the world. Again, you find Him called a Shepherd: no one is
afraid of a shepherd. Timid, foolish, and wandering though you may be, there is nothing in the
Good Shepherd to drive you away from Him, but everything to entice you to come to Him. Then
again, He is called our Brother, and one always feels that he may approach his brother. I have no
thought of trouble or distress which I would hesitate to communicate to my brother, because he
is so good and kind. Brethren, you can come to the good elder Brother at all hours; and when He
blames you for coming, let me know. He is called, too, a Friend; but He would be a very
unfriendly friend who could not be approached by those He professed to love. If my friend puts a

hedge around himself, and holds himself so very dignified that I may not speak with him, I
would rather be without his friendship; but if he be a genuine friend, and I stand at his door
knocking, he will say, "Come in, and welcome; what can I do for you?" Such a friend is Jesus
Christ. He is to be met with by all needy, seeking hearts.
3. There is room enough for enlargement here, but I have no time to say more, therefore I will
give you another plea. Recollect His person. The person of our Lord Jesus Christ proclaims this
truth with a trumpet voice. I say His person, because He is man, born of woman, bone of our
bone, and flesh of our flesh.
4. If this suffice not, let me here remind you of the language of Christ. He proclaims His
approachability in such words as these, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest."
5. The old proverb truly saith that "actions speak louder than words," and therefore let us review
the general ways and manners of the Redeemer. Yon may gather that He is the most
approachable of persons from the actions of His life. He was always very busy, and busy about
the most important of matters, and yet He never shut the door in the face of any applicant. Not
once was He harsh and repulsive. His whole life proves the truth of the prophecy, "The bruised
reed He will not break, and the stocking flax He will not quench."
6. But, if you want the crowning argument, look yonder. The man who has lived a life of service,
at last dies a felon's death! The cross of Christ should be the centre to which all hearts are drawn,
the focus of desire, the pivot of hope, the anchorage of faith. Surely, you need not be afraid to
come to Him who went to Calvary for sinners.
II. I now shall proceed, with as great brevity as I can command, TO ILLUSTRATE THIS
GREAT TRUTH.
1. I illustrate it by the way which Christ opens up for sinners to Himself The coming to Jesus
which saves the soul is a simple reliance on Him.
2. Thitruth is further illustrated by the help which He gives to coming sinners, in order to bring
them near to Himself. He it is who first makes them coming sinners.
3. I might further illustrate this to the children of God, by reminding you of the way in which you
now commune with your Lord. How easy it is for you to reach His ear and His heart! A prayer, a
sigh, a tear, a groan, will admit you into the King's chambers.
4. The approachableness of Christ may also be seen in the fact of His receiving the poor
offerings of His people.
5. The ordinances wear upon their forefront the impress of an ever approachable Saviour.
Baptism in outward type sets forth our fellowship with Him in His death, burial, and
resurrection-what can be nearer than this? The Lord's supper in visible symbol invites us to eat
His flesh and drink His blood: this reveals to us most clearly how welcome we are to the most
intimate intercourse with Jesus.
III. In the third place, we come TO ENFORCE THIS TRUTH; or, as the old Puritans used to say,
improve it.
1. The first enforcement I give is this: let those of us who are working for the Master in soul-
winning, try to be be like Christ in this matter, and not be, as some are apt to be, proud, stuck-up,
distant, or formal.

2. There is this to be said to you who are unconverted — if Jesus Christ be so approachable, oh I
how I wish, how I wish that you would approach Him. There are no bolts upon His doors, no
barred iron gates to pass, no big dogs to keep you back. If Christ be so approachable by all needy
ones, then needy one, come and welcome. Come just now!
3. The last word is — if Jesus be such a Saviour as we have described Him, let saints and sinners
join to praise Him.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Open house for all comers
C. H. Spurgeon.I. JESUS RECEIVING SINNERS.
1. This was and is a great fact — our Lord received, and still receiveth sinners. A philosopher
wrote over the door of his academy, "He that is not learned, let him not enter here"; but Jesus
speaketh by Wisdom in the Proverbs, and says "Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for
him that wanteth understanding, let him eat of My bread, and drink of the wine which I have
mingled" (Proverbs 9:4, 5). He receives sinners as His disciples, companions, friends. "This man
receiveth sinners"; not, however, that they may remain sinners, but to pardon their sins, to justify
their persons, to cleanse their hearts by the Holy Spirit.
2. I want your attention to another thought — namely, the consistency of this fact. It is a most
consistent and proper thing that this man should receive sinners. If you and I reflect awhile we
shall remember that the types which were set forth concerning Christ all seem to teach us that He
must receive sinners. One of the earliest types of the Saviour was Noah's ark, by which a certain
company not only of men but also of the lowest animals were preserved from perishing by water,
and were floated out of the old world into the new. Moreover, the Master has been pleased to
take to Himself one or two titles which imply that He came to receive sinners. He takes the title
of Physician, but as He told these very Pharisees a little while before, "The whole have no need
of a physician, but they that are sick." There is no practice for the physician in a neighbourhood
where every man is well.
3. Observe the condescension of this fact. This man, who towers above all other men, holy,
harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners — this man receiveth sinners.
4. Notice the certainty of this fact.
5. Do observe the unqualified sense in which the sentence is put, "This man receiveth sinners."
But how? What sort of sinners? How are they to feel? How are they to come? Not a word is said
about their coming, or their preparation, but simply, "This man receiveth sinners." One man
came on his bed — indeed, he did not come, but was brought by other people; Jesus received
him all the same for that.
II. Now, I wanted to have spoken upon the second head, but I have not had sufficient forethought
to store up the time, so we must only say of that just this: that Jesus Christ having once received
sinners, enters into the most familiar and endearing intercourse with them that is possible. HE
FEASTS WITH THEM — their joys are His joys, their work for God is His work for God. He
feasts with them at their table, and they with Him at His table; and He does this wherever the
table is spread. It may be in a garret, or in a cellar; in a wilderness, or on a mountain; He still
eateth with them. This He does now in the ordinances and means of grace by His Spirit; and this
He will do in the fulness of glory, when He takes these sinners up to dwell with Him.

(C. H. Spurgeon.)
An appeal to sinners
C. H. Spurgeon.Many a true word has been spoken in jest, and many a true word has been
spoken in slander. Now the scribes and Pharisees wished to slander Christ; but in so doing they
outstripped their intentions, and bestowed upon Him a title of renown,
1. First, then, THE DOCTRINE. The doctrine is, not that Christ receiveth everybody but that He
"receiveth sinners." Christ receives not the self-righteous, not the good, not the whole-hearted,
not those who dream that they do not need a Saviour, but the broken in spirit, the contrite in heart
— those who are ready to confess that they have broken God's laws, and have merited His
displeasure. Now, let us remark, that there is a very wise distinction on the part of God, that He
hath been pleased thus to choose and call sinners to repentance, and not others. For this reason,
none but these ever do come to Him. There has never been such a miracle as a self-righteous
man coming to Christ for mercy; none but those who want a Saviour ever did come, and
therefore it would be useless for Him to say that He would receive any but those who most
assuredly will come. And mark, again, none but those can come; no man can come to Christ until
he truly knows himself to be a sinner. The self-righteous man cannot come to Christ; for what is
implied in coming to Christ? Repentance, trust in His mercy, and the denial of all confidence in
one's self. His very self-righteousness fetters his foot, so that he cannot come; palsies his arm, so
that he cannot take hold of Christ; and blinds his eye, so that he cannot see the Saviour. Yet
another reason: if these people, who are not sinners, would come to Christ, Christ would get no
glory from them. When the physician openeth his door for those who are sick, let me go there
full of health; he can win no honour from me, because he cannot exert his skill upon me. The
benevolent man may distribute all his wealth to the poor; but let some one go to him who has
abundance, and he shall win no esteem from him for feeding the hungry, or for clothing the
naked, since the applicant is neither hungry nor naked. A great sinner brings great glory to Christ
when he is saved.
II. Now, then, THE ENCOURAGEMENT. If this Man receiveth sinners, poor sin-sick sinner,
what a sweet word this is for thee I Sure, then, He will not reject thee. Come, let me encourage
thee this night to come to my Master, to receive His great atonement, and to be clothed with all
His righteousness. Mark, those whom I address are the bona fide, real, actual sinners, not the
complimentary sinners, not those who say they are sinners by way of pacifying, as they suppose,
the religionists of the day; but I speak to those who feel their lost, ruined, hopeless condition.
Come, because He has said He will receive you. I know your fears; we all felt them once, when
we were coming to Christ. Doth not this suffice thee? Then here is another reason. I am sure
"this Man receiveth sinners," because He has received many, many before you. See, there is
Mercy's door; mark how many have been to it; you can almost hear the knocks upon the door
now, like echoes of the past. You may remember how many wayworn travellers have called
there for rest, how many famished souls have applied there for bread. Go, knock at Mercy's door,
and ask the porter this question, " Was there ever one applied to the door that was refused?" I can
assure you of the answer: "No, not one."
III. Now the last point is AN EXHORTATION. If it be true that Christ came only to save
sinners, my beloved hearers, labour, strive, agonize, to get a sense in your souls of your own
sinnership.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)

Christ receives all
Van Doren.In the New Testament the Lord seems to have selected some of every kind and class
to show that He will receive all.
1. He will receive the rich — Joseph of Arimathea.
2. The poor — Lazarus the beggar.
3. The learned — Dionysius the Areopagite.
4. Physicians — Luke.
5. Soldiers — the Roman centurion.
6. Fishermen — the apostles.
7. Extortioners — Zaccheus.
8. Tax-gatherers — Matthew.
9. Thieves — the dying robber.
10. Harlots — the woman who was a sinner.
11. Adulterers — the woman of Samaria.
12. Persecutors and murderers — Paul.
13. Back. sliders — Peter.
14. Persons in trade — Lydia.
15. Statesmen and courtiers — the eunuch of Ethiopia.
16. Families — that at Bethany.
17. Whole multitudes — those on Day of Pentecost.
(Van Doren.)
Christ's treatment of sinners
F. W. Robertson, M. A.There are two classes of sins. There are some sins by which man crushes,
wounds, malevolently injures his brother man: those sins which speak of a bad, tyrannical, and
selfish heart. Christ met those with denunciation. Thorn are other sins by which a man injures
himself. There is a life of reckless indulgence; there is a career of yielding to ungovernable
propensities, which most surely conducts to wretchedness and ruin, but makes a man an object of
compassion rather than of condemnation. The reception which sinners of this class met from
Christ was marked by strange and pitying mercy. There was no maudlin sentiment on His lips.
He called sin sin, and guilt guilt. But yet there were sins which His lips scourged, and others over
which, containing in themselves their own scourge, His heart bled. That which was melancholy,
and marred, and miserable in this world, was more congenial to the heart of Christ than that
which was proudly happy. It was in the midst of a triumph, and all the pride of a procession, that
He paused to weep over ruined Jerusalem. And if we ask the reason why the character of Christ
was marked by this melancholy condescension, it is that He was in the midst of a world of ruins,
and there was nothing there to gladden, but very much to touch with grief. He was here to restore
that which was broken down and crumbling into decay. An enthusiastic antiquarian, standing
amidst the fragments of an ancient temple surrounded by dust and moss, broken pillar, and
defaced architrave, with magnificent projects in his mind of restoring all this to former majesty,

to draw out to light from mere rubbish the ruined glories, and therefore stooping down amongst
the dank ivy and the rank nettles; such was Christ amidst the wreck of human nature. He was
striving to lift it out of its degradation. He was searching out in revolting places that which had
fallen down, that He might build it up again in fair proportions a holy temple to the Lord.
Therefore He laboured among the guilty; therefore He was the companion of outcasts; therefore
He spoke tenderly and lovingly to those whom society counted undone.
(F. W. Robertson, M. A.)
Christ's demeanour towards sinners
M. Dods, D. D.The heathen philosopher Seneca made a practice of dining with his slaves, and
when challenged for an innovation so directly in the teeth of all customary proprieties and so
offensive to the Roman mind, he defended himself by saying that he dined with some because
they were worthy of his esteem, and with others that they might become so. The action and its
defence was alike admirable, and read a salutary lesson to the aristocrats of Rome. But it was
even a greater shock to the Pharisees, and if possible even more unaccountable, that Jesus should
prefer the society of notorious sinners to their own irreproachable manners and decorous
conversation. They could not understand why a teacher of holy life, instead of frowning upon the
notoriously profligate, should show a preference for their society. Our Lord's explanation is
ample and thorough. He devotes, therefore, the three parables recorded in this chapter to this
purpose. It is perhaps worth remarking that on one point He felt that no explanation was
required. Even the Pharisees did not suspect Him of any sympathy with sin. These critics of His
conduct had not failed to remark that in His presence the daring profanity and audacious license
of wicked men were tamed. Those who so narrowly criticized our Lord's conduct might have
seen its reasonableness had they been able to look at it from another point of view. With equal
surprise they might have exclaimed: "Sinners receive this Man and eat with Him." These
dissolute and lawless characters could themselves have explained the change. They were
attracted to Jesus, because together with unmistakable sanctity, and even somehow appearing as
the chief feature of His sanctity, there was an understanding of the sinner's position and a
hopefulness about him which threw a hitherto unknown spell over them. Separate from sinners,
as they had never before felt any one to be, He seemed to come closer to their heart by far than
any other had come. He had a heart open to all their troubles. He saw them through and through,
and yet showed no loathing, no scorn, no astonishment, no perplexity, no weariness. Instead of
meeting them with upbraiding and showing them all they had lost, He gave them immediate
entrance into His own pure, deep, efficient love, and gladdened their hearts with a sense of what
they yet had in Him. Therefore men whose seared conscience felt no other touch, who had a
ready scoff for every other form of holiness, admitted this new power and yielded to it. The
contrast between this new attitude of a holy person towards the sinner and that to which men had
commonly been accustomed has been finely described in the following words: "He who thought
most seriously of the disease held it to be curable; while those who thought less seriously of it
pronounced it incurable. Those who loved their race a little made war to the knife against its
enemies and oppressors; lie who loved it so much as to die for it made overtures of peace to
them. The half-just judge punished the convicted criminal; the thoroughly just judge offered him
forgiveness. Perfect justice here appears to take the very course which would be taken by
injustice." It is this, then, that calls for explanation. And it is explained by our Lord in three
parables, each of which illustrates the fact that a more active interest in any possession is
arroused by the very circumstance that it is lost.

I. The first point, then, suggested by these parables is THAT GOD SUFFERS LOSS IN EVERY
SINNER THAT DEPARTS FROM HIM. This was what the Pharisees had wholly left out of
account, that God loves men and mourns over every ill that befalls them. And this is what we
find it so hard to believe.
II. Secondly, these parables suggest THAT THE VERY FACT OF OUR BEING LOST
EXCITES ACTION OF A SPECIALLY TENDER KIND TOWARD US. God does not console
Himself for our loss by the fellowship of those who have constantly loved Him. He does not call
new creatures into being, and so fill up the blank we have made by straying from Him. He is not
a Sovereign who has no personal knowledge of His subjects, nor an employer of labour who can
always get a fresh hand to fill an emptied post: He is rather a Shepherd who knows His sheep
one by one, a Father who loves His children individually. He would rather restore the most
abandoned sinner than blot him from his place to substitute an archangel. Love is personal and
settles upon individuals. It is not all the same to God if some other person is saved while you are
not. These parables thus bring us face to face with the most significant and fertile of all realities
— God's love for us. This love encompasses you whether you will or no. Love cannot remain
indifferent or quiescent. Interference of a direct and special kind becomes necessary. The normal
relations being disturbed, and man becoming helpless by the disturbance, it falls to God to
restore matters. A new set of ideas and dealings are brought into play. So long as things go
smoothly and men by nature love God and seek to do His will, there is no anxiety, no meeting of
emergencies by unexpected effort, hidden resources, costly sacrifice. But when sin brings into
view all that is tragic, and when utter destruction seems to be man's appointed destiny, there is
called into exercise the deepest tenderness, the utmost power of the Divine nature. Here where
the profoundest feeling of God is concerned, where His connection with His own children is
threatened, Divinity is stirred to its utmost. This appears, among other things, in the spontaneity
and persistence of the search God institutes for the lost.
III. The third point illustrated by these parables is THE EXCEEDING JOY CONSEQUENT ON
THE RESTORATION OF THE SINNER. "Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth
more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance." The joy is greater,
because the effort to bring it about has been greater, and because for a time the result has been in
suspense, so that when the end is attained there is a sense of clear gain. The joy of success is
proportioned to the difficulty, the doubtfulness of attaining it. All the hazards and sacrifices of
the search are repaid by the recovery of the lost. The value of the unfallen soul may intrinsically
be greater than the value of the redeemed; but the joy is proportioned, not to the value of the
article, but to the amount of anxiety that has been spent upon it.
(M. Dods, D. D.)
The devil's castaways received by Christ"Mr. Whitfield," said Lady Huntingdon, "these ladies
have been preferring a very heavy charge against you. They say that in your sermon last night
you made use of this expression: "So ready is Christ to receive sinners who come to Him, that He
is willing to receive the devil's castaways." Mr. Whitfield pleaded guilty to the charge, and told
them of the following circumstance. "A wretched woman came to me this morning, and said: '
Sir, I was passing the door of your chapel, and hearing the voice of some one preaching, I did
what I have never been in the habit of doing, I went in I and one of the first things I heard you
say was that Jesus would receive willingly the devil's castaways. Sir, I have been in the town for
many years, and am so worn out in his service, that I may with truth be called one of the devil's
castaways. Do you think that Jesus would receive me? "I," said Mr. Whitfield, "assured her that

there was not a doubt of it, if she was willing to go to Him." From the sequel it appeared that this
was a case of true conversion, and Lady Huntingdon was assured that the woman left a very
charming testimony behind her, that though her sins had been of a crimson hue, the atoning
blood of Christ had washed them white as snow.
Publicans and sinners drawn to Christ
N. Rogers.Rigorous courses hath ordinarily produced sad effects. Thou seest that those drops that
fall easily upon the corn ripen and fill the ear, but the stormy showers that fall with violence beat
the stalks down fiat upon the earth, which being once laid, are afterwards kept down without
hope of recovery through weeds' embracements. Have you never known any that have been sent
faulty to the jail who have returned flagitious and vile?
(N. Rogers.)
The worst capable of much
N. Rogers.White paper is made of dunghill rags. God can so work the heart of the vilest wretch
with beating and purifying as it shall be fit to write His laws upon.
(N. Rogers.)
Murmuring
N. Rogers.Murmuring is a sin betwixt secret backbiting and open railing; a smothered malice
which can neither utterly be concealed, nor dare openly be vented. Remedies against this evil:
First, keep thy heart from pride, envy, passion, for from hence flows murmuring, malignity,
whispering. Seldom do we murmur at those below us, but above us.
(N. Rogers.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English ReadersXV.
(1) Then drew near unto him . . .—Better, and all the publicans and the sinners were drawing
near to hear Him. There is not quite the same direct sequence in the Greek as in the English, but
what follows comes naturally after the mention of the “multitudes” in Luke 14:25. Publicans and
sinners knew that Jesus had turned, as in indignation, from the house of the Pharisee, and this, it
may be, gave them courage to approach Him.
Benson CommentaryHYPERLINK "/luke/15-1.htm"Luke 15:1. Then drew near unto him all the
publicans and sinners — That is, some of all the different classes of publicans, or all those of that
place, and some other notorious sinners; for to hear him — Being influenced to do so through the
condescension and kindness which he manifested toward all descriptions of persons, the most
abandoned not excepted. Some suppose they came by a particular appointment from all the
neighbouring parts. But as Luke goes on in the story, without any intimation of a change, either
in the time or the scene of it, it is most probable that these discourses were delivered the same
day that Christ dined with the Pharisee, which, being the sabbath day, would give the publicans,
who on other days were employed in their office, a more convenient opportunity of attending.

And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, &c. — Thinking this behaviour of our Lord
inconsistent with the sanctity of a prophet, they were much displeased with him for it, and
murmured at that charitable condescension, which ought rather to have given them joy.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary15:1-10 The parable of the lost sheep is very applicable
to the great work of man's redemption. The lost sheep represents the sinner as departed from
God, and exposed to certain ruin if not brought back to him, yet not desirous to return. Christ is
earnest in bringing sinners home. In the parable of the lost piece of silver, that which is lost, is
one piece, of small value compared with the rest. Yet the woman seeks diligently till she finds it.
This represents the various means and methods God makes use of to bring lost souls home to
himself, and the Saviour's joy on their return to him. How careful then should we be that our
repentance is unto salvation!
Barnes' Notes on the BiblePublicans and sinners - See the notes at Matthew 9:10.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible CommentaryCHAPTER 15
Lu 15:1-32. Publicans and Sinners Welcomed by Christ—Three Parables to Explain This.
1. drew near … all the publicans and sinners, &c.—drawn around Him by the extraordinary
adaptation of His teaching to their case, who, till He appeared—at least His forerunner—might
well say, "No man careth for my soul."Luke 15:1,2 The Pharisees murmur at Christ for receiving
sinners.
Luke 15:3-7 The parable of the lost sheep,
Luke 15:8-10 and piece of silver,
Luke 15:11-32 and of the prodigal son.
Ver. 1,2. I have so often taken notice, that the term all in the New Testament is very often used to
signify, not all the individuals of that species, or order of men, to which it is applied, but only a
great and considerable number of them, that it is needless again to repeat it. None can imagine,
that every individual publican and sinner in those parts, where Christ now was, came to hear
Christ, but only many of them, or some of every sort. Thus publicans and harlots entered into the
kingdom of God, while the children of the kingdom, and such as appeared to lie fairer for it,
were cast out. The scribes, who were the interpreters of the law, and the Pharisees, who were the
rigid observers of their decrees and interpretations, murmured, they were disturbed and troubled
at it; thinking that because the law appointed no sacrifice for bold and presumptuous sinners,
therefore there was no mercy in God for them, or those of whom they had such a notion, and that
they were ipso jure excommunicated, and therefore Christ sinned in eating or drinking with
them, or in any degree receiving of them; and from hence concluding he was no prophet: as if
because ordinarily persons are known by their companions with whom they converse, therefore it
had been a general rule; as if one might have concluded, that their doctorships were ignorant,
because they conversed with them that were so, for their instruction; or could conclude, that the
physician is sick, because his converse is with the sick, for their cure and healing. A man is not
to be judged to be such as he converses with necessarily, or in order to their good, which was the
end of all our Saviour’s converse with these sinners. Besides, were they themselves without sin?
The root of their uncharitableness was their opinion of their own righteousness, from the works
of the law, according to their own jejune interpretation of it. But let us hear our Saviour’s reply.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleThen drew near to him,.... To "Jesus", as the Persic and
Ethiopic versions express it: this was on the sabbath day, and either when he was in the
Pharisee's house, where he was invited to dinner, Luke 14:1 or rather when he came out of it,
when the multitude, who could not come near him whilst there, took the opportunity of gathering
about him;
even all the publicans and sinners; whom the Pharisee would not admit into his house, it being
contrary to their traditions to eat, and drink, and converse with persons of such an infamous
character; See Gill on Matthew 9:10, Matthew 9:11 The word "all" is omitted in the Vulgate
Latin, Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions; but the Arabic version has it, and the Greek copies;
and signifies that there were a very large number of them, even all that were in that place, and in
the adjacent cities and towns, that got together
for to hear him, or "from him", as the Arabic version; or "doctrine" from him, as the Persic
version adds: these having heard much of him; and it may be, might be under some remorse of
conscience on account of their vicious lives, came to hear him preach.
Geneva Study BibleThen drew near unto {1} him {a} all the publicans and sinners for to hear
him.
(1) We must not give up on those who have gone out of the way, but according to the example of
Christ we must take great pains for them.
(a) Some publicans and sinners came to Christ from all areas.
EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT CommentaryHYPERLINK "/context/luke/15-1.htm"Luke 15:1-2. Introduction to a
new, important, and for the most part parabolic set of discourses (down to Luke 17:10), which
were uttered after the incidents previously narrated on the continuance of the journey (Luke
14:25), and are set forth by Luke in accordance with his source of the story of the journey. After
that exacting discourse, to wit, Luke 14:25-35, many of the publicans and sinners at once
attached themselves to Jesus (which psychologically was intelligible enough); and He was so far
from rejecting them, that He even fraternized with them at table. This arouses the murmuring of
the Pharisees, and thereupon He takes the opportunity of directing the discourse as far as Luke
15:32 to these (Luke 15:3), and then of addressing Luke 16:1-13 to His followers; whereupon He
again being specially induced (Luke 16:14) discourses anew against the Pharisees (Luke 16:15-
31), and finally closes the scene with instructions to His disciples.
ἦσαν ἐγγιζ.] They were actually engaged in, busied with, drawing near to Him. The usual view:
solebant accedere, is arbitrary, because in that way the connection with what precedes is
needlessly abandoned.
πάντες] a hyperbole of simple narrative. The throng of such people became greater and greater.
Comp. Luke 5:29 f.
καὶ οἱ ἁμαρτ.] as Matthew 9:10.
διεγόγγυζον] διά “certandi significationem addit,” Hermann, ad Viger. p. 856. Hence always of
several, whose alternate murmuring is meant, Luke 19:7; Sir 34:24; Exodus 16:2; Exodus 16:8;
Exodus 17:3, and elsewhere; Heliodor. vii. 27.

προσδέχεται] receives them, does not reject them. It is quite general, and only with κ. συνεσθίει
αὐτοῖς does any special meaning come in.
Expositor's Greek TestamentHYPERLINK "/context/luke/15-1.htm"Luke 15:1-2. Historic
introduction.—ἦσαν ἐγγίζοντες: either were in the act of approaching Jesus at a given time
(Meyer), or were in the habit of doing so. The position of αὐτῷ before ἐγγίζοντες in [124] [125]
favours the latter (Schanz). On the other hand, it is not improbable that the reference is to the
Capernaum gathering. We may have here, in fact, another version of that story taken from the
Logia, the occasion slightly described, the words spoken carefully reported. In that case we may
take πάντες following somewhat strictly, and not as a mere exaggeration of the evangelist’s.
There were many at the feast. The aim was to have all the outcasts of the town present (vide on
Matthew 9:9-13). True, they came to feast according to the other report, whereas here stress is
laid on the hearing (ἀκούειν). The festive feature is referred to in the complaint of the Pharisees
(συνεσθίει, Luke 15:2). Of course there would be hearing as well as eating, and probably what
the guests heard was just these same parables in slightly different form. In that case they served
first as a gospel and then as an apologia.
[124] Codex Sinaiticus (sæc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its
discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.
[125] Codex Vaticanus (sæc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of
the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1-10. The Lost Sheep.
1. Then drew near unto him] Rather, And there were drawing near to Him aU the tax-gatherers
and the sinners to listen to Him.
St Chrysostom says that their very life was legalised sin and specious greed. On the publicans,
see Luke 3:12, Luke 5:27. ‘The sinners’ mean in general the degraded and outcast classes. See
Introd. and Wordsworth, ad loc.
Bengel's GnomenHYPERLINK "/luke/15-1.htm"Luke 15:1. Πάντες, all) Not merely very many;
all who were in the place. [It is evident from this passage in what way the Saviour afforded to
those who flocked together to Him, and joined themselves eagerly to Him, that very advantage,
which He would have afforded to the people of Jerusalem, had they for their part been willing;
namely, after the image of a hen, which protects and cherishes her young brood under her wings,
so He cherished them.—Harm., p. 415.]
Pulpit CommentaryVerses 1-32. - The Lord speaks his three parable-stories of the "lost," in
which he explains his reason for loving and receiving the sinful. Verses 1, 2. - Then drew near
unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured,
saying, This Man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them; more accurately rendered, there were
drawing near to him. This was now, in the last stage of the final journey, the usual state of things.
The great outside- class came in crowds to listen to Jesus. These were men and women who,
through home and family associations, through their occupations, which were looked upon with
disfavour by the more rigid Jews, often no doubt through their own careless, indifferent
character, had little or nothing to do with their religious and orthodox countrymen. Poor

wanderers, sinners, thoughtless ones, no one cared for them, their present or their future. Do not
these in every age make up the majority? The religious, so often Pharisees in heart, despising
them, refusing to make allowances for them, looking on them as hopelessly lost ones. But at no
time was this state of things so accentuated as when Jesus lived among men. Now, among such
care. less irreligious men and women, are man whose hearts are very tender, very listen if the
teacher of religion has Mud, wise words for them. The grave and severe, yet intensely pitiful and
loving, doctrines of the Galilaean Master found such. His words were words of stern rebuke, and
yet were full of hope, even for the hopeless. No man had ever spoken to them like this Man.
Hence the crowds of publicans and sinners who were now ever pressing round the Master. But
the teachers of Israel, the priestly order, the learned and rigid scribes, the honoured doctors Of
the holy Law, - these were indignant, and on first thoughts not without reason, at the apparent
preference felt for and special tenderness shown by Jesus to this great outside class of sinners.
The three parables of this fifteenth chapter were the apologia of the Galilaean Master to orthodox
Israel, but they appeal to an audience far greater than any enclosed in the coasts of the Holy
Land, or living in that restless age,
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
Luke 15:1 Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to
Him.
KJV Luke 15:1 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
• Lk 5:29-32; 7:29; 13:30; Ezek 18:27; Mt 9:10-13; 21:28-31; Ro 5:20; 1 Ti 1:15
• Luke 15 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
• Luke 15 Jesus: The Seeking Savior, Part 1 - John MacArthur
• Luke 15:1-2 Heaven's Joy: Recovering the Lost - John MacArthur
• Luke 15:8-10 Recovering the Lost Coin - John MacArthur
• Luke 15 The Seeking Savior - Pt 1 - John MacArthur
SINNERS DRAW NEAR
TO JESUS
Leon Morris - This is one of the best-known and best-loved chapters in the whole Bible. Three
parables bring out the joy of God when the lost sinner is found. The fact that the first two depict
people who actively seek what is lost may well put emphasis on the truth that God does not wait
passively for sinners to come to him, but actively seeks them out. (TNTC)
Alan Carr - Luke 15 has been called God's Lost and Found Department. In these 32 verses,
Jesus uses no less that 4 illustrations dealing with the lost and with God's desire to see them
saved and restored to fellowship with Himself. Verses 3-7 record the Illustration of the Lost
Sheep. Verses 8-10 record the Illustration of the Lost Silver. Lk 15:11-24 give us the Illustration

of the Lost Son. And, Verses 25-32 relate the Illustration of the Lost Sibling. The backdrop for
these “heavenly stories with earthly meanings” is found in Luke 15:1-2. Jesus, knowing the hard
hearts of these religious people, told them the parable that makes up the verses of this chapter. In
this parable, Jesus uses four illustrations to teach them the value of every lost soul. He even uses
this parable to teach them that they themselves might not be as secure as t hey thought they were.
(Luke 15:1-7 The Lost Sheep)
Henry Morris - This chapter consists of three "lost-and-found" parables—the lost sheep, the lost
coin, and the lost son. Note the numerical sequence in the three parables: one out of a hundred
sheep was lost, one out of ten coins (Luke 15:8) and one out of two sons (Luke 15:11). A less
concerned shepherd would have let the lost sheep go, but "the good shepherd giveth his life for
the sheep" (John 10:11). Similarly, a more careless woman would not have gone to so much
trouble to find one lost coin when she still had nine, but the Lord "came to seek and to save that
which was lost" (Luke 19:10), and He knew the full redemption price must be paid. No human
father could be unaffected by the loss of half his sons, but all he could do was pray. He could not
go searching for the wandering son, like the shepherd or the woman, but God could! (Defender's
Study Bible)
Roy Zuck - When the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law complained, “This Man welcomes
sinners and eats with them” (15:2), Jesus gave the Parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and
the Lost or Prodigal Son. By these stories Jesus indicated that He ate with sinners because they,
like the three lost elements, were in need of being “found” spiritually. (Basic Bible
Interpretation)
Crawford introduces this chapter - Often, and we have seen this in Luke, the Lord tells two
parables to press home one truth, but here He tells three to impress on every heart the great truth
of how the lost are found. The golden text of Luke's Gospel is fully depicted here, "the Son of
man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Lk 19:10). (What the Bible teaches –
Luke)
Now all the tax collectors and the sinners - The adjective ALL generally means all without
exception. To the religious leaders these were the "spiritually untouchable" and they were drawn
to Jesus like iron filings to a magnet. We see some of the tax collectors had approached John
seeking baptism (Lk 3:12). Tax collectors were in essence synonymous with sinners (cf Lk 15:2
where Luke uses only the word "sinners")
Chapter breaks in Scripture are not inspired but were added by men and unfortunately often hide
associations in the Biblical text. And so in this case the very last words of Luke 14 were "He
who has ears to hear, let him hear." And the first word in Luke 15 in many of the translations
is "Now" (NAS, ESV, NIV, NET). It is as if ALL the tax collectors and the sinners had heard
Jesus command in Luke 14:35-note where "let him hear" is a command in the present
imperative (keep on hearing!) and were coming near Him to listen (akouo = same verb
translated "hear" in Lk 14:35) to Him. These "outcasts" had ears to hear what the Savior was
teaching, while the Pharisees and scribes did not and thus began grumbling just as they had done
at the beginning of chapter 14 (Lk 14:1-note)!
Morris adds - We should not let the modern chapter division make us miss an important point.
Jesus has just made an uncompromising demand for whole-heartedness as he showed what
following him meant. He finished with ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear’. Luke’s very next
words tell us that these sinners came near to hear him. Whatever the case with the Pharisees and

their like, these sinners had been challenged. They knew what discipleship meant. They were
called on to hear. And they heard. (TNTC)
Hughes on tax collectors - For centuries before and after Christ, tax collectors were universally
hated. Cicero insulted an opponent by saying that he must have imagined himself a tax-gatherer,
"since you most thievishly ransacked every man's house, the warehouses and the ships, entangled
men engaged in business with the most unjust decrees, terrified the merchants as they landed,
and delayed their embarkation" (In Vatin. 5). St. Chrysostom preached, "The tax-gatherer is the
personification of licensed violence, of legal sin, of specious greed" (Hom. 2.4)....They were
loathed in every way. Synagogues would not accept their alms. Their testimony was not received
in Jewish courts. They were held to be worse than the heathen. (Preaching the Word - Luke,
Volume II: That You May Know the Truth)
Tax collector (publican) (5057) (telones from telos = tax + onéomai = to buy) means a reaper
of the taxes or customs, tax-collector, one who pays to the government a certain sum for the
privilege of collecting the taxes and customs of a district. The public revenues of the Greeks and
Romans were usually farmed out. Among the latter, the purchasers were chiefly of the equestrian
order and were distinguished as being of a higher class because they rode horses, or they were at
least persons of wealth and rank like Zacchaeus who is called the chief tax collector
(architelones in Lu 19:2). These farmers also had subcontractors or employed agents of the
Roman government who collected the taxes and customs at the gates of cities, in seaports, on
public ways and bridges. These, too, were called telomnai (pl.), publicans, or eklégontes (n.f.),
(ek = out of, + légo = in its original sense meaning to collect), those who collected out of the
people.
In summary the tax collectors were Jews who worked for the Roman Empire collecting taxes
from their countrymen, often charging more than was required, pocketing the difference, and
enriching themselves (cf Lk 3:12–13). It is no surprise that they were hated and detested, to the
point that no one but individuals of worthless character were likely to be apply for these
positions. Given this background, one can readily understand why the religious leaders so strong
frowned upon Jesus fraternizing with these vermin, who were considered traitors and outcasts
from Jewish society.
RelatedResource:
• Why does the Bible speak so negatively about tax collectors?
Sinners (268)(hamartolos from hamartáno = deviate, miss the mark which some lexicons say
is from a = negative + meiromai = attain -- not to attain, not to arrive at the goal) is an adjective
(e.g., "that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful" - see Ro 7:13-note) that is
often used as a noun (as in this verse and Ro 5:19 [note]) to describe those who are continually
erring from the way, constantly missing God's mark, living in opposition to His good and
acceptable and perfect will. Thus a sinner is one who lives in opposition to the divine will. In a
more selective use, in the view of the Pharisees a sinner was a Jew who is one not careful in the
observance of ceremonial duties (Mt 9:10ff, Lk 15:1ff, Mk 2.16). Finally,the Jews called the
Gentiles sinners or despisers of God and considered them heathen or pagan, tá éthne = the
nations (Mt 26:45). Jesus' purpose for coming into the world was to save sinners (Mt 9:13 1Ti
1:15) It was these poor people who no one cared about that Jesus reached out to!
We see a similar scene in Mark

Jesus was approachable

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