Sermon Tone Analysis

(NIV)

1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.

Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?

5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home.

Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’

7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

In we have three parables about a situation we can all relate to.

Someone or something has been lost.

In our sports orientated society, those who support their favorite teams are often traumatized about a loss that their team suffers.

We may vividly recall the final game of the 1982 World Series, The Superbowl when the Packers played the Broncos, Game 7 of the eastern conference finals in the NBA earlier this year, the most recent Packers and Brewers games.

All were losses for our Wisconsin teams.

Some of those losses we may think we will never get over.

Of course, Jesus isn’t talking about losing a game.

He is talking about losing an item or a person.

Have you ever lost a treasured possession due to fire or flooding, theft, or just having displaced it?

Those who possess animals whether they be pets or farm animals, can most likely relate stories of how their dog ran away, the cat didn’t make it across the road, or the dairy cow succumbed to a sudden illness.

The worst case scenario is when a person in our care becomes lost.

It has been almost a year that we were stunned to learn of the loss of a teenager in Barron, WI.

Gordon, Wisconsin, U.S. The kidnapping of Jayme Closs occurred on October 15, 2018, when Jake Thomas Patterson abducted thirteen-year-old Jayme Lynn Closs from her family's home in Barron, Wisconsin, around 12:53 a.m. after forcing his way inside and fatally shooting her father and mother.

No matter what we lose, the greater we were attached to that which was lost, the more heartache we would experience when they are lost.

Thursday night the Los Angeles Rams lost at the end of the game to the Seattle Seahawks because they missed a field goal.

Doesn’t really bother me like the numerous times the Packers lost the Seahawks in the same stadium.

I see animals that didn’t quite make it across the road.

Doesn’t bother me like when my favorite cat, Midnight, went missing for almost 18 months.

I read obituaries quite often but if it isn’t someone I knew, I am not nearly as sad is when it was someone close to me.

The reason Jesus taught these parables was to emphasize that there are certain people that others could care less about and the fact that they were lost didn’t seem to bother them in the least . . .

but it mattered to Jesus.

Luke begins this chapter with a situation for which we are thankful.

Tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around Jesus to hear him and Jesus welcomed them and ate with them.

Axiom: It is good to gather around to hear Jesus.

This is why we consider worship to be so important.

It is not because those who come to church will most likely bring an offering and support the church.

It is not so we can brag about how great our attendance is.

It is not for just a social gathering.

We consider worship to be so important because it is our prime opportunity to hear Jesus.

Consider this: How often do you read God’s Word, listen to biblical instruction in your life, are told that God loves you and your sins are forgiven outside of the church worship service?

We would also put Bible class and confirmation and Sunday school classes as prime opportunities to gather together to hear Jesus.

In the story of Mary and Martha, Jesus commends Mary for sitting at his feet and listening and not Martha who was busy getting his dinner ready.

Axiom: Jesus welcomes us.

We really don’t deserve to have Jesus speak to us.

“Our sins have separated us from God.”

We are not worthy to come into his presence.

In a sense, he should treat us as the self-righteous Pharisees and teachers of the law treated the tax collectors and sinners.

They had nothing to do with them because they blatantly sinned against God and had no regard for him or his Word.

We can relate to their attitude.

Every so often there is an article in the newspaper or on the radio or TV that a sex offender is being released and is looking for a place to live.

Imagine watching a paroled sex offender who committed unspeakable crimes against children move in next door to you.

And imagine that you’ll have to see them, complete with a GPS tracker strapped to their ankle, every single day.

They’re in your neighborhood legally, and you’re completely powerless to remove them.

While many states have residency restrictions for sex criminals, none completely forbid them from living near children.

That means that a child abuser could live right next door to your family and there's nothing you can do about it.

Steering clear of them all the time would be almost impossible.

What would you do if you had to pick up mail that was accidentally delivered to their house?

What would you say if they showed up on your doorstep and asked you for a cup of sugar?

Search TruthFinder Now

While current laws can’t help you in this situation, that doesn’t mean you have to tolerate living near potentially dangerous criminals.

With a little creativity and community organizing, you can purge your neighborhood of people who might put your family at risk.

While current laws can’t help you in this situation, that doesn’t mean you have to tolerate living near potentially dangerous criminals.

With a little creativity and community organizing, you can purge your neighborhood of people who might put your family at risk.

This article promotes the plan to get the sex offender to leave and be someone else’s problem.

Certainly, there is no desire to welcome them and eat with them as Jesus did.

Another article calls for communication and understanding.

Consider joining with another neighbor to meet the offender

RConsider joining with another neighbor to meet the offender

Consider approaching the person with an offer of support, perhaps through the probation or parole office.

Remember, you may already know this person or know their family and friends.

Even if they are new in your community, they are a part of it now.

If the person who sexually abused is open and honest about the past, they may really be trying to change and live a different life.

Show your support for their willingness to live a different life that keeps children safe.

Your support and watchfulness can help in their recovery.

It is also a chance to alert them that you know about their past and are aware of their actions today.

I chose the example of sex offender because they are perhaps the sinners we are most concerned about just as the Bible here chose the most notorious of sinners in Jesus’ day.

It is not meant to imply that they are the worst of sinners.

But it does bring up an important issue.

I would hope that we regard ourselves humbly as children of God who seek to live holy and godly lives to the glory of the Lord who saved us from our sins.

(passage).

(NIV)

11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.

12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

I would hope that we recognize the “tax collectors and sinners” in our lives and don’t just give them a pass with the lame comment about their sinful lifestyle “Not that there is anything wrong with that.”

After all, we commanded to confront the sinner (see passages)

(NIV)

1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently.

But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.

2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

3 If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.

4 Each one should test their own actions.

Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 5 for each one should carry their own load.

I would think that Jesus didn’t just sit down to have drinks and a meal with notorious sinners as though they had done nothing wrong.

This would be inconsistent with his message of repentance.

What most like happened (even though we don’t have the specific narrative) is that he would address their sins, call on them to repent, assure them that he came to save sinners, instruct them to “Go, and sin no more.”

and rejoice with them in their new life devoted to him.

Why did he do this?

His parables shed light on this.

These people mattered to him!

Just as certain teams, items, animals, and people matter to us and lead us to do for them, sinners matter to Jesus and he came to seek and to save those who were lost.

He did not shun them, avoid them, abuse them, or condemn them but in love reached out to them to restore them.

(NIV)

5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately.

I must stay at your house today.”