Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to Jesus. (Luke 15:1)
If we had been there when the tax collectors and sinners were all coming to Jesus, this is what we would have heard from the devout religious leaders, “EWWWWWW!” You know the sound. It is often heard when children are at play. When they encounter something they do not like they cry out, “EWWWWWW!” And that is exactly what the upstanding and self-righteous religious leaders were doing when they saw the sinners continually coming into the presence of Jesus.
- Jesus receives sinners . . . EWWWWWW!
- Jesus eats with tax collectors . . . EWWWWWW!
- Doesn’t Jesus know how bad these people are . . . EWWWWWW!
- Jesus is treating this scum like friends . . . EWWWWWW!
What is surprising to the self-righteous then and now is this, Jesus never said, “EWWWWWW!” to anyone. He knew what kind of people were coming to Him and that they were sinners. He knew also what kind of people the religious leaders were, sinners too. Not think about this – Jesus would have been more than justified to send all of them away because all of them were sinners. But He did not. He welcomed those who knew they were sinners and were not hiding behind some kind of proud, self-righteous, and unholy religiosity. And He still welcomes sinners today, just like you and me.
But there is one more thing. Not only did Jesus refuse to say, “EWWWWWW!” the day He welcomed you into His presence, he continues to refuse to say, “EWWWWWW!” to anything you do. He is not embarrassed by your behavior. He is not shamed by your sin. Jesus died to have you in relationship with Him and He has promised to never leave nor forsake you. “EWWWWWW!” is simply not part of the vocabulary of our Lord with it comes to those who turn to Him, by grace through faith, because once you are His, you are His forever more.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 