Luke 15
“Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.” Reader, have you ever done so? You have heard what others said about Him, who, it may be, knew nothing about Him. You may listen to your own heart which totally misrepresents Him, but have you drawn near unto Him to hear Him? Remember that the hour now is when dead souls are hearing the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear live. It is He who speaks in this wonderful chapter. Draw near unto Him now, then, to hear Him.
“This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them.” Did He deny the charge? No, He admitted it fully—it was His glory to receive them. In doing so the glory of His divine origin shone out. “He could not be hid.” He was in the midst of sinners, how would He treat them? Receive them of course. How could the Son of such a Father do otherwise?—the Father whose portrait He draws in the third section of this parable. Will He refuse thee? Have you ever gone to Him to ask? “I am too bad,” you say. What, too bad to be a sinner? Are you sure you are not too good? You may be too good, but you cannot be too bad. Thank God for that. That robe, that best robe, has covered the chief of sinners, a thief on the cross, a Mary Magdalene, a woman in the city which was a sinner. That Shepherd sought them, that “woman” (figure of the Holy Ghost) found them, that Father received them; and art thou too vile? You wrong the blessed Three.
“Oh, but He was on earth amongst sinners then, and He is in heaven separate from sinners now,” do you say?
But is He changed? Has He ceased to own a Savior’s heart, or to do a Savior’s part? Nay, nay, you wrong Him. The very last words He spoke to us from heaven in Rev. 22:16-1716I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. 17And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:16‑17), He spake in the character of Jesus, the name He received because “He shall save his people from their sins”—and what did He say? “Let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” He wills—will you?
And why is He in heaven? As the evidence of His finished work accepted. For whom? For sinners.
“The Savior died, and by His blood
Brought rebel sinners home to God;
He died to set the captives free,
And why, dear soul—why not for Thee?”
“A certain man had two sons.” The Lord did not say, “What man of you having two sons?” as He had done in the former parts of this parable: “What man of you having an hundred sheep?” “Either what woman having ten pieces of silver?” He could not speak thus now, for no “man of them would have dealt thus. Only grace deals after such a manner, and there was not a trace of it in their hearts. But the heart of this Father is full thereof to overflowing. It is a picture of the Father God—“the God of all grace”—drawn by His Son, who had come from His home to make Him known.
Self-interest would lead an owner of a hundred sheep, if he lost one, to leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which was lost until he found it. Self-interest would lead a woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lost one piece, to light a candle, and sweep the house, and search diligently till she found it. But only grace, sovereign, unmixed grace—undemanding all-supplying grace—receives to its heart and to its home such a profligate son, and after such a manner.
The Lord showed that God sought on the same principle as they themselves, but He receives on His own unique principle, totally different to anything they acted on, and which only drew forth a murmur, “This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them,” from the hard, self-righteous hearts of Pharisees and scribes to whom He spake this parable; though why should God be denied the joy of receiving back a son if He chooses, would they not do so?
And notice, it is “this parable”—not three, but one. It gives the action of three Persons—three Persons but one God—seeking and receiving, but this diverse action of diverse Persons all concentrated on one object—the sinner.
Dear, dear friend, did you ever contemplate the interest that God takes in you, who “would have all men to be saved, and come to a knowledge of the truth?” W. G, B.