THE COMPLAINING OF THE PHARISEES OR THE JOY OF HEAVEN: WHICH DO YOU CHOOSE?
Luke 15:1-2
11
Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”
When Jesus walked upon this earth, the people were divided in the way they reacted to him. Many people such as those in the passage above, flocked to him because they were hungry for the truth, hungry for repentance, hungry for forgiveness and for a fresh start. Knowing that they were sinners, they had no delusion of their own righteousness.
The Pharisees, on the other hand, were deluded and thought that they were righteous, so they were complaining that Jesus was eating with the sinners. But they themselves were not truly righteous; they were only self-righteous, and were also jealous, prideful, haughty, independent of God and self centered. They had no desire to come to Jesus for forgiveness and a new start..
Jesus' answered the complaining of the Pharisees in verses 8-9 of the same chapter:
"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
Later, in His last night before His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus prayed to His Father in Heaven:
John 17:20 - 23
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
Through His prayer, Jesus showed that a sinner who comes to Him and repents, is born again, becomes one with Him and the Father in the Spirit. He will now be a totally new creation, free from guilt and shame, joyful, one with Jesus, free from his former independence from God. He has a fresh start that will never grow old.
Which group do you choose to belong to: the independent, complaining Pharisees, or the joyful new creations in Christ Jesus?
Choose Life, choose Jesus - HERE'S HOW!
