A Resurrected Religion | Prodigals and Sinners

As the church, we can’t confuse our priorities. If we confuse our priorities, we lose sight of what’s truly our calling in this world. As we try to stay true to what Jesus intended his followers to be, we should always harken back to the things Jesus placed emphasis on. And then we should ask ourselves, acting as his church, do we place the same amount of emphasis on those things? 

And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:31–32 ESV) 

“Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7 ESV) 

Sitting with Sinners

I think sometimes we can get our priority structures a little skewed. We care for our fellow Christians, and we care for the church, but do we care even more about those who need Jesus the most? Jesus did. In Luke 5, this is a response Jesus is giving to Pharisees who are asking why he’s eating with tax collectors, as well as others who they claim are sinners. Jesus, as he always did, reveals the will of the Father in his response. 

What’s funny is that the Pharisees think they’re righteous. They think they’re righteous before the eyes of God. So I think there can be some implications made that what Jesus is saying is that he is going to be putting his energy toward sinners who will see the light of Christ and repent, rather than those who think they’re righteous and therefore not in need of repenting. 

And I love how logical Jesus is with this, yet it’s counterintuitive to the Pharisees’ understanding of what a religious life looks like. Sick people need physicians. The very purpose of a physician’s existence is because of the reality that people get sick. If human beings never became unwell, the need for a physician wouldn’t exist, right? Jesus came for the purpose of saving sinners from their sin, so why would he not engage with those very people? 

Rejoicing for the Prodigal

We see the same theme in Luke 15. He tells the now-famous stories of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. After the story of the lost sheep, he says those words: that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over the ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance (v. 7). It doesn’t say there’s no rejoicing for the righteous ninety-nine, but rather there is just MORE rejoicing for that one who has been found and brought into the care of the shepherd. 

As we sit in church or participate in our church ministries, we act as the ninety-nine. We are his flock. But sometimes we act as the oldest son in the prodigal story—where we think we deserve the better treatment because we’re the faithful. Jesus uses these stories not to shame us, but rather as the father in the prodigal story gently reminds the son: 

“Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.” (Luke 15:31–32 ESV) 

Priority of the Lost 

So we know from these stories and words from Jesus that he came for those who are lost. Is that the priority of the local church? Are we acting as his church and prioritizing our reach toward the lost? 

To go back to the doctor analogy, the reality is that doctors don’t wait for patients to become better before they see them. They go into the disease and illness-infested spaces because that’s their purpose! Why? Why would they do that? Because they have the means to save! Jesus has the means to save and that’s what we carry as his followers. Jesus is the light, and his purpose was to go into the darkness. We should be carrying that same purpose. The Pharisees couldn’t see this, and I pray that I don’t lose sight of it either. This is why: 

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:7–8 ESV) 

This is the main theme, right? This is what should drive us to go into the dark places and rescue as our Savior did before us! God’s love, fully displayed for what it is, is that Jesus died for the sinner: you and me. That’s what we truly celebrated on Easter two weeks ago. And now we are released to display that love as we go, pursue the sinner, and rejoice for the prodigal as Jesus did. 

—Luke Soliwoda