Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near Jesus to listen to Him. And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to complain, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” And so He told them this parable, saying, “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the other ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he puts it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost!’ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.”

When have you felt like an outsider? Maybe you went to a foreign country where you didn’t speak the language; maybe you walked into a fancy restaurant underdressed; or maybe you just did not fit in during high school. As outsiders, we can feel judgment behind each look. This tension around outsiders isn’t just a modern phenomenon, it’s a story as old as time, and the people of Jesus’s day struggled with this as well. Those who knew the Old Testament could not understand why Jesus would associate himself with spiritual outsiders. The tax collectors were notorious for their deceit and others labeled “sinners” were known for their wrongdoing. Most people saw them as religious outsiders, but in Jesus’s parable we learn how God sees them. He doesn’t view them as unfamiliar and foreign; He sees them as sheep, who are lost and far from Him. Jesus reminded the scribes and Pharisees that these people had value as those made in the image of God, regardless of their reputation or beliefs.

Many people in the world today feel completely unfamiliar to us. They have different values, beliefs, and reputations, yet they are immensely valuable to God. He rejoices every time a lost sheep comes back into the fold. What would change if we saw people who are different from us the way God does? How might the gospel advance if we opened our minds to God working in unexpected ways. God is a God of reconciliation; He has done all the work to bring lost sheep back to Himself. We are called to step forward in faith, asking Him to move, even and especially in unexpected ways.

• Who are some of the “tax collectors and sinners” of our time, those with bad reputations in the church? How might you draw near to these people with the love of Christ?
• Why does it feel natural to push away outsiders? How does following Jesus change your outlook on those that are far from Him?
• Pray and ask God to help you see others the way He does.