The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 2 — Section 49

toward" the sinner," filled them with astonishment as they saw him who claimed to be the Mes$iah himself, taking up a positively friendly attitude towa~d both of these intoler":hle chare.cters. 'l'heir error was, a~ error us11ally is, e. perversion of the truth. They did not understand the.t the same nemg who he.s the utmost aversion to sin can have and does have the tenderest yearning of hMrt toward the sinner• that he who u~tor~y repels the one is mercifully pitying and pati?ntly seeking and m'e.gne.nimously wmmng the other. So the men of acknowledged piety and purity in the time of our Lord failed completely to understand him, and they brought age.inst him the charcre which might well prove fatal to his cle.ims-that he was having a guilty fellowship with the outcast among men and the abimdoned among women. II. THE HIGHEST TRIBUTE TO THE SA v1otra. In that attitude and action of his which seem~ to hi~ contemporari~s to be so unworthy of hi!13- ~e fin~ the very thing which constitutes his glory and his crown. Of courS(>, assoc1at1on with sinners, on the basis of spiritual sympathy with them, is simply shameful; and to break up their associa- tion with the intemperate, the licentious, the dishonest, the scornful, is the first duty of those who have been their compani~ns and have shared their wrong-doings, but whose eyes have been opened to see the wickedness of their course. It is for such to say "Depart from me, ye evil-doers; for I will keep the commandments of my God." But that is far from exhausting the whole truth of the subject. For Christ has taught us, by his life as well as and as much as by his Word, that to mingle with the sinful in order to succour and save them is the supreme act of goodness. When a man's character has been so well established that he can afford to do so without serious risk either to himself or to his reputation, and when, thus fortified, well armed with purity, he goes amongst the criminal and the vicious and the profane, that he may lift them up from the miry places in which they are wandering, and place their feet on the rock of righteousness, then does he the very noblest, the divinest thing he can do. It was this very thing which Jesus Christ came to do: "He came to seek and to save that which was lost." It was this principle which he was continually illustrating; and nothing could more truly indicate the moral grandeur of his spirit or the beautiful beneficence of his life than the words by which it was sought to dishonour him : " This Man receiveth sinners, and eo.teth with them." It is this which will constitute the best tribute that can be po.id to e.ny of his disciples now. " There is nothing of which e.ny true minister of Jesus Christ, whether professional or not, ought to be so glad and so 1iroud, as to be such that the enemies of the Lord shall say tauntingly, while his friends will say thankfully, 'This man receiveth sinners.'" IIL THE GREATEST POSSIBLE ENOOURAGEMENT TO OURSELVES. 'l'here are men who know they are sinners, but care not; there are those who do not know that they are ~ilty in the sight of God; and there are others who do know and who do care. It is to these last that the Saviour of mankind is especially addressing himself. To them all he is offering Divine mercy; restoration to the favour, the service, and the likeness of God; everlasting life. On their ear there may fall these words, intended for a grave accu&ation, but constituting to the enlightened soul the most welcome tidings-" This Man receiveth sinners."-C. Vere. 3-7.-'I'he parable of the lost sheep. Of these three parables, illustrative of the grace of Christ shown to lost human souls, the first brings into view- L THE GREAT F00LISHl!EBS OF THE WANDERING souL. It goes from God as a foolish sheep strays from the fold. So doin~, it leaves security for peril_. In the fold is s~fcty ; in the wilderness are many and senous dangers. At home with God the soul is per- fectly safe from harm; its life, its liberty, its happiness, is secure; but, apart and astray from God, all these are not only gravely imperilled, they are already forfeited, It also leaves plenty for =t. In ~he. fold is _g?Od pasture; i_n_ the wilderness is sca~citJ: of food and water. With God 1s nch prov1S1on for the spmt's need, not only sat1efymg its wants, but ministering to its beet and purest tastes ; at a moral distance from him the spirit pines and withers. To go from God is an act of uttermost folly, IL THE eTBAITS TO WRICH IT 18 BEDU0ED. 1. lt is on the point of perishing. Without the interposition of the eeek.ing Shepherd, it would inevitably perish. 2. It is reduced to such utter helpleBBness that it has to be carried home, "laid up~n hill ehould~rs." (1) Under the dominion of ~i.o the BOul draws nearer and nearer to spmtual destruction; cm, xv.1-32.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. 51