Jesus was criticized for “welcoming” and “eating with” sinners (Lu 15). He responds with the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. Jesus was saying that His actions of welcoming and eating with sinners was a calculated operation to seek and welcome the lost into the Kingdom. Sinners are more valuable than sheep or coins, they are lost children of the Father. Discipleship is more than huddling in our Bible studies, it is to go live among sinners and value them as precious persons made in the image of our Father.
