1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 Then Jesus told them this parable…
There are two types of people in the world: those who know they’re bad, and those who think they’re good. Those who admit they need help, and those who pretend they don’t. The self-confessing sick, and the so-called “healthy.” In Jesus’ day, the two types were exemplified by the tax collectors and sinners on the one hand, and the Pharisees and teachers of the law on the other.
And just to be clear, there’s nothing noble about being a tax collector. They were traitors, social outcasts, misfits, sssinners. But the Pharisees? They had it all together… on the outside, at least. Their energy was consumed with the pressure of perfectly-curated performances of religiosity.
But notice: Jesus. Rather than taking a side, he tells a story. Jesus loved telling stories. Parables, he called them. There’s something disarming about a story, a way that it crosses lines—social, political, religious. Story shows us something about ourselves in a way that an argument never can.
Maybe that’s why Jesus used them so often. He’s inviting us to see who we really are, and to take the next step toward love with him.
There are two types of people in the world, and Jesus meets them both in a story.
As we enter two weeks in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, which of the two types do you most relate to: those who know their need, or those who fake their fullness?
Lord Jesus, thank you that you meet me where I am. Teach me the truth that only a story can teach me. Amen.
