No Man Careth…

? Children have no compassion for their parents

? Employer have no compassion for their employees.

? Neighbors have no compassion for their neighbor.

The parable of THE LOST SHEEP reveals the COMPASSION OF CHRIST more than any other of Jesus’ parables.

It is comforting to know that our Lord is compassionate because often those around us are not.

Every day people’s lives are made difficult by the lack of compassion.

-THE BUSINESS WORLD LACKS COMPASSION.

-THE POLITICAL WORLD LACKS COMPASSION.

-THE CHURCH LACKS COMPASSION.

If you think it is bad now to live in this world of people who lack compassion, just think what it would be like if our Lord was not compassionate.

Illus: Jesus stood on a hillside near Jerusalem one day and saw the people, in their confusion, and He said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not.” (Matt. 23:37)

We can all be thankful that Jesus was a compassionate Savior. People were drawn to Him like to a magnet, to hear Him preach because He was such a Savior. For example, look at...

I. THE GROUP -- Verse 1.

“Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.”

It is always refreshing to see people gather together for the right reason. Our text tells us these people gathered for the right reason. They did not gather:

- Because of curiosity.

- Because they just wanted to observe.

- Because of any selfish gain.

- Because of a hidden agenda they were promoting.

They were there because they were hungry “TO HEAR HIM.”

WHO WERE THOSE PEOPLE?

The Bible tells us they were...

A. The publicans.

Much was said about the publicans in Jesus’ day and most of it was not good. Today most folks do not know what a “publican” is.

Illus: One little boy went home from Sunday School and his dad asked him what his Sunday School teacher had taught him. The little boy said, “Dad, our lesson was on how wicked the republicans are and How God wants to save them?"

Before I get into trouble with some of you, let me quickly explain that “publicans” ARE NOT REPUBLICANS. In those days the Jewish tax collectors were called publicans. They were hated by the rest of the Jews because they collected revenue for the Roman government. Most of them were “crooked”. They often collected, along with the taxes, a little extra for themselves so they could become wealthy. It is easy to understand why they were hated. It was bad enough they collected taxes for a government they considered an enemy, but to make the people pay more than was due was even worse.

Our text mentions another group.

B. The sinners.

WHO WERE THE SINNERS?

They were those who were considered to be immoral such as thieves, murderers, liars, rapist, adulterers, harlots, etc. They betrayed GOD and MAN.

Back then the “good” Jews considered people who did those things to be social outcasts. No decent Jew would have wanted to have been caught talking to a “sinner” in public.

He certainly would not have wanted to have been caught eating with a “sinner.” Good Jews did not associate in any way with anyone known for being wicked.

The PUBLICANS and SINNERS were considered to be the most despicable groups of people on earth by the religious Jews.

Illus: It was appalling to them that Christ would be caught in broad daylight eating and mingling with “sinners.”

They would think, “Doesn’t Jesus know that if He wants to be 'accepted' in religious circles He should not mingle with such people?”

We read about their shock in verse 2 -- “And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” They were SHOCKED!

There was something that crowd did not know about the Lord Jesus.

-Jesus did not come to fit into their social circles.

-Jesus did not come to please the legalistic crowd.

-Jesus did not come to please the religious crowd.

JESUS CAME TO SEEK AND TO SAVE THAT WHICH WAS LOST!

We are not really sure why the religious people went to hear Jesus, but the Bible tells us why the SINNERS and PUBLICANS were there.

As we look, we will see TWO things in this verse of scripture. We will see WHAT and WHY they went to Christ.

A. What did they come for?

We do not have to guess. The Bible makes it crystal clear. We read, “Then drew near unto him...”

It is a marvelous thing when men want to draw close to the Lord.