Luke 15:1, 2  All the tax collectors and sinners were approaching to listen to him. And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” (CSB)

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Do you ever feel like a loser? I do, or better stated, I have. The coffee and my healthy snack this morning are beginning to work their magic, and I’m feeling pretty good, even for a Monday. However, fatigue and failure, no matter how insignificant, often combine to make me feel like a born loser. How about you?

Here’s the good news: Jesus is for losers. 

Jesus loves people like you and me. Even better? He welcomes born losers like you and me. Even if you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, as the old saying goes, Jesus loves rich losers like you, too. 

The point is not to call everyone a loser. That would be offensive. Take a look at the verses above at the head of one of the most beloved chapters in the Bible. Here, we see a lost sheep found, a lost coin recovered, and a lost son who was as good as given up for dead and who has returned alive and well and, most importantly, welcomed and celebrated.

Check out who Jesus was talking to. The categorical losers of the day were listening to Jesus. The Righteous Ones of the day did not like this at all, not at all. They said, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

How do you imagine the intonation of these words? Where is the emphasis? I’m guessing the shock for those religious leaders was not that people would gather around a rabbi with good stories to tell and miracles to offer but that he would welcome these kinds of people. Jesus liked lost people! It was like he preferred spending time with them like they were more fun or something. 

As Jesus famously said elsewhere, sick people need a doctor. Dr. Jesus saved, delivered, and healed those sinners who came to him, trusting him to do what no one else could. 

Jesus did what he often did at this moment. He told some stories. The first was about a lost sheep. The second was about a lost coin. Both stories include the words “in the same way” (verses 7 and 10). The way a man rejoices of 1/100th of his flock safely returned, and the way a woman rejoices when 1/10th of her dowry is found, is the way God rejoices when a tax collector, sinner, or son is returned. 

Here is one of the most famous stories in the Bible. The title Prodigal doesn’t relate to the younger son’s far travels but to his waste of everything he had. 

The first time I preached this story in 1988, a man in the congregation was deeply moved. He was soon reconciled with his own younger son. The whole family, the father, both sons and their wives and children, began attending church together. 

A local church has a ministry of praying for prodigals. If you know a little lost lamb or a giant loser, send me the name, and I will forward it to the church. If you happen to know or would like to meet Pastor Jay Fannin of Shady Oaks Baptist Church in Hurst, Texas, you can connect with him directly.

There is practically nothing but Good News in this chapter. The only shadow is the reaction of the Righteous Ones toward those who were drawn to the grace, mercy, and kindness of Jesus. His stories were so popular because losers like tax collectors and other significant sinners saw themselves not merely for who they were but for who they could become by that grace, mercy, and kindness of Jesus. 

Losers are still looking for grace, mercy, and kindness. Jesus is for losers. Let’s introduce some sinners to the God who runs toward every sinner who turns his, or her, heart toward him. We can rejoice together!

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I will rejoice with the losers who Jesus loves into eternal winners.

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