The Pharisees complained that Jesus allowed publicans and sinners to listen to Him teach. The fact is that they were listening as well so their problem want that He was teaching our that people were listening. Their problem was their belief that truth was only meant for the already righteous. They would have been more open to the teachings of Jesus if He had the same disdain for those who were known to be unrighteous that they had. Of course that would have been sending a different message than He intended to teach.
In the parable of the prodigal son the point of the father celebrating the younger son was that haven celebrates every repentant dinner. The older son who misunderstood the meaning of the celebration was a representation of the Pharisees.
Leave a Reply