NOTES for Luk 19:10

This phrase is one of the most astonishing in the whole New Testament. Christ's words bring us great joy, but following these words may be hardest of all. The position that the Lord Jesus marks out with these words provoked the greatest indignation and protest from the scribes and Pharisees around Christ.

These words of Christ obligate us to much. First of all, it is very important to remember them when we see those who are unpleasant to us, who by their appearance or actions arouse our indignation, whom we consider "bad." It is precisely them, the lost, not those in the process of perishing but those already finally lost, whom the Lord Jesus came to seek and save. Clearly, after this it is impossible to despise them.

But most important, He came to seek and save us, each of us. Not some wonderful righteous people who have earned and become worthy of reward, but us, lost under the weight of incurable sins.