Who Was Jesus' Audience?

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

15 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: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
One of the questions we all ought to be asking every once in a while is, "Who is listening to me?" "Who is my audience?"  It probably reflects the message we are telegraphing.  Luke records this popular story today about who was listening to Jesus.  It was not the Pharisees, the religious experts, or the teachers of the Jewish Law. It was the tax collectors and the sinners who were gathered around Jesus and listening to his every word.  Why?  
Jesus didn't spend time beating them up for how horrible they were, or how they were beyond redemption.  He spent time with them because he realized they all had one thing in common, they needed to know God cared about them regardless of their past behavior.  The Pharisees and other leaders spent time telling people why they didn't belong in God's kingdom, and Jesus told about a God who leaves everything behind to go after them. This is a message they had NEVER heard before.    
Jesus even goes as far as to say that all heaven rejoices when people like them turn to God for help. In fact, heaven rejoices more over one sinner turning to God for help, than ninety nine who think they don't really need any help at all. Jesus' main message is that God cares for every human being He has created equally and will go to any length to find them and bring them back.  And he proved it by sending his own son to die for them on a cross. 
I wonder who our audience in the church is?  Does our message attract sinners or only the saints?  Is there something in our preaching of the gospel that draws people who are far from God closer to Him?  This might be a good indicator of whether we are preaching the gospel at all.  But it is not just in the church this message needs to go out. How do you react when you are around the sinners and tax collectors of our day? To you relate to them as a fellow sinner, or look down at them as a deplorable?  Do they sense your judgment and disdain for them? Or are they attracted to the gospel message you live out in how you treat and speak to them?  We know who Jesus' audience was we might want to expand ours.     
      

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