notorious

 Luke 15 

1 Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 

2 This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain 

that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!

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dan note: I find these 2 verses VERY interesting.

I find it VERY curious that the nastiest people wanted to be around Jesus & hear what He had to say.

Somehow Jesus communicated to them that they were safe with Him & that He loved & connected with them.

It's also not surprising that religious leaders were unimpressed.

It has been my experience in my 71 yrs here on earth that the religious leaders of the day DO NOT want us to hang with "notorious sinners" nor let them come into the church buildings.

Some things NEVER change...

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3 So Jesus told them this story: 4 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!