Luke 15:1 (DBY)

Passage

And all the tax-gatherers and the sinners were coming near to him to hear him;

Nearby Context

Luke 15:1 And all the tax-gatherers and the sinners were coming near to him to hear him;

Luke 15:2 and the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, This [man] receives sinners and eats with them.

Luke 15:3 And he spoke to them this parable, saying,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "tax-gatherers", "sinners", "coming", "near", and "hear". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "tax-gatherers" and "sinners", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The next verse adds "and the Pharisees and the scribes murmured...", so "tax-gatherers" and "sinners" should be read forward into that movement. In Luke context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "tax-gatherers" and "sinners" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.