Passage
Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him.
Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him.
Luke 15:1 Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him.
Luke 15:2 And both the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
Luke 15:3 So He told them this parable, saying,
The verse centers on "collectors", "sinners", "coming", "near", and "listen". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "collectors" and "sinners", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The next verse adds "And both the Pharisees and the scribes...", so "collectors" 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 "collectors" and "sinners" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.