Passage
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming close to him to hear him.
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming close to him to hear him.
Luke 15:1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming close to him to hear him.
Luke 15:2 The Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.”
Luke 15:3 He told them this parable.
The verse centers on "collectors", "sinners", "coming", "close", and "hear". 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 "The Pharisees and the scribes murmured saying...", 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.