#354 - Jay Risner // Jesus Eats With Sinners - The Daily Blade: Joby Martin & Kyle Thompson

Summary4 min read

Episode Summary:

The Daily Blade #354 – Jay Risner // Jesus Eats With Sinners

Hosts: Jay Risner (guest host), Joby Martin*, Kyle Thompson*
Date: May 11, 2026
*Note: Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson do not appear in content; Jay Risner leads the episode.

Episode Overview

This episode, guest-hosted by Pastor Jay Risner, sets the stage for a week-long exploration of Luke 15, focusing especially on the radical inclusivity of Jesus—how he received and even ate with people society and the religious elite deemed sinners. Risner unpacks the context that drove Jesus to share stories about lost things: the lost sheep, coin, and son. The main thrust is on the scandalous grace of Jesus, making clear his intention to embrace those considered outsiders.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Setting the Scene: The Power of Context

[00:20-02:35] Jay Risner introduces Luke 15 as the “epicenter of the parables of Jesus,” highlighting that its stories reach the height of Jesus’ teaching art.
He shares quotes from religious and literary figures emphasizing the power of these parables:
- J.C. Ryle: "The most full and instructive of all the parables."
- B.B. Warfield: "Artistically perfect."
- Charles Dickens: "The greatest short story in the history of the world" (regarding The Prodigal Son).

2. Why Did Jesus Tell These Stories?

[02:35-03:44] The episode focuses on the social dynamic in Luke 15:1-2, where “all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near [Jesus] to listen to him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, 'This man receives sinners and eats with them.'”
Jay highlights two major elements in the scene:
- Jesus surrounds himself with “tax collectors and sinners.”
- Religious leaders — Pharisees (“sin police”) and scribes (teachers of the law) — are deeply agitated by this.

3. Who Were the "Tax Collectors and Sinners"?

[03:44-04:44] Jay explains the social outcasting of these groups:
- Tax collectors: Seen as traitors, collecting for Rome and profiting at the expense of fellow Jews.
- “Sinners”: The marginalized—lame, sick, prostitutes, unfaithful, unclean—shut out of religious life.
- These people “were shameful societal outcasts...denied entry into temple...denied entry into the synagogue.”

4. The Offense: Jesus Eats With Sinners

[04:44-05:05] Jesus is not simply tolerating these people; he welcomes them, enjoys their company, and eats with them.
- Quote [04:50]: “This is the language of openness and friendship and fellowship. Which means Jesus is not just tolerating the presence of sinners in his sphere of influence, he is welcoming their presence, inviting it, enjoying it. Imagine that—the Messiah enjoyed being with sinners, welcomed them into his life.”
The grumbling of the scribes and Pharisees is met by Jesus telling three stories in response: the lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son.

5. Invitation: Jesus Welcomes All

[05:05-05:27] Jay challenges listeners to see themselves among the sinners Jesus welcomes.
- Quote [05:15]: “No matter what kind of sinner you are, Jesus has come to seek and save you from your sin. No matter what you have done, Jesus invites you to his table. He wants to receive you and eat with you. Have you really accepted his kind invitation?”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Jesus’ Audience:

“This is who’s surrounding Jesus. This is who Jesus finds himself sharing life and fellowship with.” — Jay Risner [03:50]
On Religious Leaders' Response:

"The proclaimed Messiah has people following him that in the minds of Israel’s religious leadership, he should have been not just avoiding, but outright condemning.” — Jay Risner [04:02]
On Jesus' Hospitality:

“Imagine that—the Messiah enjoyed being with sinners, welcomed them into his life.” — Jay Risner [04:54]
The Core Challenge:

“Have you really accepted his kind invitation?” — Jay Risner [05:23]

Important Timestamps

00:20 – Introduction to the theme: Why Luke 15 is the epicenter of Jesus’ parables
02:35 – Reading Luke 15:1-2 and framing the discussion
03:44 – Context on tax collectors and “sinners”
04:44 – The controversy: “Jesus eats with sinners”
05:05 – Invitation and challenge to the listener

Tone & Language

Jay Risner adopts a conversational yet deeply theological tone, aiming to bridge scholarship, pastoral insight, and practical challenge. His language is both clear and evocative, bringing out the scandal and comfort of Jesus’ radical grace.

Summary

This episode sets a powerful foundation for the week’s journey through Luke 15 by highlighting Jesus’ deliberate embrace of the marginalized. Listeners are challenged to see themselves both as the “sinners” Jesus welcomes and as those invited to offer that same hospitality. Jesus’ willingness to “eat with sinners” is shown to be more than an act of tolerance—it is a radical act of familial welcome.

Key takeaway:
“No matter what you have done, Jesus invites you to his table.” — Jay Risner [05:19]

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Transcript3 lines

[00:01]
A
Welcome to the Daily Blade. The word of God is described as the sword of the spirit, the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's sharpen up.
[00:20]
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Welcome to the Daily Blade. I'm Jay Reisner and I serve as lead pastor at Kyle Thompson's church, Faith Bible Church here in Edmond, Oklahoma. I'm a friend of the forging table, but this week I get to fill in and be with you on the Daily Blade. I'm excited to tell you that we're going to spend the next five days in the gospel of Luke, specifically Luke chapter 15. And it goes without saying that Jesus, he was an exceptional teacher. And one of the ways he was first described by those observing his ministry was this man teaches as one with authority. And one primary feature of his authoritative teaching was his use of parables of stories. And I like to call Luke chapter 15 the epicenter of the parables of Jesus. These parables, these extended metaphors that Jesus so often deployed in his teaching, I believe they reach their peak in Luke 15. In particular the third story, the Parable of the Lost Son. J.C. ryle, the Old Bishop of Liverpool, he called the story of the lost son and the older brother the most full and instructive of all the parables. Princeton theologian B.B. warfield, he said that it was artistically perfect. An English author, Charles Dickens, who knew something about the makings of a good story, he called the Story of the Lost sun the greatest short story in the history of the world. But before we get to verses 11 through 32, I want to set this all up by talking to you about the setting. What compels Jesus to tell these stories in the way that he tells them is very, very important. So let's read the setting in Luke 15:1,2, where God's word says, now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near him to listen to him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, this man receives sin and eats with them. This short two verse framing of the setting will help you understand everything there is to know about these parables. So I'll point out just two things happening in the setting of Luke 15. First, Jesus has been surrounding himself more and more with tax collectors and sinners. And then second, the religious leaders are getting more and more triggered by this. Now, tax collectors are seen as uniquely terrible. Amongst the Jews, they operated franchises that collected taxes for Rome and they would also then keep a healthy share of those taxes for themselves. So they would be fleecing and extorting their own people. And the Jews, particularly the Jewish religious leadership, they hated passionately, these tax collectors, they viewed them as turncoats to their own people, traitors, if you will. And then the broader collection of people coming to Jesus, they were simply sinners. These would have been the lame, the sick, the unclean, the unfaithful, the prostitutes, the uncircumcised. All people who were closed off to religious life because some Pharisee or some priest or synagogue leader declared them to be a sinner. These sinners were denied entry into the temple, denied entry into the synagogue. They were shameful societal outcasts. And then along comes a man named Jesus who wants to teach them and heal them, invite them in, and even eat with them. This is who's surrounding Jesus. This is who Jesus finds himself sharing life and fellowship with. The proclaimed Messiah has people following him that in the minds of Israel's religious leadership, he should have been not just avoiding, but outright condemning. And so the scribes who were the teachers of the law, they know God's law better than anyone else. And. And to the Pharisees who were your local neighborhood sin police, these two groups are grumbling at Jesus. And their grumbling is best explained by these words. Receives and eats. This man receives and eats with sinners. This is the language of openness and friendship and fellowship. Which means Jesus is not just tolerating the presence of sinners in his sphere of influence, he is welcoming their presence, inviting it, enjoying it. Imagine that the Messiah enjoyed being with sinners, welcomed them into his life in his world. And so the scribes and Pharisees, they grumble at this. And because of their grumbling, Jesus is going to tell them a few stories. The story of a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. And we're going to talk about the first two parables tomorrow and then the rest of the week we'll get into the story of the lost son. But what I want you to consider today is this. No matter what kind of sinner you are, Jesus has come to seek and save you from your sin. No matter what you have done, Jesus invites you to his table. He wants to receive you and eat with you. Have you really accepted his kind invitation?
[05:27]
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