Jesus drew all kinds of people to him - and still does!  These were people no 'respectable ' person would want to associate with, yet Jesus made no distinction.  They came to listen to him.  Their minds were open to what he had to tell them.

No-one is rejected by Jesus, and if we are open to him, we can become his disciples, no matter what our background.  The church has no right to reject people either.  Jesus didn't.

V 2.
and the Pharisees and the doctors of the law began grumbling among themselves: 'This fellow', they said, 'welcomes sinners and eats with them.'
NLT: This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such despicable people - even eating with them!
NIV.  But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

Here's a contrast.  These 'respectable' people and people who were supposed to be the experts on what God wanted were following Jesus, not to learn, but to criticise.  Their minds were not open.  They thought they knew it all better than anyone else  They thought they were spiritually OK and others weren't.

They remind me of me at times! And they remind me of some people in churches who are busy with our Bible studies, fellowships, and collecting for the poor or the missions, but let those 'poor' or racially different come into our doors - well, that's a different matter!  And what about those whose lifestyle doesn't meet our 'respectable' criteria?  Must they change before they become acceptable to us?  Jesus accepted people as they were.  It was after he accepted them as followers that he taught them and, when they were ready, he asked them to make some changes in their attitudes and their lives. Why won't we do the same?

I note that, according to the NIV, the Pharisees and teachers didn't come out openly and criticise Jesus to his face.  They muttered among themselves - probably just loudly enough that those people close around them would hear!

But, as usual, Jesus knew exactly what they were muttering about.

V 3 - 6
He answered them with this parable: 'If one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the missing one until he has found it? How delighted he is then! He lifts it on to his shoulders, and home he goes to call his friends and neighbours together.  "Rejoice with me!" he cries.  "I have found my lost sheep."

Jesus quite clearly illustrates to the 'respectable', 'God-fearing' religious leaders where their duty lay.  They were not to accept that some people were 'lost' from God and hold themselves apart, but to actively seek out the 'lost' and bring them back to God. God expects us to reach out to those who don't know him and don't understand what he is offering and to join him in rejoicing when one of those 'lost' ones comes to believe in him.

The shepherd in Jesus' story doesn't berate the sheep for straying.  He doesn't expect it to find its own way home - or even to walk home under its own strength.  He carries it on his own strong shoulders. That's a heavy load!!!!  In pictures of the shepherd and the lost sheep that I've seen, the sheep is often drawn quite small - even a lamb - on the shepherd's shoulders or in his arms.  But the story doesn't say it was a lamb.  A full -grown sheep is no light weight.  Jesus asks those of us who are more mature in the Christian faith not only to accept and love those who have less understanding, but to carry them while we are bringing them home.  We must not expect them to act like mature Christians.  Like parents with small children, we accept their immaturity, help them over rough patches, shelter them from danger, teach them lovingly, show them an example, pray for them.  In this way they will learn to do the same for others.  This can be a very heavy load for us.  It requires commitment.

V 7.
In the same way, I tell you, there will be greater joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who do not need to repent.

Here, I think, is Jesus talking with his tongue firmly in his cheek!  Yes, everyone in heaven rejoices with God over every single sinner who repents and turns back to God.  But what about the 'righteous people who do not need to repent'?  Is there any such person?  I  don't believe there is.  The religious leaders he was talking to - and many people in our churches today - thought they were righteous and did not need to repent.  But were they?  Is there a day go past when any one remains completely sin-free?  We continually commit 'sins', don't we?  Every day we all think, say or do things that could separate us from God if we do not confess them to him and receive his forgiveness.

V 8, 9.
Or again, if a woman has ten silver pieces and loses one of them, does she not light the lamp, sweep out the house, and look in every corner till she has found it? And when she has, she calls her friends and neighbours together, and says, "Rejoice with me!  I have found the piece that I lost."

Another illustration, just to make the point clearer.  God expects us to leave no corner 'unswept' in our efforts to locate people who are 'lost' and to bring them back.  And when they come, we are to make it publicly clear that we are delighted about it.

V 10.
In the same way, I tell you, there is joy among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.'
NIV.  In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

God rejoices - and he makes no secret of his delight.  He rejoices in front of his angels - like David danced in worship in front of his people when he had succeeded in bringing the ark of the Lord into Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 6: 14-16)

I have heard it said that God loves each one of us as if we were the only person he ever created.  He rejoices over each repentant sinner as if that was the only one who ever returned to him.

Note:  I  find it interesting that Jesus uses for his illustration of what God's attitude is to the lost, people who were considered of small importance - almost outcasts as far as the religious leaders were concerned.  Shepherds were the lowliest of the low - and so were women!  Yet God spoke to these people before the 'respectable' at important times.  The birth of Jesus was announced to shepherds first.  It was women who were the first to be told of Jesus' resurrection when they visited the tomb.  And here they are again, used by Jesus to illustrate the way God thinks.