There are typically two kinds of sinner in this world. There are, first, those who think they are so bad Jesus would not accept them. Then, there are those who think they are so good that they don’t need Jesus at all. Both aren’t expecting to come to Jesus; both definitely need him.

I wonder, of the two, who you think it is harder for? Is it easier for the bad who think they’re so very bad to be convinced that Jesus will have them or it is easier for those who think they’re very good to be convinced that they’re not as good as they think they are? Which, of the two, do you think is more likely to turn to Christ?

I don’t think the Bible leaves us to guess an answer. It is certainly true that nobody is coming to Jesus – supposedly good, bad or otherwise – unless the Holy Spirit draws them. So, let’s just make that clear right up front. It is also true, when the Spirit draws, nobody is resisting his call. Our wills are not stronger than God’s will. So, in one sense, it is just as easy or just as hard for either of them.

Yet, persistently, we see Jesus dining with tax collectors and sinners. We see the outcasts and those society has deemed utterly beyond redemption coming to Jesus and being accepted by him. The Pharisees – who we frequently forget were the utmost righteous dudes of the day – they were the ones who seemed to find it hardest to accept Jesus. Them and, apparently, rich people.

We do have examples, of course, of Pharisees turning in faith to Jesus. None more famously than Paul. We similarly have examples of rich people coming to faith too. So, let’s not fool ourselves into thinking Jesus doesn’t want any of them, won’t have them and it is impossible for them to come to him. That simply isn’t so. But it does seem to be the case that it is much harder to climb down from a high horse and humble ourselves than it is to recognise that what the world and we both know is true about us – and Jesus doesn’t deny it – but he does nevertheless welcome us if we repent.

This shouldn’t be so surprising. The sin mentioned more than almost any other in scripture is that of pride. In fact, pride and money are two regular features singled out as particularly ensnaring and problematic. Throughout its pages the Bible seems to recognise that it is exceptonally difficult to deal with the proud and those who make money their functional god.

Both those who think they are too bad for God and those who think themselves good enough need Jesus. Both similarly need to be drawn by the Spirit if they’re going anywhere. But it does seem the proud and the rich have a particularly hard time recognising what the Bible says is true about them.