Grace grinding and listening

Scot McKnight is surprised by the reaction to his post on what he calls 'grace grinders', which I commented on a little while back. Answering requests for biblical examples he has posted on the subject for the third time.

His last post, with some powerful examples, has made me think a bit about how we should present the gospel (or 'grace') to people, in all their variety. Jesus remarkably showed nothing but the God's love to some terrible sinners, and told parables about a father/lord that did the same, and McKnight lists some examples. However, it is of note that in most of the contexts the listener/recipient is more than aware of their sinfulness (even if not in a fully orbed sense), or at least of their unloveliness. When dealing with the proud, including his own disciples Jesus was happy to lead with condemnation, like many other biblical writers. Similarly, I think we should be listening to those we speak to, not coming with a ready made presentation of the gospel in hand (although they have their uses), telling them what they most need to hear.