"THE FRIEND OF SINNERS" (Who Is Jesus-Sermon 2)
Mark 2:13-17
Ø I enjoy looking at some of the pictures of Jesus
o . I find a sense of encouragement and comfort as I view the artist's portrayal of Jesus.
o For instance looking at the picture of Jesus praying brings a sense of comfort to know Jesus still prays for me.
All of these pictures are artists renderings of the man called Jesus.
To see the clearest picture we must look to the Scriptures.
Ø Looking to the Gospels we find the writers depicting and portraying Jesus for us.
o They are not pictures we can hang on our walls.
o No, the Gospels writers have no interest in depicting Jesus in that manner.
o "They are profoundly disinterested in His size, the color of His eyes and hair, and even His age and strength. These external things are unimportant."1
Ø The Gospels if anything paint word pictures of the character and life of Jesus, as we read about Him.
- HE MADE GOD REAL ... "Jesus made God truly accessible for the first time in their lives." 2
- MATCHLESS LIFE ... a quality of life existed in Jesus. "His life sums up what we would most of all like to be in our best moments."3
- TAUGHT WITH AUTHORITY ... "In Jesus you find no footnotes. He never quotes the opinions of other teachers."4
- UNDISPUTABLE LOVE ... John 13:1b ".. having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end."
Ø GOOD COMAPNY ... many found His company irresistible. People from all walks of life enjoyed being in the company of Jesus.
Jesus' three-year ministry on earth was filled with ministering
Ø to the "undesirables" of society - the poor,
Ø the hungry,
Ø the ill,
Ø the demon-possessed,
Ø prostitutes, tax collectors
Ø the forgotten people of his day.
Ø He often went out of His way to touch the untouchables, and to love the unloved.
Because of the nature of who Jesus was and not what He looked like,
Ø He was becoming intensely popular to the point of agitating the religious leaders of the day.
Ø ...... * Mark , 32-33, 37, 45
.......* Mark 2:2, 13
Ø The Pharisees were repulsed by the ministry of Jesus so much they cast names of dispersion upon Him in hopes of discouraging the people and His disciples from following after Him.
Perhaps the most demeaning name they could call Him was,
"A friend of sinners."
Matthew "The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her children."
Ø The name was meant as a term of abuse and hurt,
Ø but Jesus welcomed it, possibly more than any other title,
Ø "A friend of sinners." It is a name of endearment, even today.
To Jesus…..
I. ALL WALKS OF LIFE WELCOME
VS.14-16
A. Jesus welcomes all walks of life. In the call of Levi (a.k.a. Matthew) it is the "S&P's" (scribes & Pharisees) who accuse Jesus of being a friend of tax collectors & sinners.
1. Matthew was among some of the most despised, vile and corrupt men in Capernaum Rome
2. The Roman government employed his services to collect taxes from his own people to which he basically robbed them.
a) Tax collectors were
· Traitors
· Barred from Jewish Synagogue
· Refused social contact with fellow Jews
· Ranked with the swine's (unclean animal)
· Because He was not allowed to socialize nor worship with his fellow Jews, his friends were other T.C. and Gentiles ... sinners.
B. Technically sinners were those who failed to live according to the laws of God as the "S&P's" thought they should.
1. Sinners also included robbers, murderers, drunks, prostitutes and other ungodly people.
2. They were the forgotten people of the day and the religious people wanted nothing to do with them.
3. Except for Jesus.
C. To Jesus all walks of life are welcome. BUT
Ø Scribes & Pharisees were about….
1. Preservation of self-righteousness.
2. Concerned with criticism, rather than encouragement.
3. Issued condemnation, not forgiveness.
D. Jesus approached Matthew with the simple words,
1. "Follow me" and then went to his home to eat along with a host of sinners.
a) Jesus was about to take an outcast sinner and make him one of the family.
E. The "S&P's" found Jesus' action to very offensive.
1. But that neither deterred nor discouraged Jesus, because He wasn't working off of religious opinions and persuasions, but obeyed the mandates of His Father.
2. Luke "for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
F. Through the life of Jesus, the friend of sinners,
1. the ministry of "Friendship Evangelism" came into existence.
2. How do we look at people?
3. Are all walks of life welcomed with us?
II. HEALING THE WALKS OF LIFE
VS. 17
A. Jesus came to be a friend of sinners and a physician to those who are sick with sin.
1. What type of physician would spend all his time with healthy people and refuse to associate with the sick?
2. The "S&P's" were good at diagnosing the sins of others but did nothing to help cure the problem, because they could not and would not deal with their own sins.
3. Jesus on the other hand identifies Himself as one who had come to heal the sinful walks of life.
Ø The kingdom of God
a) Spiritually sick who want to be healed.
b) Spiritually poor who want to be rich.
c) Spiritually hungry who want to be fed.
d) Spiritually dead who want to be made alive.
III. Jesus came not to condemn but the forgive.
A. Forgiveness is extended to each and every person through the avenue of repentance.
B. Repentance is simply the desire to turn from sin and walk with your friend named Jesus.
1. The last person you want to deal with your sin is an "S&P."
C. You want Jesus to handle your sin.
1. He is fair, but not condoning.
2. He is firm but not condemning.
3. He is gentle and not harsh.
D. All these people sitting in the house of Matthew were sinners needing their sin dealt with.
1. They all were in need of giving up their way of life and follow Jesus. (See: )
2. Luke 15:1-2 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them."
Ø Jesus, the friend of sinners will receive you today. Come to Him.
BOTTOM LINE APPLIED
THIS PORTRAIT OF JESUS IS TO BE MORE TO US TODAY THAN TO SIT BACK AND SIGH, "OH JESUS, HE'S SO SWEET. " We must see Jesus as if we were seeing Him for the first time, a friend to sinners.
- Jesus Is Your Friend!
Are you a sinner in need of a friend? Before you say no, examine your record according to God.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
The clear point is you and I are a sinner.
We need Jesus as our friend, who calls us into turning from our sins and walking with Him.
There is no sin in man that cannot be forgiven if you will come confessing that sin.
Here is how big a friend Jesus is ... no matter the sin if you confess it, He will be faithful and just to forgive you.
You need to come to Jesus, the friend of sinners.
- Jesus Want You to be a Friend to Sinners!
If you have experienced the friendship of Jesus He now wants you to be a friend to a sinner.
This is where it can get sticky, because the "S&P Syndrome" wants to kick in.
We cannot be a friend to sinners if you and I keep our distances from sinners!
Take Jesus' example and get involved in their lives.
"Lost people have a lot of problems and their lives are messy. It's not by accident that Jesus compared evangelism to fishing. Fishing is often messy and smelly. So many churches want the fish they catch to be pre-scaled, gutted, cleaned and cooked. This is why they never reach anyone. If your church is serious about reaching the unsaved, you must be willing to put up with people who have a lot of problems." 5
Hosea 6:6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
Jesus, the Friend of Sinners. It is an interesting portrait Mark paints for us.
Ah but the real challenge is not to merely see Jesus, but to allow others to see Jesus in us.
Do sinners whom we come into contact with everyday see Jesus as the friend of sinners in us?
Prayer: God, we've painted too many pictures of Jesus with our lives that simply are not true portraits of who Jesus is. Help us through the brush and canvas of repentance to repent of our sins, seeing Jesus as our friend and then help us to paint a clear and true picture of Jesus, the friend of sinners through our words and actions. Amen.
