Jesus is The Friend of Sinners

Mark 2:16-17

¹⁶ But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?”

¹⁷ When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”     (click on the pic to listen)

Zack was having a tough night last night at our Hiz Kidz program,.. I (Pastor Tom), normally deal with discipline issues on Wednesday night. Zack has never been in my office since he started in our program a few months ago. Zack came into my office for the first time last night. I asked Zack what was going on and he shared his story with me. Zack told me that his 14-year-old brother, who lived in Detroit, was shot and killed a year ago trying to save a friend. This happened a year ago. Zack just found out a couple of days ago. He was angry and upset and was having a tough time processing it all. Zack’s mom lives here in Marion and his dad lives in Detroit. Zack and I talked a while. I learned that Zack has been expelled from school for about a week for disrespecting his teachers and walking out of class. Just so you know, Zack is not perfect but he does respect our Hiz Kidz staff. Our kid’s staff has never had to send Zack home or send him to my office for any reason. As Zack and I talked I shared with him that everyone gets angry. God put that emotion in all of us. It is what you do with that anger that could get you into trouble.

As I continued to share with Zack I asked him if he knew who Jesus was. He did. I asked Zack if he knew what it meant to have a personal relationship with him. He didn’t. I shared with him that we are all sinners and that Jesus died for our sin. I asked if he knew John 3:16. He recited it to me word for word. I asked him if he knew God loved him. He wasn’t sure. I explained to him that God loved  him so much that He was willing to send his one and only Son to die on the cross and those who believe in Him and believe He loves them will not perish but have everlasting life. I asked Zack if he knew what everlasting life was. He said no. I explained to him that we all die once but we don’t have to die twice. When you love God and when you are in a relationship with Him you get to live forever with Him. I asked if he would like to pray. He said yes.

Zack is born again. Zack has a Bible. Zack needs for you to pray for him.

Zack didn’t need a pastor. Zack didn’t need a lecture. Zack didn’t need a bunch of Bible verses. Zack didn’t need me to tell him what he did was wrong. Zack needed a friend.  He needed someone to care about him. Zack has a new friend now. Zack has Jesus.

When you look at this passage you learn that Jesus was different.

Jesus was and is a friend to sinners.

Typically really bad people don’t like to hang out with really good people and vice versa.

While I was in high school I was only invited to one party. Perhaps they knew I wouldn’t come, but still I was never asked to go to any party. I think it was because I looked too nerdy and too good.  I didn’t get a chance to hang out with bad people because I was too good. My reputation preceded me. So, I didn’t get a chance  to hang out with many bad people.

Jesus liked spending time with sinners. He was God and he was perfect, but he spent much of the 3 ½ years of his ministry  hanging out with bad people. He talked with them, he ate with them, cried with them, and served them. People were not just objects to Jesus. They were not just people who needed to be saved. He cared about them and listened to them. He offered them unconditional love, hope, and compassion. In fact, when you read the scriptures you will discover that Jesus was attracted to them and they were attracted to him. He didn’t look at people as interruptions – he looked at them as an opportunity to be a friend to.

He didn’t wait for them to come to church. I don’t think he ever invited anyone to church. He didn’t wait for them to come to Him.  He invited himself over to their house to eat and he wasn’t in a hurry to leave. Jesus isn’t just a friend to sinners: he is only the friend of sinners. He didn’t save them and then make them their friends.  He was their friend and then they experienced salvation.

• Look at the woman at the well in John 4 – a prostitute
• Look at the woman in John 8 – a prostitute.
• Look at the story of Zacchaeus  in Luke 19 – He was a lying, cheating tax collector.

And when Jesus was having dinner with a bunch of Pharisees it was the prostitute who came and washed Jesus feet with the most expensive perfume and she couldn’t stop kissing his feet.  The Pharisees didn’t greet with him a kiss. The Pharisees didn’t even wash his feet.  They didn’t recognize Jesus as a friend or even a guest. They looked at Him as someone they needed to get rid of.

Religious people wanted to kill Him and the sinners wanted to be with Him.

Sometimes we religious people  are outright rude when we interact with people. We meet a gay guy or a couple living together and think we have an obligation to warn them what God thinks about their sexuality on our first meeting. We are often harsher judges than God himself. The evil in others arouses our righteous anger, so we put on our robes and pound our gavels without ever taking the time to hear their stories.

If you look at the stories of Jesus and the people he interacted with – he didn’t concentrate on their sin and how bad they were. He concentrated on loving them, showing them mercy. Showing them grace.  He sat around their table and listen to their stories. His desire to be with sinners is amazing – but what is even more amazing is that sinners desired to be with Him.

There is a reason why people reject Jesus’ friendship.

1. We tend to keep them focused on their sin and not the Savior. In fact we can’t get past it many times. People do the things they do for a reason. If we would simply take the time a listen to their story we would find out that they are not much different from many believers we know.

It is simple as what I told Zack last Wednesday night. I told him that Jesus loves him and wants to have a relationship with him. But I first listen to his story. I first became his friend.

2. We tend to make sinful people are enemies and not our friend – sin is our enemy. And since we  have all fallen short of the glory of God who are we to put on the robe and pound the gavel.

3. We tend to condemn rather than encourage. When it comes to sin the only who has the right to condemn others is Jesus. God is asking to take off our robe and put down our gavel and be their friend.

When you look at the stories of Jesus – he refused to condemn. Most of us are familiar with John 3:16  but not to many people are familiar with John 3:17.

John 3:17 says this:  (NIV)

¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

If you remember God tried to condemn the world once. It was so full of evil and so full of hate and so full of sin that he destroyed it by a flood. Instead of condemning it again – He wants to save it.

Jesus refused to condemn others.  Jesus became their friend.

• Romans 5:10  (NLT)

¹⁰ For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.

• John 15:15  (NLT)

¹⁵ I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.

Only the true friend would give His life for you. Jesus is the true friend.  He is the truest friend you will ever have. Friends hurt you, disappoint you, and usually never do what you want to them to do. While you and I were yet sinners – He wanted to be our friend.  He wanted us to experience His unconditional love.

We make a lot of assumptions. Like the Pharisees we look on them like scum. O we may not call them scum but are actions and attitudes communicate that they are scum.

• We assume that they are really obstinate to Jesus the Savior and that they want nothing to do with Him
• We assume that sinners think sin is fun and God is boring.
• We assume that sinners are far from God.

The reality is they might be closer to Jesus than religious people.

Matthew 21:31&32  reminds us  (Jesus is talking to religious people)

“I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do. ³² For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins.

No sinner is irreparable or irredeemable. No sin is so great that the blood of Jesus cannot cover it. His love  is so deep and wide that he can, in one moment of faith, forgive our past, present, and future sins. Sin is not a problem for God. He has a way of escape.

Why aren’t people more attracted to Jesus?

They haven’t experienced the true Jesus.  The True Friend.  The Jesus of the Bible.

We spend a lot of time trying to attract sinners to Jesus. The real issue is, are you attracted to the sinner you are trying to attract?

I am convinced that the people of Marion, your friends, your colleagues, would like to know the Jesus we know. Most of what people have heard about a Jesus is that he is one who glares down from the ceiling of cathedrals, He is a good man, a good religious teacher.

But do they know that Jesus is not mad at them?

Do they know He is a friend of sinners?

Do they know they that He lived on the earth and understands  what they are going through?

Do they know He wants to help them not hurt them?

When was the last time we asked someone, “Hey, can I pray for you?”