Saving Sinners I. Base Text: Matthew 9:10-13 / Mark 2:15-17 / Luke 5:29-32 II. Understanding the Story A. Context 1. Matthew 9:9 / Mark 2:13-14 / Luke 5:27-28 2. Jesus has just called Matthew/Levi, the tax collector 3. Matthew leaves everything to follow Him 4. Yet first has a feast, invites other tax collectors, those who would associate with tax collectors B. Tax collectors: universally hated people 1. Workers for Herod Antipas and the Roman state 2. Representation of the oppressive, ungodly power among the people 3. It was bad enough that they "sold out" to the Roman power 4. Yet, on top of that, their salary was whatever they obtained from the people beyond the demands of the Romans-- thus, whatever they could extort, they could get! C. According to the religious authorities, Jesus' conduct was scandalous 1. Hence their question-- what is He doing eating with sinners? 2. Prevalent belief was that to be holy you had to be separate from sinners 3. These people were especially sinful, too! D. Jesus' answer as radical as His conduct seemed scandalous 1. Imagery of physical sickness: those who need a physician are those who are sick, not well 2. Jesus as Physician 3. Quotation of Hosea 6:6, itself similar to Proverbs 21:3, Micah 6:6-8 4. Declaration: Jesus did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance E. Much can be gained from this story III. Applications of the Story A. The Sinners 1. The "sinners" in society heard Jesus and followed Him (Mark 2:15) 2. Whereas other religious figures in society would not give them the time of day, Jesus would 3. Why? 4. Illustrated in parable of two sons in Matthew 21:28-32 5. Jesus does not deny that they are sinners or that they need to change 6. But it is the sinners who know that they are sinners, who know they are in need of a Savior, and thus are willing to listen to Jesus 7. Jesus knows that sinners sin-- He is trying to show them how to live so as to live for God and not for sin (cf. Luke 19:-19)! 8. How do we treat "sinners"? Do we understand that sinners sin? Would they hear Jesus speaking through us in how we speak with them (cf. Romans 8:29)? B. The "Righteous" -- Unbelievers 1. Part of the power behind this story is how Jesus says that He does not come to call the "righteous," but sinners (Matthew 9:13) 2. It is not as if there really are any "righteous" a. Romans 3:1-23, 1 John 1:8, 10 b. All have sinned, all fall short of God's glory c. Therefore, before God, none are really righteous 3. Yet that does not stop many from thinking that they are righteous! 4. Many such people either do not believe in God or act as if there is no God 5. The "gospel of prosperity" is more popular than many might think a. If we have our material needs met, and things are going well, it is easy to think that all is well b. There is no need for God in such a circumstance, it is imagined or said c. If things are fine, we think ourselves healthy, righteous 6. Many tell themselves that they are "good people," and many in society believe that "good people" will be saved a. Too many think of life in terms of a balance, as if "good deeds" can outweigh "bad deeds" and thus they will be fine, for their good deeds always outweigh the bad b. Furthermore, people define themselves as "good" by what they avoid doing-- sexual immorality, lying, cheating, stealing, etc.-- even if they are not actually showing love and compassion to others (cf. James 4:17) 7. Yet this is not how things work! 8. Prosperity is not necessarily an indicator of health-- it rains on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45) 9. It is not as if good deeds can outweigh bad deeds-- if our standard is a law or some guideline of conduct, one infraction is sufficient for condemnation (cf. Romans 3:1-20, James 2:8-13) a. It is as our law: if someone is charged with stealing, or lying, their defense cannot be that they have not violated any other law b. A transgressor is a transgressor, no matter how "slight" or how "terrible" the nature of the infraction! 10. Thus, the "healthy" or "righteous" are really self-deceived 11. As long as they remain self-deceived, Jesus can do nothing for them! C. The "Righteous" -- Religious People 1. When Jesus makes the declaration about the sinners and the righteous, there are no unbelievers present 2. Instead, He is speaking to the Pharisees and scribes-- the religious authorities! 3. They are the ones who asked the question to begin with, for in their estimation, Jesus' claims are not matching up to what He is doing! 4. They focus on all of the exhortations to holiness and believe themselves to have a holiness of their own (e.g. Luke 18:10-12) 5. They believe themselves to be separate from the "nasty sinners" by their birth, pedigree, and religious standing among the people (Matthew 23:1-4, John 9:28-29, 34) 6. While Jesus shows great mercy to sinners, He shows less to these religious authorities, for they are "healthy" and "righteous" in their own sight, and thus there is nothing He can do for them in that condition (e.g. Matthew 23)! 7. They have misunderstood God’s imperative for holiness and righteousness in conduct a. Yes, God wants believers to be holy as He is holy (Leviticus 11:44) b. But holiness and righteousness is not an excuse to act arrogantly or presumptuously! c. Hence the quotation of Hosea 6:6-- God desires mercy, not sacrifice d. Same sentiment in Matthew 23:23-24: it is good to follow God's laws, but it is worthless if it is not accompanied by a godly disposition and attitude! 8. This is what the Pharisees and scribes must learn-- that God wants mercy, not sacrifice! 9. This is something that Christians today must also remember 10. No matter how "holy" we become, we are always sinners 11. Consider Ephesians 2:1-22, Titus 3:3-8 12. Paul reminds believers that they were in sin and redeemed from it 13. An attitude that is not to change-- 1 Timothy 1:12-17 14. 1 John 1:8, Romans 3:23-- still have sin, still fall short of God's glory 15. If we ever think ourselves as having our own righteousness, Jesus can no longer do anything for us! IV. The Right Spirit A. We must take this lesson to heart: Jesus saves sinners B. If we want to be saved, we must confess that we are sinners 1. As Paul says in Ephesians 2 and Titus 3, we were lost in sin 2. Paul still considered himself the chief of sinners after 30 or so years as a Christian in 1 Timothy 1! C. As sinners, we must understand that we cannot save ourselves or be justified by our own merits 1. "Faith only" goes too far, but "works salvation" is no better! 2. Without God's love, grace, and mercy, we are nothing (Romans 5:6-11, 8:1-8) 3. It is tempting to think that we are saving ourselves by our obedience once we have come to faith in Christ 4. Yet our own righteousness is as bloody rags, even as believers (Isaiah 64:6, Philippians 3:9) 5. It is our obedience in Christ that counts for anything, not attempting to earn salvation, but repenting-- changing our hearts and minds based on what Christ has done for us, seeking to be like Christ, empowered by Christ (Matthew 9:13, Romans 8:29, Philippians 4:13) 6. We are not made righteous by anything we can do-- we are made righteous through our dependence on Christ, from the cleansing from His blood (Romans 3:24, Ephesians 5:25-27) D. We must remember that we are what we are in Christ, and we treat others because of how Christ saved us 1. We are to remain humble because we received what we did not deserve, and Christ humbled Himself for us (Matthew 20:25-28) 2. We must love others because God in Christ loved us (1 John 4:8-11) 3. We must show mercy and compassion to others, even when they do not deserve it, because God showed it to us, even when we did not deserve it (Romans 5:6-11) 4. We must not look down on others, since Christ was not willing to look down on us but to save us (Matthew 7:1-4, James 4:11-12) 5. We help others in need, even if they do not deserve it, because Christ helped us in need when we did not deserve it (Galatians 2:10) E. We are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), and we must be eternally thankful to God! V. Conclusion A. Our Lord ate and drank with sinners to work to save sinners B. Controversial then, controversial now! C. Let us understand that Jesus saves sinners, and can do nothing for the "righteous" D. Let us confess our sinfulness and our complete dependence on God's love, grace, and mercy for our hope! E. Invitation/songbook