Jesus Receives Sinners
Pastors Rodney & Adonica Howard-BrownePublish date: 09/15/2024
Foundation Scriptures:
Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” Luke 15:1-3 NKJV
1. God Reaching Down to Man.
a. Jesus was God—the only begotten Son of God.
b. He is the eternal God—and was with God in the beginning and present at creation.
c. God created ALL things BY Him and FOR Him, and BY Him ALL things were made—things visible and invisible.
d. Nothing was made without Him—creation, the worlds, things in Heaven and things in the earth, the ages, thrones, dominions, principalities, or powers.
e. (John 1:1; Eph. 3:9; Col. 1:15-18; Heb. 1:1-2)
f. He is high and holy and pure and sinless.
g. And yet, He condescended to come down among us, descending from His throne on high, to be one of us; to share our human experience, to die in our place, and to save us from sin and death.
h. He was equal with God—essentially one with God and in the form of God.
i. And yet He made Himself of no reputation—stripped Himself of all privileges and rightful dignity—to assume the guise of a servant (Philippians 2:6-8).
j. He became like man and was born a man.
k. He humbled Himself still further and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
l. Romans 5:6 NKJV –– For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
2. Publicans and Sinners.
a. Matthew 9:9-13 NKJV –– As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him. 10 Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
b. The religious Pharisees were quick to judge others and look down on those they considered inferior.
c. Publicans and sinners were often mentioned together—and the religious Jews had nothing to do with them.
d. The publicans—tax collectors—were despised by the Jews and considered to be lower than the lowest class of the religious Jews.
e. The sinners were Jews who lived in open sin, making no profession of religion.
f. The Gentiles were automatically classed as sinners, too.
g. The Jews believed that God would not hear the sinner’s prayers (Jn. 9:31).
h. The New Testament teaches us that ALL men, without Christ, are classed as sinners (Rom. 3:19-23; 5:12-21).
3. He Loves Us Unconditionally.
a. He loved us first—even when we were unlovable, having no value or worth (1Jn. 4:10).
b. Romans 5:7-8 NKJV –– For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
c. He came to seek and to save that which is lost and hopeless (Lk. 19:10).
d. He receives the prodigal with open arms (Luke 15:11-32).
e. He forgives the repentant prostitute willingly and unconditionally (Luke 7:37-50).
f. He forgives the humble publican, crying out for mercy (Luke 18:10-14).
4. He Receives Us.
a. The religious leaders were scandalized by the fact that Jesus received sinners—He went to their houses, sat with them and ate with them.
b. Jesus receives sinners—not, however, that they may remain sinners.
c. He picks all of them up from the trash heap of life and sets them on their feet.
d. He receives them, pardons their sins, washes them clean, and justifies them.
e. He cleanses their hearts by His Holy Word, fills them with His Holy Spirit, and enables them to have communion with Him and to show forth His praise.
f. Romans 5:9-11 NKJV –– Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
g. None are so precious to Him as those for whom He gave His life.
h. He redeems them from death and wears them as His precious jewels, His peculiar treasure—and none shall pluck them from His hand (Mal. 3:17; Titus 2:14; 1 Pet. 2:9; Jn. 10:28-29).
5. Mercy and Compassion.
a. I desire mercy and not sacrifice (Hos. 6:6).
b. I will have mercy and not sacrifice (Mt. 9:13; 12:7).
c. God is merciful to all who come humbly to Him—He will forgive, save, and redeem.
d. He requires that we, who have received mercy, show mercy to others.
e. Resist the temptation to be self-righteous or think of yourself more highly than you ought.
f. Do not look down on people but rather see them through Jesus’ eyes—eyes of mercy and compassion.
g. Jesus declared that there are no greater commandments than these: to love God with all your soul, mind, and strength; and to love your neighbor as yourself (Mk. 12:30-31).
h. The scribe had the right idea when he gave this response to Jesus: “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices” (Mk. 12:32-33 NKJV).