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“Eating
With Sinners”
a sermon by
Thomas L. Jenkins
Text: Matthew 9: 9-13, 18-26
“And
as he sat at dinner* in the
house, many tax-collectors and sinners came and were sitting*
with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to
his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax-collectors and
sinners?”
Dear Sisters and Brothers, we are, at this time, being shown a very
important characteristic of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
And as we look into this, let’s remember the Bible’s witness
that our Lord is same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
This true story in Matthew’s Gospel shares with us Christ’s
personal interactions with the religious self-righteous, and the ones
they called sinners. Our
Lord is doing the same today.
Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.
Mary and Joseph were married, and I believe that as they were
raising him, especially Mary, they were teaching him that he is the Son
of God. One time when Jesus
was about 12 years old, his parents found him in a Jewish temple asking
the religious leaders about God, whom he referred as his Father.
When Jesus was turning about 30 years old, he was baptized by John the
Baptist. When Jesus was
walking out of the water, he looked up, saw the heavens open and the
Holy Spirit coming to him. Then
he heard, “This is my Son, the
Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Soon after this Jesus was
tempted by Satan for more than a month.
He never gave in to the devil, and never disobeyed his Father.
I know this was a pretty long story describing Jesus’ entry into his
ministry. But it describes
pretty well who Jesus is, as he begins one of the most important parts
of his ministry, personally being friends with those whom the Pharisees
labeled as sinners.
Jesus loves real normal people. I’ve
heard many people say to me, over the years, “I would come to church
if I could already straighten up my life.” Something is telling them that they must be at some level of
self-righteousness before they are welcome at church.
But, that is not Christ telling them that message.
There really is a difference between religion and true Christianity.
Any religion is based on the foundation that its rules, its
programs, its authorities, and its beliefs will make you a better person
and more closely right with God.
True Christianity is the Word of God telling us that we have already
become a better person and have been made right with God. The Tom
Jenkins whom you are seeing is not the totally new and converted Tom
Jenkins who is already hidden in Christ with God. That is also your
truth. And what the real
Christian faith is about is God revealing to us what God has already
done for us and to us in Jesus Christ; not what we have to do to make
God accept us.
When Jesus hears the Pharisees asking his disciples why he is eating
with tax-collectors and sinners, after he gives an illustration of a
doctor helping the sick, then he points to the truth that mercy is more
important to God than self sacrifice. Sharing the wonderful truth of
God’s Word with unsuccessful people is what pleases God, not religious
self-righteousness.
If someone walked into a bar, sat down at the bar, and told the person
sitting beside him, “My life has fallen apart. I have been fired from my job, and my wife wants to divorce
me.” The guy hearing him
would put his arm around his shoulders, look into his eyes and say,
“Man, in some way, this will work out for you.”
That is mercy and caring. And
I think we, as a congregation are like that.
If someone shares with us their troubles, we embrace them, and
share with them that they are not alone. Christ is with them, already in
their hearts, and presently praying to God the Father for them.
A religion oriented institution would tell them that God is applying his
wrath upon them because of their wicked unrighteousness, and then to
earn God’s forgiveness and acceptance, they would have to learn and
obey the institutions rites and rules.
Yes Jesus is eating with the people whom the religious Pharisees call
sinners. And as a medical
doctor wonderfully serves her patients, Jesus is serving us. But, his service is quite different. He does not diagnose the patient’s situation and apply a
medication that will cause healing.
Doctor Jesus actually becomes the patient, takes on the patients
suffering, experiences death for the patient, and then raises the
patient to a new life that will never suffer or end; but be loved by God
the Father for ever.
All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, especially the
religiously self-righteous. And
coming to understand the freedom we already have in Christ-not freedom
to sin-will bring us criticisms from the religious styles.
But still, our most wonderful truth is that our Lord is the same now as
he was back then. Christ is eating with us. He is having fun with us.
He loves our family and friends with us. He even suffers with us.
He is God’s Word to us. Our
Lord, Jesus Christ is always with us and in us.
Let us pray…
Amen.
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