Jesus Christ, the Friend of Sinners
The following message has been summarized from the live recording. You can listen to the entire message by clicking the image above.
“Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?”- Luke 15:1-4
If we're being honest, there are some people the world has already given up on. Their names are whispered in disappointment. Their past is brought up every time their future is discussed. Their failures are remembered longer than their tears.
The fact of the matter is, in every city, in every town, in every village, in this country where we live, there are people who feel too dirty to come to church. They feel too ashamed to pray. They feel too far gone to be changed. Yet when we open our Bibles to Luke 15, we discover a stunning truth: the very people respectable religion pushed away are the very people who are drawn to Jesus.
If you feel that you're rejected by conventional church, I want to tell you this morning that Jesus is awaiting your visit with him today. That's the great joy I have as a pastor in bringing this message.
Our text says in Luke 15:1-2, "Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them." Their mouths were full of accusation, but in heaven it was a declaration of glory: the Son of God has come to redeem sinners.
Sinners ought to feel hope in the church house. Sinners ought to sense hope in the presence of a Christian. I want to say this as we begin: thank God that there's a Savior who does not merely tolerate the lost, he receives them. He is not contaminated by sinners; he is compassionate toward sinners. He is holy enough to confront their sin, but gracious enough, as one song puts it, to call them home.
Luke 15 isn't just a chapter about things that are lost. It's about the heart of God toward the lost. As we'll see, the shepherd goes after the sheep, the woman searches for the coin, and the father runs to meet the erring son, and heaven rejoices every single time repentance takes place.
If you're lost and you don't have a relationship with God, there is hope for you in the person of Jesus Christ. And if you are saved, dear Christian, there's also a message for you: there is a fire within our text meant to stir our souls for evangelism. The same Jesus who received sinners then is still the same Jesus who receives sinners today.
Notice with me in Luke 15: the Bible says in verse one, "Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him." Why did they come? They weren't welcome in the synagogues or the temple. Why did they come out to hear Jesus? Because he preached the message they needed. That's the reason why.
Look at Luke 15:2. Jesus is receiving publicans and sinners, and the Pharisees and scribes, two prominent religious groups of the day, murmured, that means they muttered under their breath. This man receives sinners. Can you believe it? And he even eats with them. Doesn't he know how dirty they are? Can't he see how filthy she is? Hasn't he heard the rumors? Doesn't he know that he is marked never to be in the temple again? And yet this man, Jesus, receives them and eats with them.
Today we're going to talk about Jesus Christ, the friend of sinners. In the opening verses of our text, and in the three parables that follow throughout Luke 15, the Lord Jesus shows us that the friend of sinners offers hope to the lost, and a pattern for an evangelistic heart.
Thought One: The Lost Were Drawn to the Hope That Jesus Offered
Look at Luke 15:1: it says so plainly, "Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him." Why did the crowds come to Jesus? Was it because the disciples ran a great marketing campaign? No. I understand the need for that kind of thing; this is a big city, and you don't always have the opportunity to make a personal contact, and you try to reach people. I'm not downplaying that. But I'm going to tell you something: I believe the worst of the worst were changed by Jesus Christ, and then they said, "You're not going to believe this, he had grace for me. He offered forgiveness for me." I believe those individuals reached out to their friends and brought them to hear about Jesus. And I guarantee you there would have been some pushback, because some of those friends probably said, "Well, he doesn't know what I've done. He doesn't know what I look like. He doesn't know all the stories." And I guarantee you those friends said, "It doesn't matter. Come and hear what he has to say." And they came, and they saw, and they heard, and they witnessed the miracles, and many lives were changed because of the message Jesus preached.
The lost were drawn to the hope that Jesus offered. It says in verse one that publicans and sinners drew near to hear him. Broken people came because they sensed that Jesus wasn't only exposing sin, he was offering mercy. It's a marvelous thing when hopeless people believe there's a word that can change their lives. And the church has such a word, if we would just get our preconceived notions out of the way, if we would remove the prejudices, if we would all remember that we were once sinners who were undone. We are all born sinners. We are all born in the same boat.
But I've got to be honest with you: one of my favorite places to preach is Baptist churches, because there are many religious people in Baptist churches. And I want to say today, it doesn't matter if you wear a suit and tie or a dress. It doesn't matter if you've got a King James Bible. It doesn't matter how good you can sing. If you've never seen yourself as a sinner, you're not going to heaven. That's the truth of the matter.
So I'm saying that for those who feel like they don't match a dress code, or maybe they're not good enough: no. I come from your neck of the woods. I'm that alley dog. I'm that kid who grew up on a reserve with a battered mom in a broken home, a kid nobody wanted, until I walked into a church at the age of fifteen with dyed hair, earrings, a pack of cigarettes in my pocket, and a bottle of whiskey. I showed up to church like that. Now, I don't have whiskey in my pocket anymore, just in case you're wondering, because when Jesus saves you, you learn to put the bottle down. And there's a different kind of smoke in my life now, I hope it's the smoke of God.
But listen: I had a man in that church named John Deoxenov who loved me, and I felt love for the first time in my life. I had friends who came to church with me who asked me a question: if you were to die today, do you know if you'd go to heaven? I didn't even know that was possible. Then someone took the word of God and showed me that it was possible, and Jesus Christ changed my life. I've never been the same since.
These sinners needed to hear a message of hope. Luke 15:1 describes who was there: the publicans and sinners. Publicans were the tax collectors of Jesus's day, and how many of you like paying taxes? We really have no idea what taxation is like today. In those days, the Romans hired Jewish people to tax their own people, and on top of that, they charged extra taxes to line their own pockets. People said, "We don't like these people already." But can I ask you a question? What sins have you done? What sins are you guilty of? It doesn't matter if you're a tax collector, a street walker, or a religious hypocrite, it doesn't matter. We are all sinners. Sinners with ruined reputations. Sinners who were lost, but who now had the opportunity to hear a message of grace from Jesus Christ.
But the murmuring Pharisees and scribes in Luke 15:2 reveal the difference between them and Jesus. The Pharisees saw a social problem: we don't want people like this in our worship services. But the Lord Jesus Christ saw souls. The Pharisees saw contamination; the Lord Jesus Christ saw a harvest.
Thank God that the Lord Jesus Christ is the kind of Savior before whom the worst can come and hear. He saves us to the uttermost. He takes some of us from the gutter to glory, aren't you grateful for that? That's the Jesus we're talking about. I love that I am no longer religious, I have a relationship with him. I tried religion, and it failed. But I trusted Jesus, and he never fails. That's the one I'm talking about today. That's the Jesus we speak of today.
Cornerstone Baptist Church, can I remind you of this? A lighthouse does not wait for ships to clean themselves before they can come near. It shines in the darkness, because lost sailors need direction before they can ever reach the shore. In the exact same way, Jesus Christ shines grace into dark lives so that sinners can find their way home.
If you are a sinner here today, don't let the devil convince you that you cannot be saved, because Jesus died for you. That's right. Jesus Christ is the perfect Lamb of God. He who knew no sin became sin for you and me.
Here's one of the greatest thoughts I could ever think in my life. This is powerful. Picture this: all the worst sin you've ever done in your life. Here's what Jesus Christ did. He says, "I want to make a deal with you. I want to give you all of my righteousness for all of your sin." So that when the Father looks at Jesus Christ, he looks at him as having all the worst we've ever done, and now he looks at the redeemed as those who've never done anything wrong. What a marvelous thing.
When I heard that, I thought, when I went to church, do I have to rub the beads? Do I get to raise holy hands? Do I have to do all these different things? What do I have to do to get to heaven? And the message was: trust Jesus. Well, why should I trust him? Because he was not a sinner like you and me. He was born of a virgin, and he died for you, and he died for me. And if you'll place your full trust in what he did for you, you will be redeemed.
You say, "I have no faith at all." Every single one of you has faith. I use this illustration all the time, because I can't think of a better one. You say, "How do you know that we have faith?" You're sitting in that chair, and I haven't seen anybody collapse and fall to the ground yet. I guarantee you, I can sit my full weight on one of those chairs, and I tested it this morning, and I didn't fall. Because you know why? I trusted the chair to do what it's designed to do. And Jesus Christ can save, if you'll trust him, if you'll place your full confidence in what he did for you.
Thought Two: Jesus Christ Received Sinners, Offering Compassion
Look at Luke 15:2 again: "And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them." They meant those words as criticism. But what they despised is exactly what makes the gospel good news. The word receiveth means to welcome, to admit, to take in. Jesus said, "Welcome here. How can I help you?"
Are you kidding me? Why would you want to help me? Because you're the reason I came. Because you're the reason I'm going to the cross. That's why. Because I love you. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
You're the reason I came. As I look at this, you're the reason he came. That's the reason why we can rejoice. That's the reason why we sing the hymn "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." That reminds me of an old song about a carpenter who's building us a home. There are mansions prepared for us already, God had you in mind when he built them. It's time for your homecoming today. It's time to come to Jesus today. It's time to be born again today. It's time to make that trade with God: you bring your sin, he'll give you his righteousness. That's what he's offering today. That's why I love preaching the gospel.
Jesus didn't endorse sin, but he opened the door of grace to sinners who came to him. The Lord's table fellowship showed acceptance without compromise. He wasn't becoming like those publicans and sinners, he was calling them out of their sin into fellowship with him. This is the difference between dead religion and living redemption. Religion says, clean up, then come. Jesus says, "Come, and I will make you clean." Maybe your marriage is falling apart, he can fix it. Maybe you're caught in addiction, he can take it away, because Jesus is the Savior. He is the one who delivers from sin. That's the message we preach. That's why we're here today: because we want to tell people about Jesus.
A hospital is not dishonored because sick people enter its doors. Its purpose is proved by the very presence of those who need healing. Likewise, Jesus Christ's greatness is seen in this: that ruined sinners may come to him and find mercy.
May we never get over the fact, dear Christians, that Jesus received us. I don't want Cornerstone Baptist Church to become a cold museum for the polished. There are churches content with that, I'm not. Resist that. Fight against that. When that spirit begins to creep in, pray it out. May Cornerstone Baptist Church remain a rescue mission for the perishing.
I had the privilege of being at a wedding recently, held in a building surrounded by low-income housing. All the host pastor could talk about was that housing. He said, "Can you imagine if we could send buses here?" And I said, I am leaving Cold Lake, and I'm starting a bus ministry. I'm going to buy a house in a low-income neighborhood, sorry, baby, I'm just letting you know right now. I'm buying a low-income house, and I'm going to become a soul winner there. He sold the vision, and I bought it. You might wonder why he talks about that, does he just want the biggest church in Edmonton? No. He just wants to help people. I just want to help people.
You know what I've discovered? Those who are saved from deep sin, when they're redeemed, enjoy serving the Savior. In our church, we've got ex-Hell's Angels. We've got people who used to beat people up and collect money. That's how we get our tithing, no, I'm just joking, we don't do that anymore. If offerings dip any lower, I might be tempted to bring that back. Just joking. We don't do that. I'm not ashamed of anybody who comes to our church.
I met one of the guys who recently started coming to our church. We had a fire in our backyard, and some of the ladies from church were there fellowshipping with my wife and me. This guy comes down the back lane, sees me, and says, "Who in the [expletive] are you?" I said, "I pastor Lakeside Baptist Church." He said, "Oh, sorry for my language, preacher." I said, "I understand. What are you doing?" He said, "I'm looking for criminals, people breaking into houses. Preacher, do you mind helping me find them and beat them up?" And I thought for a second, yeah, I wouldn't mind doing that, because I like justice. Then I thought, I'm a pastor, and there are enough rumors going around about me already, I don't need that right now.
But he comes to church every Sunday, every Sunday night, every Wednesday Bible institute. Why? Because we're teaching him and his wife how to have a better life. You mean you let a sinner come to Bible college? I know, revolutionary. Don't you have a strict admittance program? I do. It's called mercy welcomes you. It's called grace is extended to you. That's what it's called. I love Jesus.
Jesus Christ received sinners, offering compassion. That's why they came and heard him.
Thought Three: Jesus Befriended the Lost in Every Condition
We've looked at the opening accusation in Luke 15:1-2. Now we see three mighty pictures in Luke 15 that show us the heart of Jesus toward the lost.
Maybe you're thinking, this sounds too good to be true. What about me? Oh, he thought of you. He thought of you.
The Lost Sheep
Consider Luke 15:3-7, the parable of the lost sheep, which teaches us that Jesus seeks the wandering sinner. Sheep aren't smart animals, I know this church likes to eat lamb, and that's about the only offense I have with this church! I'm an honest pastor: I don't believe in eating what I pastor. I have a hard problem with that. When pastors eat sheep, I think, is there something psychologically wrong with you? You say, "Well, don't you have mint jelly?" I can't imagine that adding mint jelly makes it any better. I just can't do that.
Sheep need a shepherd to look after them. You say, "I'm lost, there's nobody to care for me." Oh, there's the Great Shepherd of the sheep, and he's searching for you this very hour. You say, "Really?" Oh, yes, he'll leave the ninety-nine behind and go looking for you on the dark mountain. Looking for you. Looking for you to come back home. That's what Jesus Christ is doing.
That's why Jesus tells this story: every shepherd's reputation was on the line if he lost a sheep, and Jesus will not lose one. He says, "I want you back. I am searching for you. Why don't you come back to the fold?" Luke 15:4 says, "What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?" Here's hope for the drifter. Here's hope for the wanderer, the one who has strayed far from the truth. Jesus says, "Come home. Come home."
The Lost Coin
Then we see the parable of the lost coin in Luke 15:8-10, teaching us something important. Jesus used practical illustrations, he looked at common people, at shepherds who were despised by the world, and he thought of the women who had the responsibility of managing the family's money. He highlights the parable of the lost coin, which teaches us the value of the helpless sinner. The coin is not merely wandering, friends, in this parable, it is lifeless. It's unable to move. It's unable to cry out. It's unable to recover itself. That's why the woman lights a candle, why she sweeps the house, why she seeks diligently till she finds the thing.
Luke 15:8 says it plainly: "Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?" Money is important for a family, how many of you could afford to lose a thousand dollars? It would hurt. And if you did, you'd do whatever you could to find what was lost. This is a picture of God's pursuing grace, reaching those who cannot cry out, reaching those who are lifeless, and offering hope. Maybe that's you, too weak to even talk. God knows where you're at. The Lord Jesus Christ sees you. He cares. That's the Savior we're talking about today.
The Lost Son
In Luke 15:11-24, the parable of the lost son teaches us that Jesus rejoices over the returning sinner. You know who the real prodigal is in the story? It's not the young one, it's the religious one who stayed home. That's the real prodigal.
But here's the story of the young one. He asks his father to divide the inheritance, though it wasn't the right time. He takes all that he has, liquidates it, and goes into a far country. He falls in with people who are ignorant of the ways of God and blows through his entire livelihood. And as a Jew, he's reduced to such a point that he's tempted to feed pigs just to make a living. That shows you how far this young man has gone, how lost he is. He is rebellious. He has wasted everything. He's ashamed, and he's broken.
Luke 15:16 says, "And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him." He would have taken pig food, but nobody even offered it. Then he starts thinking. Luke 15:17 says, "And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!" I know at my father's house there's food, but would he take me? Would he forgive me? Would he welcome me home? Luke 15:18-19 continues, "I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants."
He's thinking all these things. Maybe that's you today. "If they only knew me, they wouldn't let me be here." But I'm telling you something: my Heavenly Father looks up from the portal of heaven and sees you, and he's already moving in your direction, because he sees your heart's condition. And he says, "Why don't you place your full confidence in my Son, and I'll give you the robe of fellowship. I'll give you the ring of acceptance. I'll give you brand new shoes, and I will turn your rags into royalty." That's the message of Jesus. That's what Jesus offers sinners. That's what Jesus is offering you. The question is: will you, my friend, accept what Jesus is offering you?
The Elder Brother
To the religious person in this room: I was once so Baptist I was a horrible Christian. That can happen, hear me clearly, and people can criticize me for it, I don't care. I'm going for it today: denomination will not get you to heaven. I don't care how independent of a Baptist you are, that won't get you to heaven. That's right.
Some are so independent, they're independent of God. Some are so independent, like the scribes and Pharisees in this passage, that they don't even realize it: clothed in fine linen, eating sumptuously every day, looking down on sinners, thinking they're better, driving around cities like Edmonton thinking their sermons are inspired by how filthy people look. Somebody like that needs to get saved, desperately. They're religiously lost and don't realize it. That was most of Israel, by the way, religiously lost, and didn't even realize it. "Well, we have the law. We have the commandments. We've got the temple. Clearly, we're right. We've even made the rules stricter than God required, clearly, there's nothing wrong with us." But if your focus is more about rules and regulations than a relationship with God, something's missing. You say, "Pastor, what's missing?" The indwelling Holy Spirit. Because God cannot save somebody who thinks they can save themselves. He only saves broken sinners.
Look at Luke 15:28 as we wind this down. We're introduced to the older brother. Imagine this: somebody who was out of church and away from God comes in broken, and you see me say, "Man, I'm so glad you're here today." But imagine somebody else looking at that and thinking, why would he put his arms around somebody like that? Look at the clothes that person is wearing. Aren't we better than that? No. No, we're not.
I'm forty-eight years old, and nobody has ever come to my door in Canada to offer me the gospel. How did I get saved? As a young kid, I went to a thing called VBS. I just happened to stumble into it. I heard about this person named Jesus. They had cupcakes, I ate them, obviously. Look at me, I started a trend! One church offered Chinese food if you came for three Sundays, I was down for that. I got the Chinese food and skipped the message. I went to another church, praised the Lord, saw the light, did all the dancing and the jiving, and nothing changed.
I stole a vehicle at the age of ten with my stepbrother to escape an abusive home. I picked up a hitchhiker, thought it was a good idea. Went to a church that offered mustard and relish sandwiches. Bad idea. Very bad idea. We flipped that vehicle because my stepbrother fell asleep. The cops were coming. I said, "Brother, let's make a run for it." He said, "We'll never make it." We were detained, processed, and put into a foster home.
That foster family gathered around the piano and sang songs. It was the strangest thing I'd ever seen in my life. They were happy. They prayed before the meal, and they prayed for us. I was sharing a bed with my stepbrother, and I said, "Man, have you ever seen anything like this in your life?" He said, "No, but I wish I'd grown up in a home like that." Nobody would have wanted me, but I'm glad Jesus did. And if you're self-righteous and stuck-up and think you're special, Jesus will save you too.
Because that's what the story of the older brother is about. His brother comes back, and he's angry and won't go into the house. He's heard the music, heard about the dancing, the celebration. Luke 15:28 says, "And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him." His father comes out and pleads with him, that's what "intreated" means.
He answers his father, Luke 15:29, "Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends." That's a lie. And notice, in Luke 15:30, "But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf." He won't even call him "my brother," he says "this thy son."
You know what that older brother didn't realize? They're all Jews. They're all sinners. They had all broken the covenant of Almighty God. They all needed redemption, and redemption was sitting around a table. But instead of accepting it, they scoffed and mocked. Friends, Jesus saves all types of sinners. No matter where the lost are found, the grace of God can reach them.
A Fire for Evangelism
Lastly, the Lord Jesus Christ's example should produce a fire for evangelism, because in every parable in Luke 15, somebody goes after that which is lost, and they rejoice when they find it. The shepherd searches, the woman sweeps, the father watches, and heaven rejoices. This teaches us that evangelism, reaching out to the lost, is not a side ministry for unusually burdened Christians, it is the overflow of having the heart of Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ receives sinners, then all of us must go after sinners with the gospel of grace. We ought to be burdened over names and faces and neighborhoods, prodigal children, drifting church members, co-workers, classmates, souls sitting in darkness. And we shouldn't be content when people are dying without Christ around us.
The church has no business murmuring about sinners when heaven is preparing to rejoice.
So here are some questions I have to ask myself, and I'd ask you to consider them too: Who are you praying for? Who are you inviting? Who are you witnessing to? Who is your one sheep, your one coin, your one prodigal?
Luke 15 begins with a complaint, but it ends with a celebration. The Pharisees said, "This man receiveth sinners," as though they had found a fault in the Lord Jesus Christ, but they had uncovered one of the sweetest truths in all the Bible. Not only does he receive sinners, he receives the wandering sheep, he receives the lifeless coin, he receives the broken prodigal, and he even confronts the proud elder brother. The whole chapter thunders with one message: there is hope for the lost, because the heart of God is toward the lost.
The Invitation
Friend, if you're here without Christ, you've heard my story already, or perhaps you've heard the story of a friend who brought you here. Let me encourage you: don't stay in the far country. Don't keep feeding on the husks of sin. Don't sit under the tyranny of shame one more day. Come to the Father and find hope in the person of Jesus Christ. He died for your sins. He rose again, and he is mighty to save. I'm telling you this morning: come to Jesus just as you are, but do not expect to remain the same. This Savior will receive you and transform you today.
And child of God, may God burden every one of our hearts with the face of someone who is perishing, and may we make it our mission to get them to Jesus. This is what today, our friend day, is all about: we're celebrating Jesus, thankful for the family we get to mingle with, and for the friendships we're able to enjoy, and even more, for the thought that God would add to this spiritual family today. That is such a joy for me to consider.
I love that old song about heaven sounding the horn and striking up the choir because a sinner has been saved from the fire and brought out of darkness into God's family, with all of heaven rejoicing. That's the value of one.
I came here for just one today. Is that one you? I want you to know my Jesus. What a thrill it would be if today is the day God calls on you.
