Life of Christ 127
Christ's life was marked
by compassion and mercy. As such, He drew people in need of those
characteristics to Him like moths to an open flame. They hungered for those
things to be poured out on them, and consequently this meant that, at various
times, there were a number of disreputable types around Him. Of course, this
provided ammunition for the Pharisees' attacks on Him. After all, why in the
world would the so-called Messiah hang around with such people?
Jesus' response to this attack is found in Luke 15,
and is composed of three stories. The first story is of a shepherd with 100
sheep. If the shepherd loses one of them He goes after it until He finds it.
The second story is of a woman with 10 pieces of silver. If she loses one of
them she searches diligently until she finds it. The third story is the world
famous one about the prodigal son. While still a young man, he demands his
inheritance. Receiving it, he promptly runs away and wastes it on a party
lifestyle. In extreme want he goes back home, and finds that his father
welcomes him with open arms.
In these three stories Jesus is clearly trying to get
across to the Pharisees that they ought to be receptive of sinners, indeed,
that they ought to pursue sinners, and that they ought to rejoice when those
sinners are found. These stories are familiar to us so today, instead of
devoting space to explaining the story, I am going to take the space to
emphasize three lessons from these stories.
First, a pursuit of religious purity that is not
accompanied, at the same time, by a pursuit of sinners will eventually become
pharisaical. The Pharisees were committed to a pursuit of religious purity.
They were zealous about the most minor of things. However, there was in them no
concern for the lost and dying world around them. There was in them no
compassion for those outside the truth. And this fashioned their religion into
a hard, cold, demanding, impatient, harsh system. No one could possibly measure
up to their demands, and they did not see any problem with that.
Christians that are carnal, fleshly, and worldly, and
who combine with that no desire to share Christ with the lost are in bad shape,
but they are not necessarily dangerous to the health of a church or a religious
movement. This is because such Christians do not greatly influence a church
simply because they just do not care about church very much. On the other hand,
Christians who are sincere, knowledgeable, and committed to following the Bible
carefully, who combine those graces with a lack of compassion for and time
spent going after sinners are incredibly dangerous. They inevitably turn into
sour, harsh, controlling, unkind, uncharitable, unmerciful, critical people. No
one else is ever as right or as good as them. No one else in the same spiritual
class. No one else is as close to God as they are – in the legend that is their
own mind.
May God deliver us from such people and such churches!
Let us continue our passionate pursuit of religious purity. Let us continue our
commitment to follow the Word of God painstakingly. But let us always be after
sinners with the good news of Calvary and the empty tomb – or else we will
become the Pharisees we so routinely disrespect.
Second, the reaction on our part when sinners come to
Christ ought to be joy. The Pharisees were mad that the sinners around Christ
wanted mercy. Edersheim, in his wonderful book on the life of Christ, literally
quotes extant Talmudic writings of Jesus' contemporaries as saying, 'There is
joy in heaven when those who provoke Him perish from the world.' To combat that
He explicitly included the idea of joy in each of the three stories He told
(Luke 15.5, 6, 9, 10, 32). There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repents.
Sometimes those sinners are poor and unclean and they
do not smell very well, but they want the mercy of Christ. Sometimes those
sinners are loud and aggressive and they do not behave very well, but they want
the mercy of Christ. Sometimes those sinners, deeply scarred by sin, have
mental and emotional baggage, but they want the mercy of Christ. They do not
look like church people, dress like church people, sound like church people, or
act like church people, but they want the mercy of Christ. We ought to be glad
that they do.
Third, we are not to wait for them to come to us; we
are to go after them. If I could pick one thing to get across to the majority
of Christians I have known in my life it is that we must be after people with
the Gospel. 'What man of you, having a 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 15.4). We are to be hard at work taking the
Gospel to sinners where they are.
How foolish would it be for a fellow to call off of
work, pack his lunch and his gear, tow his boat to the lake, launch it, jump
in, find a good spot, and then sit there and wait for the fish to jump into his
boat. How foolish would it be for a telemarketer to drive to work, clock in,
put his headphones on, adjust his script, and then sit there and wait for
someone to call him. How foolish would it be for a fireman to tune the engine,
polish the paint, coil the hoses, practice sliding down the pole, and then sit
there and wait for someone to drag a burning home over to his firehouse. How
foolish would it be for a Christian to go to church, study His Bible, pray for
the sick, put his check in the offering plate, and then sit there and wait for
the lost to show up and ask how to get saved.
Many a Christian of my experience will nod their head
knowingly at this, and verbalize their agreement – right before they offer up
the excuse for why they themselves cannot participate in such evangelism.
'I don't know how.' Then learn.
'I just don't have time. I'm sorry.' Then rearrange
your priorities.
'I'm scared of what people will think of me.' Then
appropriate the power of God.
'I don't want to offend people.' They are already
headed to hell now. Where are you going to run them off to, hell number two?
'Building a church doesn't work this way anymore.' So?
Who said that was the point?
'Witnessing just isn't my gift.' I agree; it is not a
gift. It is a command.
'This is the pastor's (insert any other position here)
job.' Nope. It is your job.
'People cannot get saved in one quick conversation.
All that leads to is false conversions.' Tell that to the woman at the well and
the thief on the cross.
'I have a different ministry.' Soul winning is not a
ministry. It is a command.
'Well, I've seen sloppy soul winners in the past, and
they just didn't do it right.' Then do it right.
The simple truth is that the entire point Jesus was
trying to get across in Luke 15 is that we are supposed to be after sinners
with the Gospel, and that we ought to be happy when they respond. If you cannot
remember the last time you witnessed to someone then tell someone about Christ
today.
After all, somebody told you.
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