Two of the surprises that we come across as we read the New Testament are the people who become close to Jesus, and the people who are alienated from Jesus. It is surprising because it is exactly the opposite of what we would expect to find. We would expect Jesus to be close to the religious folk of his day, but in fact he is in conflict with them from the outset of his ministry. We would expect Jesus to avoid the sinful rabble of the world, but in fact that is the crowd that seems most attracted to him — and he to them. The highly committed religious crowd who give a lot of money, are faithful at religious worship, work to establish a God-fearing nation, obey the moral law and expect the same from others, seem suspicious of Jesus at best, and outright hostile at worst. They dog him as he goes about his ministry, criticizing his every move. They plot against him; start false rumors; try to get him arrested, and finally accomplish his murder.
The sinful masses, whom we might expect Jesus to be turned off by, are instead the ones he seems to hang out with. He goes to their parties, and is even criticized for being a drunkard because he frequents them. And we would expect the sinners to be turned off by someone who talked about God so much, but instead they can’t stay away from him. They invite him to their homes and become his closest disciples. Those whom the religious aristocracy would have nothing to do with, are a part of Jesus’ inner circle. There are prostitutes and politicians, Roman soldiers and gentiles. Among his twelve disciples there is a revolutionary who is a part of a militia group. There is a tax collector who has betrayed his own people by working for the government which has occupied Israel. Two of the disciples were so hot tempered that he called them “Sons of Thunder.” One of his disciples was the devil incarnate. It was a ragtag bunch. Not a very impressive group by the world’s standards, and certainly not what we would have expected to see among those who were closest to the Son of God.
How do you explain the revulsion, and outright hostility of the religious people toward Jesus, and the attraction and tremendous following Jesus had among those who had serious moral and social problems? The gospels teach us many things about what it means to have a relationship with God. The first thing I learn from the gospels is: I become close to God, not when I become a good person, but when I become honest about myself. The Christian life is not a performance; it is a relationship. It is not about being good enough to be accepted by God. It is about being honest enough with yourself and God that you admit that you are not good enough, and will not ever be good enough, to earn God’s acceptance. You stop trying to be good enough and become honest about whom you really are.
I love the story of Jesus’ encounter with Peter. The Bible describes the scene this way: “One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.’ When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’” (Luke 5:1_8). Before he met Jesus, Peter was a very rough character. His language and lifestyle were not something that anyone would have called virtuous. He was domineering and sharp in his mannerisms. He was a natural leader, but it was not leadership by admiration, but the sheer force of his personality. But the one thing Peter had going for him was that he had a realistic picture of himself, and he did not try to pretend to be something he was not. He was always trying to reign in his temper. He wished his personality was not so tempestuous, because he was not the kind to purposely hurt someone. And when he was wrong he was willing to admit it and ask for forgiveness. When this brash sinner came into contact with Jesus the first thing that occurred to him was that he was an appalling sinner. He did not try to overpower Jesus with his personality. He did not try to point out his good points. He fell on his face and said, “Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man.” Something happened as a result of Peter’s encounter with Jesus: When he saw Jesus he saw himself.
What was the one thing that made it difficult for the religious leaders to come into a relationship with Jesus? They were never honest about themselves. They could never see their sins. They justified themselves. When Jesus tried to point to their need, they responded with a list of their achievements. They were not honest about their need. They became more interested in trying to find fault with the Son of God than looking inside themselves and coming clean with God.
Those who encounter God allow him to see inside of them every moment of every day. They have given up pride and perfectionism, and have embraced honesty. They become transparent. The sight is not always wonderful, but they have a relationship with God that is without pretense. They never list their acts of righteousness in their conversation with God. They may be scared and screwed up, but they allow God to see them just as they are. They would never dream of thinking they deserved a relationship with God — much less the kingdom of heaven. They are aware of their sinfulness, but at the same time they are aware of the grace of God. They have learned that there is Someone who knows the very worst about them and loves them enormously. As someone has said, “They realize that they were far worse off than they ever imagined and far more loved then they ever dreamed.”
Here is the point of contact between me and God: When I understand that with all my failures, with all of my anger, with all of my lust, with all of my dysfunctions, with all of my stupidity, I am loved by God more than I will ever be able to comprehend. I cannot come to God wearing a mask. I have to see the real me, and I have to allow him to see the real me as well. Honesty is the beginning of a great adventure with God.
The second thing I learn from the gospels is: I become close to God, not when I live by the law, but when I am ready to accept God’s grace. There is a wonderful story that Jesus tells about two men who come into the temple to pray. One is a righteous man. He has never broken any of the commandments. He read the Scriptures daily and prayed at least three times a day. The other man is a very bad person. He has broken all the commandments. His life has left a trail of sin and broken relationships. No one can tell the story better than Jesus, so let’s listen as he tells it: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’” Jesus said, “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:10_14).
What was the difference between the two men? One lived by the law, the other by grace. One was self-righteous and the other was looking for a righteousness that comes from God. Did you catch it when Jesus said, “The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself”? Some translations actually say he prayed with himself. The sinner prayed to God. He was sorry for his sin. He wanted to leave his sin. To be sure, this sinner’s prayer changed his behavior, but it was because God changed his heart. The change in him was not because he wanted to be proud of his behavior, it was because he wanted a relationship with God and desired to please him. The Bible says, “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). Paul wrote: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8_9). Those who encounter God recognize that they have been given a totally undeserved gift.
Jesus said to the religious leaders, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean” (Matthew 23:27). Why was he so hard on them? It was because they obeyed the law in order to feel good about themselves. They thought of it as making points with God. They did all the right things, but their hearts were sick and sinful. They appeared to be one thing on the outside, but were something different on the inside. They never came to the point of repentance because they could not think of anything of which they needed to repent. The sinner saw his sin, and knew that he had to turn from it. He knew that he could never enter the kingdom of heaven on his own merit, and leaned totally on the grace of God. That is why Jesus said to the religious leaders, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you” (Matthew 21:31).
What the religious Pharisee did not understand was that his sin, though hidden in his heart, was just as grievous to God. He had just as much need of the grace of God as the man who was an obvious sinner. He needed to repent every bit as much as the tax collector or prostitute. But he did not see it. He was an imposter, and as a result he was alienated from God. The sinner, sinful as he was, ravished the heart of God.
Another famous sinner in the Bible discovered this important truth. King David had committed adultery and murder. His sin was egregious. But he came face to face with his sin. He admitted it to God and leaned on God’s grace alone. He wrote: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight” (Psalm 51:1_4). And because of that prayer of honesty and humble repentance he was made right with God. He called on the grace of God and received it.
Later in the same Psalm he wrote one of the greatest truths contained in the Bible: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:17). David knew about brokenness. His life was full of broken pieces. What we need to see is that we are all broken people. We really have nothing to offer to God. The old hymn, “Rock of Ages,” says it well:
Not the labors of my hands
can fulfill thy law’s demands;
could my zeal no respite know,
could my tears for ever flow,
all for sin could not atone;
thou must save, and thou alone.
Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to the cross I cling;
naked, come to thee for dress;
helpless, look to thee for grace;
foul, I to the fountain fly;
wash me, Savior, or I die.
I come close to God when I learn about honesty and grace. But the third thing I learn from the gospels is: I become close to God, not when I am content to merely exist, but when I seek life in all its fullness. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). He also said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). I am increasingly amazed at the shallowness of the American people. It is astonishing to me that many people settle for so little in life. They want security and comfort. They want fun and pleasure. They want wealth and fame. They want freedom from any moral restraints. They live life on the surface. They never see anything but the obvious. They do not think, they only feel. They actually believe the worldview they see presented on television. But God is looking for people who want to drink deeply from life. He is offering living water, but only those who understand that there is another kind of water find it. All others merely turn on the tap in the kitchen. They live an animal existence with no spiritual dimension to their lives. They exist but they do not live. They never go beneath the surface.
There is an amazing story in the New Testament about two people who encounter Jesus, but experience him in two completely different ways. Simon is a Pharisee who invites Jesus to his home. As they are eating a meal together with Simon’s wealthy and righteous friends, a woman enters the room. She falls at Jesus’ feet and begins to weep. Everyone knows who she is. She has a reputation as a very sinful woman. But as she weeps, her tears splash on Jesus’ dusty feet and she begins to wipe his feet with her hair. She profusely caresses and kisses his feet and pours perfume on them. The guests are disgusted. It is raunchy and sensuous in their eyes. They begin to say to each other that he could not be much of a prophet, or he would know what kind of woman this was and would never allow this kind of scene. But Jesus turned to his host and said, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven — for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little” (Luke 7:44_47). Simon had not shown Jesus even the slightest courtesy, but this woman was showing Jesus passionate devotion. Simon’s sins were of a different kind, but they were just as numerous as the sinful woman — only she was aware of hers and he was oblivious to his.
Part of the reason some people never experience God is that they are too polite. Their emotions are muted. Their desires are stunted. They are too fearful to find God. They are never quite hungry or thirsty enough for God for it to push them into his arms. They want their relationship with God to be respectful and proper. They are concerned about social norms, their status and the approval of others. They certainly don’t want to be thought of as a fanatic, so their approach to God is restrained and measured.
But this woman’s love for Christ was not restrained. It was full of passion and desire. It was full of gratitude for his forgiveness and freedom. She had been a slave to sin and he set her free. She was tired of her sin, but she wanted more than religion, rules and ritual. She wanted a relationship with God. She wanted life in its fullness. She wanted to drink deeply from God. Jesus Christ had made a difference in her life and she wanted everything God had for her. When she came to the place where she really wanted to live, Jesus told her she would live forever.
Brennan Manning said, “God is loving you exactly as you are and not for what you should be, because no one here is what they should be.” If we are to encounter God, we have to be honest; we have to be ready to accept God’s grace; we have to have a passion for God and life in all its fullness. It is then that we hear our Savior say, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (Matthew 25:34).
Rodney J. Buchanan
October 15, 2000
UNEXPECTED CONVERTS
Luke 7:1-17
“When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, ‘I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel’” (Luke 7:9).
The gospels teach us many things about what it means to have a relationship with God. Three of those lessons are:
1. I become close to God, not when _________________
___________________ but when ______________________ .
“When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’” (Luke 5:8).
2. I become close to God, not when _________________
___________________ but when ______________________ .
“He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).
3. I become close to God, not when _________________
___________________ but when ______________________ .
“You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven — for she loved much” (Luke 7:45_47).
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION (Oct. 15, 2000)
1. *In your opinion, what are the things which most hold people back from God?
2. Read the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10. What is surprising about this story?
3. *Think about the followers of Jesus. Who was attracted to him and who was hostile to him? How do you explain this?
4. *Read Titus 3:7. Do you think this truth is understood by the church today? If not, why not?
5. *Read Luke 18:9-14. What were the differences between these two men?
6. Read Psalm 51:6. Why is this so important in our relationship with God?
7. *Read Luke 15:1-7. How do you think the people responded to this teaching of Jesus?
8. *Read again the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. What is your reaction to the response of the elder brother? Did he have a case? How do you feel about the father in the story? Was he too easy on his young son? How do you think the wayward son felt when his father reacted in this way? How does all this apply to the Christian life?
9. Read the story of the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears (Luke 7:36-50). Think about each of the characters, and talk about the one which stands out most to you.
