MELVIN NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(Revised: 2022)
TEXT: Matthew 9:10-13; John 4:1-42; Luke 7:36-50, 19:1-10
ILL. There is a story about a pilgrim standing outside heaven, longing to enter, watching as others were welcomed through the gates of pearl, onto the streets of gold.
As he stood there, he saw a group clothed in white robes & waving banners approaching the gates. He turned to the gatekeeper & asked, "Who are they?"
The gatekeeper answered, "Those are the prophets who prepared the way for the Christ who told of His coming & of the great joy that would be experienced at His birth." The man said, "Well, I'm not a prophet, so I cannot enter with them."
Soon he saw another procession coming. It was a smaller group, but a glorious one nevertheless. They, too, were clothed in white robes. Again he asked, "Who are they?"
"Why, they're the apostles who walked with Jesus - Peter & James & John & Andrew & Bartholomew & all the others. They're the ones who preached the Gospel, & established the church." The man said, "Well, I'm not an apostle, so I cannot enter with them, either."
But as he continued to watch there came yet another procession much larger than the first two. They, too, were clothed in white & carrying banners of victory. Once again he asked, "Who are they?"
"Why," said the gatekeeper, "Those are the missionaries & ministers who went into all the world with the gospel, inviting the lost to come to Jesus." The man bowed his head & said, "I’m not one of them, either.”
But then he heard the sound of many footsteps in the distance, & he saw a vast throng of people, more than any could possibly number. And what a motley mixture they appeared to be.
He didn't understand exactly how he knew, but some among this group were the rejects of the earth, publicans & sinners & harlots. He thought to himself, "Surely the gates of heaven will not open for them." But to his amazement the gates swung wide open & he heard the heavenly choir singing songs of joyous welcome.
Dumfounded, he asked, "Who are they?" The gatekeeper answered, "These are those who have sinned greatly, but who have been forgiven & saved through the grace of Almighty God."
The man leaped for joy & said, "I’m one of them. I can enter with them." And he walked through the gates of pearl & received the welcome of the heavenly choir.
ILL. John Haddington of Scotland said, "I have been comforted for more than 20 years by the thought that Jesus welcomes, not only sensible sinners, but stupid ones as well."
A. I think that is what is pictured in Matthew 9:10-11. Listen as I read: “While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors & ‘sinners’ came & ate with Him & His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors & ‘sinners’?
Now look at the scripture on the screen & the quotation marks around the words “sinners” That describes the attitude of the Pharisees.
You see, the Pharisees were quick to look at others & call them “sinners” & judge them to be unworthy. Their idea of God was that He is harsh & unfeeling, concerned only about the strict observance of rules & regulations as taught by the Pharisees, a God who was eager to punish disobedience.
But Jesus presented a loving God who is anxious to lift the sinner up out of his sin - a God who welcomes to His banquet table the outcasts of society.
Please don't misunderstand me. I’m not trying to picture Christ as one so soft-hearted that He never condemned sin. He saw sin as it really is with all its terribleness & heartaches. Time & time again Jesus stood before sinners & said, “Go & sin no more!"
But at the same time He always had great compassion for them. He was never so blinded by their sin that He did not see whatever good that there was in them qualities that were worth saving & redeeming.
Let me remind you again of the question that the Pharisees asked the disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors & ‘sinners’?
Jesus knew what the Pharisees were asking, & He also knew their motive for asking it - they were looking for any opportunity to condemn Him in the eyes of the people who were eagerly coming to hear Him.
But Jesus turned the tables on them, & at the same time exposed their sanctimonious hypocrisy & pettiness. “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors & ‘sinners’?
“On hearing this, Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go & learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’"
PROP. So this morning I want us to see Jesus His attitude toward sin, & then His attitude toward sinners. And in order to do that, let's look at 3 people & their encounters with Jesus.
I. THE SAMARITAN WOMAN AT JACOB'S WELL
A. The first is a Samaritan woman found in the 4th chapter of the Gospel of John. Jesus had broken Jewish custom by traveling thru the province of Samaria. For 600 years the Jews had despised the Samaritans as “half-breeds” & avoided any contact with them.
In return, the Samaritans hated the Jews, & didn’t welcome Jewish travelers into their villages & marketplaces. Often they would even refuse to sell them food or provide them a shelter for the night. And the few Samaritans who would do so raised their prices so high that it was obvious that their hatred was showing.
Therefore very few Jews would try to go through Samaria as they traveled back & forth between Galilee & Judea & Jerusalem. But this time Jesus deliberately decided to go through Samaria.
It was noontime when they approached the Samaritan town of Sychar. Jesus sat down near the well outside of Sychar while the apostles went into town to try to buy food.
As Jesus was sitting there, a woman came out of the town a woman who was tired of being the butt of gossip, tired of being an object of jokes by the respectable ladies of Sychar.
So to get away from that, she had come to the well at noon expecting no one else to be there. But to her surprise, someone was there, & he was a Jew. She looked at Him, but she didn't say a word.
Quickly, she went about her business lowering the bucket down into the deep well, & drawing up the cool, clear water. She filled her water pot took a drink herself & then started to leave.
But as she did, Jesus asked, “Will you give me a drink?" (John 4:7) Now, at first, the woman treated His request with obvious hostility. She turned to him & sarcastically, I think, said, “You are a Jew & I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (John 4:9)
Knowing the animosity that existed between Jews & Samaritans, & the disdain with which most men treated women in that day, her taunting reply is certainly understandable.
Now, if we were to take time to go verse by verse through their conversation we would realize how skillfully Jesus tore down all the barriers between them. Gradually, He worked around to the real problem, & He said to her, “Go, get your husband & come back." (John 4:16) That was the real problem in her life.
When he said that, she replied, “I have no husband." And Jesus responded, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, & the man you are living with now is not your husband." (John 4:17-18)
There must have been something about the tone of His voice & the look in His eyes & His whole manner that caused her to realize that Jesus wasn't trying to tear her down. Here is Jesus, the Son of God, talking to a woman, the object of jokes, with a very poor reputation. But Jesus sees something in her worth saving.
That is why it wasn’t long until she rushed back into Sychar & announced to anyone who would listen, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” (John 4:29)
She was telling them, “I just talked to a man who knows everything I ever did, & He is kind to me anyway!” What a testimony to God’s love!
APPL. Now how about us? How many of us are feeling defeated? Maybe we need to sit with Jesus. Maybe we need to be lifted up to see ourselves as someone really worth something in His eyes, too.
II. THE WOMAN AT SIMON'S HOUSE
A. Another sinner is mentioned in Luke 7:36 50. Simon, an influential Pharisee, had invited Jesus to his home to eat. I'm not sure why he invited Him. Maybe it was because of the crowds Jesus was attracting, & either Simon was curious, or he wanted to brag that he had hosted someone who was famous.
As they were eating, a woman of the streets came into Simon’s open patio & fell at the feet of Jesus, anointing them first with her tears & then with perfume from a jar she had with her. She had no towel, so she used her own hair to dry His feet.
Simon watched all that with total disgust. And he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, He would know who is touching him & what kind of a woman she is – that she is a sinner." (Luke 7:39)
B. But Simon was wrong. Jesus was more than a prophet, & He knew exactly what kind of woman she was. Simon saw a woman of the streets living a life of sin - a person deserving severe punishment.
But Jesus saw a sinner whose life could be turned around. She had certainly sinned, but she wasn't the only one. Remember, Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned & fall short of the glory of God.”
The law said that she ought to be put to death. But Jesus said that she needed forgiveness & help. And He gave it! No wonder the common people heard Him gladly. And so should we.
III. ZACCHAEUS
Our last example is Zacchaeus, & his story is in Luke 19:1 10. As you know, Zacchaeus was a tax-collector, one of those despised by the Pharisees as a ‘sinner,’ hated & shunned by the people as a traitor because he collected taxes for the Romans.
Well, one day Zacchaeus heard that Jesus was going to be passing through his city, & he was curious - he wanted to see Jesus. So he rushed to where Jesus would be walking by.
But crowds of people filled the streets, & Zacchaeus couldn’t see Jesus. He couldn't see over the crowd because he was too short. He couldn't see around them because the crowd was too great.
So Zacchaeus, a man of great wealth & position decided to do the very undignified thing of climbing a tree to see Jesus. What a sight that must have been – Zacchaeus, a grown man, perched on a tree branch – trying to see Jesus!
But Jesus suddenly stops - & so does everybody else. Then Jesus looks up at Zacchaeus - & so does everybody else. I can imagine the embarrassment of Zacchaeus with everyone staring at him.
Then Jesus said, “Zacchaeus, come down… I must stay at your house today.” (Luke 19:5) The Pharisees were horrified! But to make a long story short, because of the love of God shown by Jesus that day, Zacchaeus was changed forever.
ILL. Have you heard about Carl? Carl was a quiet man. But he would always greet you with a big smile & a firm handshake. Even after living in our neighborhood for over 50 years, no one could really say they knew him very well.
Before his retirement, he took the bus to work each morning. The sight of him walking down the street alone often worried us. He had a slight limp from a bullet wound received in WW2.
We worried that although he had survived the war, he might not survive our changing neighborhood with its increase of random violence, gangs, & drug activity.
When he saw the notice asking for volunteers to care for the flower garden at our church, he responded. He was 87 years old when the very thing we feared finally happened.
On a hot summer day, as he was watering the garden, 3 gang members approached him. Ignoring their attempt to intimidate him, he simply asked, "Would you like a drink from the hose?"
The tallest & toughest-looking of the 3 said, "Yeah, sure."
Then, as Carl offered the hose to him, the other two grabbed Carl's arms & threw him down. As the hose snaked crazily over the ground, dousing everything in its way, they stole his retirement watch & his wallet, & fled.
Carl tried to get up, but he had been thrown down on his bad leg. He lay there trying to lift himself as the minister came running to help. "Carl, are you okay? Are you hurt?” the minister kept asking as he helped Carl to his feet.
Carl wiped his face & sighed, "Just some punk kids. I hope they'll wise-up someday.” His wet clothes clung to his frame as he bent to pick up the hose.
Concerned, the minister asked, "Carl, what are you doing?” “I've got to finish my watering", came his calm reply. Satisfying himself that Carl really was all right, the minister marveled at his composure.
A few weeks later the 3 returned. Carl again offered them a drink from his hose. This time they didn't rob him. They grabbed the hose from his hand & drenched him head to foot.
When they had finished their humiliation of him, they sauntered off, throwing catcalls & curses, laughing at what they had done. Carl just watched them. Then he picked up his hose, & went on with his watering.
The summer was fading into fall. And Carl was working in the garden when he was startled by someone suddenly coming up behind him. Turning around, he stumbled & fell. And as he struggled to regain his footing, he looked up to see the leader of his tormentors reaching down for him.
He braced himself for the expected attack. "Don't worry old man, I'm not gonna hurt you.” The young man spoke softly, offering his tattooed hand to Carl.
As he helped Carl get up, he pulled a crumpled bag from his pocket & handed it to him. "What's this?” Carl asked. "It's your stuff," he explained. "It's your stuff back. Even the amount of money that was in your wallet."
"I don't understand," Carl said. "Why are you helping me now?” The young man shifted his feet, seeming embarrassed & ill at ease.
"I learned something from you," he said. "I ran with that gang & hurt people like you. We picked on you because you were old & we knew we could do it. But every time we came & did something to you, instead of yelling & cursing & fighting back, you tried to give us a drink. You kept trying to be kind to us, & I want to know why.”
INVITATION:
