• The Looks
• The Money
• The Intelligence
• The Courage
• The Personality
• And was a perfect gentleman in every way
She said, "The man I marry will have everything!"
The lady she was talking to said, "If you are going to wait to marry a man that has all of that, you will never get married!"
She was not trying to be unkind, but she knew the facts of life, THERE ARE NO PERFECT MEN OR WOMEN. Some know that better than others.
Illus: At a party, one lady said to another lady, "Aren’t you wearing your wedding ring on the wrong finger?" She replied, "Yes, I am, I married the wrong man."
Illus: A friend was admiring Mrs. Smith's wedding ring. "What a beautiful diamond!" Mrs. Smith smiled and said, "Thank you. It's a family heirloom, but it comes with a curse." The friend said, "Oh really? What's the curse?" Mrs. Smith said, "Mr. Smith."
Illus: After a quarrel, a husband said to his wife, "You know, I was a fool when I married you." She replied, "Yes dear, but I was in love and didn’t notice."
Illus: A lady advertised in the classifieds: "Husband wanted." The next day she received a hundred letters. They all said the same thing: “You can have mine.”
Sometimes we do have a difficult time finding all the traits we would like to find in each other.
But when it comes to the Lord Jesus, we could talk all day about the many wonderful traits we can find in Him, and still not exhaust the subject.
Illus: Years ago, we used to sing a song that said, “Isn’t He wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, isn’t Jesus my Lord wonderful!” The words to that song are so true!
For example, in our text we can see that Jesus loves everyone, regardless of their SOCIAL LEVEL.
This passage reveals three things to us.
I. THE PUBLICANS AND THE SINNERS
We read in verse 1, "Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for TO HEAR HIM."
Notice, the PUBLICANS and the SINNERS drew near to the Lord.
We do not have to wonder WHY they drew near, because the scripture tells us. The Bible says, “...for TO HEAR HIM."
WHY DID THEY WANT TO HEAR HIM?
Because, each one of them knew that there was something different about Him. They did not know what it was; they just knew that He was not like others they knew.
WHAT MADE THEM CURIOUS ABOUT HIM?
For us to understand what stirred their curiosity, we have to consider Luke 14, the chapter that precedes this account.
WHAT WAS HE TALKING ABOUT IN CHAPTER FOURTEEN?
He was talking to the multitudes about the COST and CONDITIONS OF DISCIPLESHIP.
From what they could hear, they figured out that here was a man who desired followers, and He was going about it differently than anyone else. And perhaps they thought He was going about it in the wrong way.
WHY WOULD THEY THINK HE WAS GOING ABOUT IT IN THE WRONG WAY?
He told the potential followers that if they were going to be His disciples, they were going to have to LOVE HIM MORE than they loved their MOTHERS, FATHERS, WIVES, BROTHERS, SISTERS, AND EVEN THEIR OWN SELVES.
Now, you have to admit that is asking a lot of someone.
The Lord deliberately listed the ones who are dearest to us, and said we had to love Him more than we love them.
Also, notice this, he really struck a nerve when he said they had to love Him more than, EVEN THEIR OWN SELVES.
WAIT A MINUTE! THAT IS ASKING A LOT! This was something they had never heard before.
During those days, there were many religious leaders who were trying to recruit followers, in the same way that many of these religious leaders today are trying to recruit followers.
The Lord said before He returned for the church, it would get so bad that they will tell people whatever they want to hear, to get them to follow them.
Look at 2 Timothy 4:3, we read, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.”
HAVE YOU EVER HAD AN ITCHING EAR? It itched so bad that you went and got a Q-tip, and slid it down into your ear where it was itching, and it FELT SO GOOD!
These Elmer Gantries today that you see on television, know that we are living in the last days. It is a time when men and women have itching ears, and they tell them exactly what they want to hear.
IT SOUNDS SO GOOD TO THEIR EARS!
When the Lord was here, there were many who were trying to recruit followers. They knew exactly WHAT TO SAY, and WHAT NOT TO SAY!
But as the Lord was recruiting disciples to follow Him, He broke every rule in the rule book as far as man was concerned.
• He did not tell them what they wanted to hear
• He told them what He wanted them to hear
He actually told them that they had to love Him more than they loved the dearest ones in their life.
The Bible says the PUBLICANS and the SINNERS wanted to get close to Him, to make sure they were hearing correctly.
Illus: During the 1992 Presidential campaign, Democratic candidate, Bill Clinton, and Republican candidate, George Herbert Bush, were both accused of not really being up front with the American people about America's deficit.
An economist was asked why the candidates would not be truthful with the American people. The economist said, "Because they want to be elected President of the United States, and they knew if they told the American people the real truth about what needs to be done, the American people would not elect them!"
The Lord told them exactly what had to be done to be one of His followers.
Isn't it great to run across people who have the courage to tell it like it is, and not worry about trying to court our favor with some ulterior motive?
• Isn’t it great to have an evangelist come into a church and tell it like it is, even though he might know he will never be invited back again for another revival meeting?
• Isn’t it great to have a pastor tell it like it is? He refuses to compromise the Word of God to recruit new people for his church.
• Isn’t it great to hear a church member stand up to someone who is criticizing the Lord’s work, and speak out against them?
The point that I am trying to make is this; when courage is manifested, men and women recognize it, and they are drawn to the person like a magnet.
When Jesus had the courage to stand up and say what was required to be His disciple, they were motivated to hear more. THEY DREW NEAR HIM!
The liberal churches take the approach that the message of the gospel has to be watered down. They think Jesus was not smart to be so blunt in coming out and stating the COST and CONDITIONS of being His disciples the way He did.
They think that if you stand up, and tell the lost world that in order to be Jesus' disciple, they have to love Him more than their FAMILY, FRIENDS, JOB, SPORTS, AND MORE THAN THEMSELVES, it will turn people off.
So, they want to give the church a new-evangelism that teaches "easy believism", which says that you can be Jesus' disciple, and love ANYTHING and EVERYTHING more than you love Him.
BUT, THEY ARE WRONG! That is not legalism, that is simply a fact according to the Lord Jesus!
Jesus knew that people needed to be motivated, and a watered down gospel that requires nothing will not motivate anyone. Jesus set the standards HIGH for those who want to be His disciples!
Illus: Some of the best athletes in the world are young people who were motivated, knowing that if they were going to excel in a certain sport, they had to give it their all!
After He told these PUBLICANS and SINNERS what was required to be His disciples, they drew near Him to hear more.
He stood before THE PUBLICANS AND THE SINNERS with COURAGE and HONESTY, and told them the truth.
But He also stood before-
II. THE PHARISEES AND THE SCRIBES
When a person takes a stand for what is right, it is not going to please everyone!
Look at verse 2, we read, "And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them."
The Pharisees and scribes did not like what they HEARD or SAW. Notice, they were known for two things.
A. THEIR MURMURING
Look at verse 2 again, "And the Pharisees and scribes murmured...:”
Illus: Someone said, "An alarm clock for some people is a device that makes men rise and whine."
Illus: The scribes and Pharisees remind me of the story of the woman who was always talking too much in church. She was always complaining about something. She kept chaos in the church all the time! One morning the pastor announced he was going to take a mission trip to Africa, and if any of the members wanted to go, they certainly were welcome. They had about twenty sign up to go, and guess who was on the top of the list - Mrs. Big Mouth, who was always murmuring about something.
They got to Africa, and she had grumbled all the way. They came to an area that was known as the habitat for large gorillas. About that time, they missed Mrs. Big Mouth. They began to hunt for her, and they finally saw a great big gorilla that had her thrown over his shoulder, and was taking her into a cave. One of the members said, "Pastor, what are we going to do?" The pastor said, "We are not going to do a thing. The gorilla got himself in this mess, now he can get himself out of it."
The Pharisees and Scribes could always find something to complain about. THEY WERE KNOWN FOR THEIR MURMURING AND FOR...
B. THEIR SNOBISHNESS
Look at verse 2b, we read, "...saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them."
It is amazing that in a society like ours, we still have men and women with the mentality that lets them look at other humans, just like themselves, and feel that they are better than they are just because of:
• THEIR SKIN COLOR
• THEIR SOCIAL LEVEL
• THEIR NATIONAL ORIGIN
Notice, they were angry because Jesus was guilty of receiving the PUBLICANS and SINNERS. That was something those SCRIBES and PHARISEES would not be caught dead doing!
WHO WERE THESE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES? They were the religious snobs of that day.
GUESS WHAT? We still have religious snobs!
Illus: Let me give you an example. A pastor of a large Baptist church became burdened for souls. Not just people on a certain social level, but for ALL souls. He stood before this very sophisticated congregation, and told them of his burden, and how he would like to propose that they start a bus ministry to reach people who did not have transportation to come to church. He was shocked to hear one of the big-shots in the church stand up immediately, and say, "If we start a bus ministry, we will be bringing people into this church that do not fit in socially." He went on and said that it would hurt the church.
These religious snobs, who have turned the church into a social club, fail to recognize that God placed the church here for EVERYONE. Not just for a bunch of SNOBS!
Jesus demonstrated this when He was here. The Bible says He received PUBLICANS and SINNERS.
Notice, the Pharisees did not use the word "publicans," but the Bible says He received PUBLICANS and SINNERS.
WHO ARE THE PUBLICANS?
The Publicans were the Jews who worked for the Roman government. The Romans, who had conquered Israel, hired Publicans to collect taxes. They were considered to be traitors to Israel and God. Consequently, they were despised by the Israelites and the religionists.
Jesus received the PUBLICANS and SINNERS. That sent their blood pressure up at least 10 degrees.
Look how the Lord handled the situation.
III. THE PARABLE AND THE SAVIOR
We read in verses 3-7, "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? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance."
Jesus told this marvelous parable of how the shepherd was not satisfied as long as one of his sheep was lost. He had to go find that one lost sheep. Once he found it, he placed it across his shoulders and rejoiced, and called his friends to rejoice with him over finding it.
He is showing us that the one sheep that was outside of the fold, was as important to Him as the ninety-nine that were inside the fold.
And we need to understand that as much as God loves us, He also loves those lost souls outside of the church! No wonder the publicans and sinners were drawn to the Lord. Even a child can tell if you love him or not.
Those sinners could see something in Jesus that they could not see in the other "religious" people. They DREW NEAR TO JESUS!
When we become like Christ, the lost world will come to us to hear of Jesus.
Conclusion:
I. THE PUBLICANS AND THE SINNERS
II. THE PHARISEES AND THE SCRIBES
III. THE PARABLE AND THE SAVIOR
