JESUS CAME TO SAVE SINNERS

Newsletter 278 January 15, 2012

Matthew 9:10-13 King James Version

10 And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.

11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?

(Matthew 11:19, Mark 2:16, Luke 5:30, Luke 15:2)

12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.

(Mark 2:17, Luke 5:31)

13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

(Matthew 12:7, Hosea 6:6, Mark 2:17, Luke 5:32, 1 Timothy 1:15)

It is a fact that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s will, and that God loves everyone, (John 3:16.)

Jesus came to fulfill his Father’s purpose. What he taught, and who he taught, was his Father’s will. It is the will of the Lord God that all have an opportunity to receive the forgiveness of sins. This is the background and reason for the great commission of Matthew 28:19.

He not only commanded us to go to all nations, but he set the example himself. Isaiah had prophesied, “And leaving Nazareth, he came down and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, and the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nepthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and the shadow of death light is sprung up.” (Matthew 4:13-18.)

Where he went, and as he went, he spoke to the people. Recall, his conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well in Samaria. Most Jews despised Samaritans and would have ignored this woman of bad reputation. More than once Jesus went to the aid of Romans. The Romans held their nation as an oppressed people. Pharisees hated both of these peoples and avoided all contact with them they could. Not once do we ever see Jesus turning anyone away because they were sinners; not even the woman taken in the act of adultery, not Matthew the tax collector for Rome, not even Judas who betrayed him with a kiss. No sin was too evil for him to be filled with compassion for the sinner. Why was that? It was because sins do not come in degrees of evil in God‘s sight. All have sinned. There are no black-black lies and no little white lies. We are told that there will be no liars enter into heaven; no mention of what degree of lies. As Paul said “Of such were some of you.” There are no social drinkers, and no alcoholics, the statement is that there will be no drunkards, and probably none of us can be certain that we would not abuse that addiction, thus it is safer not to place that burden of decision upon ourselves. Even as a sailor, I never had an alcoholic drink, and there were many others like me in that. The same could be said of Marijuana, crack, painkillers, or whatever. I prefer to under-medicate on any medication I take, so long as it accomplishes the purpose.

But we are off the point. Jesus did not avoid sinners, they were everywhere, and they needed him the most. Likewise, since all have sinned, if they have not accepted the Lord and been obedient to him in repentance and baptism, they are our challenge. We rub shoulders with such people every day. Even in the retirement home where we live, spiked punch, is common on certain occasions. The party becomes far more boisterous at those times, but they now know to bring me Sprite, not from the punch bowl. The vital words of the great commission are “as you go, teach.” It is part of living to go. Jesus asked the woman at the well for a drink of water. He was breaking several “No, No’s” in doing that. This was a woman, she was a woman of bad reputation, she was a Samaritan., and they were alone in a remote place. It seems not to be where most women gathered to fill their water jars. A present-day setting could be, a woman, a prostitute, a woman of a different race than our own, late at light on a dark street corner. Now Jesus would not have us put ourselves into such a setting, but what is he saying, is “As you go, teach, all nations whatsoever I have commanded you, baptizing,” and he set the example by doing what he asked of us. Let us not be so concerned about whether they have believed and lived an acceptable life in the past that we forget we who have been sent. We are just the messenger, the carrier of good news. Jesus came to save sinners. Let us go for the same reason.

Only we have the light that will take away darkness. We are sent to do the same.

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READ THE BIBLE THROUGH AGAIN IN 2012

JANUARY

15th. Sunday – Genesis 31, Matthew 12:1-21, Psalm 9:12-20
16th. Monday – Genesis 32, 33, Matthew 12:22-50, Proverbs 2:1-11
17th. Tuesday - Genesis 34, 35, Matthew 13:1-23, Psalm 10:1-11
18th. Wednesday - Genesis 36, 37, Matthew 13:24-43, Psalm 10:12-18
19th. Thursday - Genesis 38, 39, 40, Matthew 13:44-58, Psalm 11
20th. Friday – Genesis 41, Matthew 14:1-21, Proverbs 2:12-22
21st. Saturday - Genesis 42, 43, Matthew 14:22-36, Psalm 12
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THIS WEEK'S SCRIPTURE

“A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. – Matthew 12:35

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Tidbits of Wit

Have you ever considered the awesome power of the spoken word?

For instance:

Waiter: What'll you have for dessert?

First Diner: Nothing for me.

Second diner: I'm stuffed.

Third diner: Couldn't eat another bite.

Waiter: It comes with the dinner.

First Diner: Ice Cream.

Second Diner: Pecan Pie.

Third Diner: Chocolate Layer Cake.