Who Did Jesus Come For?
Shortly after I started writing this blog, my friend said to me, "Doesn't writing those posts encourage you?"
I had to immediately agree. I need the gospel every day. Nobody needs the gospel more than me. Yes, these posts are written in hope that other people will see the beauty of Jesus Christ and put their trust in him, but they are also written for the encouragement of people who already believe, like myself. Most of the time, I write these blog posts for me to remember the level of my debt to God and how great God's provision is in Jesus Christ.
I think there is this idea about Christians that we are "holier than thou," and perfect and that everyone should try to be like us. Often I think by pushing morality without pushing the gospel, we cause ourselves to be perceived this way. I think this is misguided. Christians are sinners in need of a Savior, every day. We always need the good news of the gospel because we live by faith in the son of God who loved us and gave himself up for us (Galatians 2:20). We're not perfect, nor should we claim to be.
Today as I write about Jesus' ministry to sinners, I write to encourage your faith and I write to encourage mine.
Who did Jesus come for?
In the gospel according to Luke 5:27-32, Jesus is confronted with his choice of disciple in Levi, a tax collector. For context it is important to note that tax collectors were seen as vile scum, sinners who had betrayed God and His people. In the eyes of the Pharisees and scribes here, Levi the tax collector was the lowest of the low, a horrible sinner and traitor.
R. Kent Hughes says this, "Jewish tax collectors were easily the most hated men in Hebrew society—despicable, rich vermin. They were classed with “extortioners, [the] unjust, adulterers” (18:11), with prostitutes (Matthew 21:32), and with pagan Gentiles (Matthew 18:17). They were not only hated for their robbery, but also because they were lackeys of the Romans. Tax collectors could not serve as witnesses in court and were excommunicated from the synagogues. Low-life Levi and his friends were the lowest of the lowest."
(Preaching the Word: Luke)
Jesus calls Levi. Jesus offers salvation to a hated man, the "lowest of the lowest."
After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.
And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:27-32 ESV)
"Those who are well have no need of a physician...I have not come to call the righteous."
Jesus did not come for those who are righteous in their own eyes. The idea here is that the "righteous" are people who pride themselves in their own virtue, their own worthiness, their own effectiveness to work out their own salvation. The Pharisees and scribes who grumbled here against Jesus could not accept that Jesus would associate himself with the lowly Levi. The reason they struggled here is because they were righteous in their own sight. The Pharisees and scribes were the good ones, not like those lowly tax collectors who were vile sinners. Pharisees would never associate with the lowly!
Jesus is also warning us here, that we should never think of salvation as only for a certain group of people. Jesus came to save sinners, to the uttermost. Salvation is available in Christ Jesus for all people, all races, all creeds - never doubt that! Jesus can save anyone. The apostle Paul reminds us this in 1 Timothy, "The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost." (1 Timothy 1:15 ESV)
If God could take the "foremost sinner" in Paul and turn him into the great apostle, how can we ever be so foolish as to write anyone off?
Charles Spurgeon reminds us, "Do not believe that there exists any man, much less any race of men, for whom the gospel is not fitted."
We must remember always that we are sinners who receive grace.
The Gospel vs. Self-righteousness
The gospel tells us that our righteousness comes from God. We are declared saved by God because of what Jesus has done. Our works to gain our salvation are rags! We must by faith trust that Jesus lived a holy and perfect life and was raised up for our justification.
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26 ESV)
Paul pulls no punches: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Justification comes through faith in Jesus Christ. It is that simple. We have nothing to boast in, we failed. Jesus succeeded where we failed and died in our place and for our sin, and only by our faith in him are we saved.
Self-righteousness is defined as, having or characterized by a certainty, especially an unfounded one, that one is totally correct or morally superior. Jesus is telling the Pharisees in no uncertain terms that they have an unfounded moral superiority.
- In my childhood my grades, my skills in sports, and my parental approval were my salvation.
- In college my boasting in my abilities and my feeling that I knew better than everyone was my righteousness. My self-inflated ego ballooned to comical proportions and I had to be right about everything because if I wasn't, I would be seen as weak and wrong.
- After college my righteousness was in my community service. I had to do good works to feel okay and at peace with myself. (I never actually found that peace by the way.) If I wasn't doing good things, I wasn't a good person.
- At one point in my 20s I thought if I could be skinny and in-shape that I'd be okay. Fitness became my righteousness and led me to excessive exercise and an eating disorder.
- When I started dating Allison, our relationship was my righteousness. I poured everything into our relationship so other people could see how good of a boyfriend and person I was.
- As a believer in Jesus I tend to lose focus on the fact that his perfect obedience is why I am saved. I start to think that my salvation depends on "how good of a Christian I am being."
In each of these things I would elevate myself above others to inflate my superiority, just like the definition of self-righteousness says. If you didn't do good in school, I was better than you. If you weren't good at sports, I was better than you. If you didn't think like me, I was smarter than you. If you didn't do community service like me, I was a better person than you. If you weren't as good in relationships as me, I was better than you. If you don't do what I do to follow Jesus, I am better than you. Ultimately all those things are me trusting in myself and not God. They are falsehoods about me.
The real truth about me is that I was, and am a sinner who falls short of the glory of God. I am weak, I fail, I make mistakes. I am needy. Before I heard the gospel, I could never ever accept these truths about myself. I had to constantly defend myself against any idea that I wasn't perfect. Once I heard the gospel, I had to realize hard truths about my insufficiency. But I also received the good news that Jesus is sufficient!
I am the bread of life. (John 6:48 ESV)
Timothy Keller says, "Christians need the gospel as much as non-Christians do." This is true of me. Every day is a struggle to remember that my righteousness before God comes from God, in what Jesus has done on the cross. By God's grace, I was able to see that all my attempts at "saving myself" were always going to fail. I was able to see that I had nothing to bring to God that would allow me to stand before him. Can a man walk on the surface of the sun? Nor can an impure man draw near to the holy God by his works! We cannot make ourselves clean, we need Jesus!
The gospel does not let us get away with our self-righteousness. We have to confront it and repent of it.
Where do you place your righteousness? In your work, your money, your future, your relationships, your goodness, your obedience, your abilities, your looks, how many 'likes' you get on Facebook?
Jesus Came For Sinners
"I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."
Repentance here means a change of mind and purpose from works to faith. Jesus came to call sinners to repent of their works of self-righteousness, which leaves them clothed in rags before a holy God - and to put their faith in him.
Look at the two responses to Jesus' call. Levi knew he was a sinner and he left everything to be with Jesus. The Pharisees and scribes grumbled at Jesus.
Look at the difference in prayers in this parable Jesus tells:
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14 ESV)
These are always the responses to Christ: If you are trying to save yourself, how easy it is to proclaim how much better you are than others. If you put your faith in Jesus, you acknowledge your need for him.
When I am trying to work my way to God by being "good," I end up becoming harsh, critical, judgmental and fearful of God. Self-righteous people are saving themselves and they become motivated by fear and internal pressure. Self-righteous people are always trying to find every way that they are better than others. Self-righteous people have a hard time showing mercy. The self-righteous person sings to God out of a sense of obligation.
When I am living in faith and trusting in what Jesus has done I am merciful and kind and joyfully obedient to God. Faithful people trust in Jesus' saving work on the cross and they become motivated by joy and peace. Faithful people seek the good of others and are quick to show mercy and forgiveness. The faithful person sings to God out of a sense of dependence and joy.
I need the gospel every day to remember that I am a sinner and that my righteousness comes from Christ, and when I do that I can live in joy and peace instead of the falsehood of self-righteousness. I need to be encouraged by the good news of the gospel everyday.
Jesus came to call sinners to repentance.
Do you live like you need him?
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