The Friend and Forgiver of Sinners

Introduction

Where do you look whenever times get tough?

You know those moments that you wish you could undo? The situations that keep you up at night? The problems that you can’t seem to solve? Where do you turn in those moments?

Our culture preaches self-sufficiency. That we must look inside and try to solve things with our own power and strength.

Others look to social media. To TikTok influencers and YouTube Theologians who have lots of sayings, but without accountability.

Maybe you go to a friend, family member, or trusted individual in your life. God created us for community, this is a good place to turn! But what if you don’t have anyone in this category to turn to? What if you are so afraid to even bring the situation up? Where do you turn first in your greatest moment of need?

So often we look inward for peace, online for wisdom, outward for provision, but rarely do we look upward for the grace that we need to face today! This morning, we’re going to be reminded of Jesus’ power to provide in the good days, and the bad days. The days where things are going our way, and the days whenever it seems like there is no way out. Luke 5:12-39 will help us see that as believers, we have a friend who is always with us and a friend who has the power to change us, save us, and forgive us!

Luke 5:12–16 CSB

12 While he was in one of the towns, a man was there who had leprosy all over him. He saw Jesus, fell facedown, and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” 13 Reaching out his hand, Jesus touched him, saying, “I am willing; be made clean,” and immediately the leprosy left him. 14 Then he ordered him to tell no one: “But go and show yourself to the priest, and offer what Moses commanded for your cleansing as a testimony to them.” 15 But the news about him spread even more, and large crowds would come together to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 Yet he often withdrew to deserted places and prayed.

Jesus Heals Physically (12-16)

Now that we’re in mid-November, we know that we’re entering into the time of the year where sicknesses start flying around like crazy! Between traveling, the weather getting colder, and everything else, colds, stomach bugs, and viruses are part of life for the next few months. We all know what it’s like to get sick, and whenever you’re sick you have one goal that is on your mind every day: I WANT TO GET BETTER!

But, what do you do whenever you don’t get better? What do you do whenever the sickness stays? What do you do whenever your entire life changes because of a physical problem you’re facing? This is reality for many people today who live with chronic illnesses. This is reality for many people throughout human history. And, in Luke 5, we see that this is the reality for a man who “had leprosy all over him.” Leprosy is referenced throughout the New Testament, and it was a serious skin condition. The skin hurt all over and, sometimes, the skin sores would open and the fluid was contagious. Doesn’t that make your stomach squirm a little? This man didn’t just have a spot or two of leprosy, he was “covered” with it. This isn’t a good situation! But leprosy was worse than just painful physically, it was painful relationally. See, this man was in a town was people and according to the Old Testament law, this man was to be treated as unclean, not only physically, but also spiritually. This man had to be “quarantined” outside the town/camp and was unable to come and worship God with the people. He couldn’t come inside the walls. He couldn’t come to the synagogue. He couldn’t hug his family. He couldn’t eat with his friends. This man was all alone - not only was he in pain, but he was isolated. He was broken.

Do you remember the isolation that we endured 5 years ago? The quarantining that many did whenever they got sick. As a pastor, I remember going into hospitals, when allowed, and praying with folks who were sick… and I remember those big astronaut suits that many medical professionals had to wear day in and day out. Lindsey and I lived in Conway at the time, just south of Lebanon, and I got COVID while working at Lebanon High School and was sick during Thanksgiving of 2020. Our parents, obviously, were concerned for us, and my folks and Lindsey’s came up several times that week to bring us groceries, medicine, and some food - but they had to leave it on our deck, and we’d wave at them and talk outside. Do you remember how isolating those days were? Now, imagine that isolation for years - in fact, one study shared that many of these people lived with this disease for 20-40 years, and very few ever recovered. This is leprosy - and this leper see’s Jesus, and look at what he says, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

How many cures were there to leprosy? None. But this man had heard of Jesus. Can you imagine the hope that came over him whenever he first laid eyes on Jesus - there is no hope anywhere else - so he says, “Lord, you can make me clean.” Do you believe that whatever you’re facing today, Jesus is able to make you clean? Jesus just helped Peter and James and John catch 3,000 fish whenever they had just come up empty. Jesus had healed Peter’s mom of a fever and many other people of their diseases. This man knew of Jesus’ reputation and he believed that Jesus could heal him as well. Look at how Jesus responds in verse 13 - what could Jesus have done? He could have just spoken, “I am willing - be clean” and at that moment, he could’ve been cleansed… Jesus does say this phrase, but first the Bible says that “He touched him.”

Imagine what a witness would be thinking as they watch this - “NO Jesus! Don’t touch him, you’ll become unclean too!” Typically, whenever there is a sick person, and they come in contact with a healthy person, the germs of the sick person make the healthy person sick. In other words, their uncleanliness makes the clean person unclean too. That’s normal in our world - but we see the opposite with Jesus. He touches the sick person, but instead of Jesus becoming sick, the sick person becomes clean. We see the rightside up nature of God’s Kingdom. It’s upside down that sickness spreads, that’s not how it should be - instead it should be that God’s holiness, cleanliness, purity spreads and changes everything around it. It should be that the Christians act different from the world around us and that we change the world, not that the world changes Christians. Here is Jesus, touching unclean people and healing them. There is a temptation to be just like the crowd in this situation - to flee from the unclean person. That’s what comes natural. We don’t want to get sick. We don’t want to be isolated too… so we run away, but Jesus shows us another way. Do you remember your life before Christ? Do you remember the pain? Isolation? Maybe this is you today as you carry this weight. Scripture reminds us of this - we might not battle a physical illness right now, but we all face the same reality of this man as we are spiritually unclean, look at Isaiah 64

Isaiah 64:6 CSB

6 All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.

This isn’t exactly encouraging, is it? Let me encourage you - just like Jesus touched the leper, Jesus continues to touch and cleanse sinners. You don’t have to be afraid that you are too dirty for Jesus or too fallen, His holiness and perfection changes us, not the other way around! Today, He is still willing to change and save.

Scripture tells us that this news spread - even though Jesus told him not to tell anyone, you know that secrets don’t stay secret very well, right? News spread, people flocked to him, but notice what Jesus did… He regularly withdrew from the crowds to spend time in prayer with His Father. If Jesus needed to pray and recharge, we must as well. Let’s see what Jesus does next!

Luke 5:17–26 CSB

17 On one of those days while he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea, and also from Jerusalem. And the Lord’s power to heal was in him. 18 Just then some men came, carrying on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed. They tried to bring him in and set him down before him. 19 Since they could not find a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the roof tiles into the middle of the crowd before Jesus. 20 Seeing their faith he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” 21 Then the scribes and the Pharisees began to think to themselves, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 But perceiving their thoughts, Jesus replied to them, “Why are you thinking this in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he told the paralyzed man, “I tell you: Get up, take your stretcher, and go home.” 25 Immediately he got up before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. 26 Then everyone was astounded, and they were giving glory to God. And they were filled with awe and said, “We have seen incredible things today.”

Jesus Heals Spiritually (17-26)

Sometimes we talk about people “going the extra mile” in life. Taking the high road. Helping someone in need. Being kind in the face of adversity. Praise God for these types of people as they encourage us and help us when we need help the most. Back whenever I was 6th grade the Hayworth house went through a massive change. My dad was born and raised in Oklahoma City and much of his family still lives down there, including his younger brother, Craig. Craig was married and had a young son, he and his wife both had excellent jobs. He had a large network. Magnetic personality. Everyone liked Craig. All was well, but next thing I knew, my parents are telling me that Craig is having some problems and they wanted to talk with me about the possibility of Craig coming to live with us. Sure enough, my dad drove down to Oklahoma and came back with my uncle, whose life had done a 180 and was genuinely at rock bottom. Broken. Hopeless. Family falling apart. All because of brokenness… Yet, the Lord put it on my dad’s heart to not only be there for his brother, but to bring him 4 hours up the road, into our home, into our daily lives, into our church. I’m an only child - I liked the space that I had in our home… and overnight all of that changed. It wasn’t easy and there were lots of things that looked different, but the biggest difference in our family wasn’t the dinner menu or the downstairs routine, the biggest difference was internal. My uncle came to Ozark hurting, and Jesus gave him a new heart. I saw Jesus take a man who was broken and put him back together piece by piece. Why? It all started because a brother saw his brother going down a one way road that was going to lead to destruction, and he said “Not on my watch.”

Friend, how far are you willing to go to get your loved ones to the Healer? Savior? Creator? Are you willing to get uncomfortable in order to get someone to Jesus? Are you willing to go out of your way to speak the truth to someone in love? What are you willing to do?

Luke fast forwards and we see that He is teaching in a room and there once again is no room because Jesus drew a crowd! But because there was a massive crowd, these 4 friends couldn’t get their friend inside to Jesus. So what do they do? They don’t politely knock. They don’t ask to squeeze past people. They cut a hole through the roof and lower their friend in. They knew that Jesus could change their friend and they would stop at nothing to get their friend to Jesus. Today, do you believe that Jesus is still in the business of changing people? Do you believe that Jesus can heal marriages? Do you believe that Jesus can heal hearts? Do you believe that Jesus can save souls? Brothers, Sisters, He can! If we know this, then why do we so often stop so quickly at inviting our lost and hurting friends to come to church? This is our commission, South Gate!

Luke 14:23 CSB

23 “Then the master told the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges and make them come in, so that my house may be filled.

We aren’t saved to sit, we are saved to share the Gospel and bring people to Jesus! Yes, to share the Gospel and the hope and love of Jesus with them outside the church, but we should also desire to bring them here - to this gathering, because we know that Jesus not only changes us physically, but He heals us spiritually. Look at this man, Jesus look at him and “Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” We all need forgiveness, but sometimes there is a temptation to think that we’re better than other people around us, look at this example Jesus gives later in Luke 18

Luke 18:10–13 CSB

10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee was standing and praying like this about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other people—greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’

Do you see the difference? The pharisee looked good on the outside - he fasts, he gives, he looks good. The tax collector doesn’t. He was despised in his community. He was isolated because people didn’t like him. He doesn’t even look up when he prays, because he knows he is a sinner and he desperately asks for God’s mercy. Which person are you today? The holier than thou, or the broken person looking for hope? See, forgiveness is our greatest need and it is God’s greatest gift. Jesus says that this man’s sins are forgiven and this enrages the scribes and pharisees because they know that only God can forgive sins! We see this in the Old Testament, in Exodus 34:6-7 we see that the Lord is compassionate, slow to anger, faithful, and forgiving. Isaiah 43 tells us this

Isaiah 43:25 CSB

25 “I am the one, I sweep away your transgressions for my own sake and remember your sins no more.

Aren’t you thankful that God can and does forgive sins? This is incredible news and the pharisees know this, and the Bible tells us that they began to think to themselves “Who is this man?” The pharisees make a correct claim - only God can forgive sins, but they have an incorrect context - God DID the forgiving! Look at verse 22, we see this as clear as can be - Jesus perceived their thoughts. He knew what they were thinking - does that ever frighten you? I know it does me. That’s why I can say with brutal honesty that I am the worst sinner that I know, because I live with my thoughts… and Jesus knows them too! Jesus see’s them. Other people don’t, because part of growing as a Christian is controlling the tongue. Controlling what you say. Like whenever someone says something disrespectful and every fiber inside of you wants to ZING them and defend yourself… but you fight that urge and let God fight that battle and trust Him to defend you - but you still think it, and Jesus knows it. I don’t mean that in a guilt trip way, but it should make us realize that there’s nothing we can hide from Jesus. AW Tozer worded it like this once, “Jesus Christ knows the worst about you, yet, He is the One who loves you the most!” He knows the most, and He loves us the most.

Yet, some don’t like this. The pharisees struggle. (Proclaim Slide - modern pharisees struggle here too! Someone right with God will be hard on their sin and easy on others… but the person who isn’t right with God will be easy on their sin and hard on others) So Jesus gets pointed - what is easier to say? Your sins are forgiven, or get up and walk? Remember, this person is paralyzed. The dust is still in the air from the these men lowering their friend into the room. Everyone is astounded… but now they’re waiting. It’s easier to say that your sins are forgiven because we can’t prove that. No one can tell definitively that the sins of another person have been forgiven because it’s not like there is a visible mark that goes away! Jesus knows that these people are skeptical here, so He gives them proof. He tells the man to get up and walk. He offers proof that He truly is God in the flesh. He has power over the physical problems, and because He is God in the flesh, He also has power over the spiritual problems too. Friend, I need you to get this today: Jesus didn’t come in order to make sick people healthy. He didn’t come to make bad people good. Jesus came to make dead people alive. He came to seek and save sinners - and this is good news for, sinners!

These two miracles show us the power of Jesus and also the problems that we face as humans and that at the root of those problems, is sin. Scripture shows us that the wages of sin is death and that through one man’s sin, death spread to all mankind.

There are many problems that we have solved as humans. In 1921, at the University of Toronto, 2 scientists discovered insulin… and type 1 diabetes, which before this was a death sentence, suddenly became something that could be treated. Fast forward 100 years, and you have a pastor with T1D, which was an impossibility for the vast majority of human existence. In Missouri, we know that in the winter it gets really cold and the summer gets really hot, so we have air conditioning for the summer to keep us cool, and we have heat that keeps us warm in the winter. Did you know that for the vast majority of human existence, Air Conditioning didn’t exist? It wasn’t until the turn of the 20th century as the first unit was created in 1902 to help solve the problem of heat - aren’t you thankful that we helped solve this problem whenever June, July, and August come around? There is one problem, though, that no amount of money, research, technological advances, or motivational messages will help us solve and that is the problem of our sinful condition because the only solution to that problem is to be forgiven by God Himself.

We all need Jesus - what are we doing to bring our lost friends, family members, neighbors, coworkers, classmates, to Jesus? Stop at nothing to bring them in.

Luke 5:27–39 CSB

27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 So, leaving everything behind, he got up and began to follow him. 29 Then Levi hosted a grand banquet for him at his house. Now there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others who were reclining at the table with them. 30 But the Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 Jesus replied to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a doctor, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” 33 Then they said to him, “John’s disciples fast often and say prayers, and those of the Pharisees do the same, but yours eat and drink.” 34 Jesus said to them, “You can’t make the wedding guests fast while the groom is with them, can you? 35 But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them—then they will fast in those days.” 36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a patch from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. Otherwise, not only will he tear the new, but also the piece from the new garment will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, it will spill, and the skins will be ruined. 38 No, new wine is put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one, after drinking old wine, wants new, because he says, ‘The old is better.’ ”

Jesus Saves Completely (27-39)

We know that this is 2,000 years old and we need to understand the context of what’s at work here. We see a tax collector, a feast, and then a story about wine. As Baptists we can get on board with the celebration part, but we need to understand what Jesus is saying. First, Matthew is a tax collector - he is hated by those in his community because he profits off the work of his fellow country men… Tax collectors were seen as traitors because they overcharged their neighbors. Yet, Jesus calls him and Matthew follows Him. Aren’t you thankful that Jesus didn’t come to call the perfect people, but the broken people? Matthew hears this call, and immediately the text tells us that he left everything behind and followed Christ. Regardless of your past, regardless of what you’ve done, regardless of the weight, friend, when you hear the call of Christ, your response is simply to come and follow Christ!

Imagine the cost here for Matthew. Think of Peter, James, and John earlier in Luke 5. Let’s say that the whole following Jesus thing doesn’t work out. Well, the fishermen can always go back to the Sea. They can always go back to the water and catch more fish. But what about the tax collector? He has no where to go. The Greek here is interesting because Dr. Luke uses an imperfect indicative here when he says that Matthew “began to follow Him” which stresses a new statement of fact, a new reality, a new pattern in his life. Something changed in this man whenever he was called by Jesus and this calling cost him his wealth. It cost him the rest of his life. This man was the most unacceptable and despised person out there for Jesus to choose and what does Jesus do, “I want THAT guy!” Aren’t you thankful that God looks at the heart, not the outside? Aren’t you thankful that God declares the future, and doesn’t stare at your past? Jesus takes Levi (hated tax collector) and turns him into Matthew (evangelist, fisher of men). How? Because Jesus saves completely!

Some people, though, don’t like this. They want to draw lines and say that this person doesn’t deserve salvation. They don’t deserve grace. So Jesus punches back. Whenever he was told that he ate and drank with tax collectors and sinners, He doubled down on the truth. Jesus didn’t come for the healthy, but for the sick. Not for the perfect, but for the sinner. A couple of months ago, Lindsey and I had to make an ER trip because of a kidney stone. I’ve been in the ER many times over the last few years with church members and with Gabriel… but when I’m the patient, I can think of a million places I’d rather be than the ER because everyone there is sick, it takes forever to get seen, but you’re sick, so that’s where you go. A healthy person doesn’t voluntarily check into the ER and wait for 10 hours to get seen, but a sick person does because they know that’s where they need to be! This is Jesus’ point. The person who comes to Him realizes that they are sick. That they have a virus. That they are in need of a heart transformation. This person knows that they are dying due to their sin… and who in this situation doesn’t acknowledge their need for help as they fight against sin? The pharisees!

1 John 1:9 CSB

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Today, do you rejoice in pointing out the sins of others? That’s what the pharisees did and Jesus has no good news for them because they’re not the ones that he came to save. Today, friend, remember the depths of YOUR sins. Don’t look at the splinters in the eyes of other people - focus on the log in your own eye. Realize how desperately YOU need Jesus’ help today.

1 Timothy 1:15 CSB

15 This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them.

Jesus doesn’t tell these people to fix themselves or follow their heart, Jesus’ calling is simply this: Follow Me! This was a call to something different. The religious leaders say that Jesus’ disciples are different. They eat and drink instead of praying and fasting - this tells us that Jesus was a Baptist. He liked to eat. His followers celebrated regularly. I mentioned this on Wednesday night, as a Christian you must be a glass half-full person because you know how the story ends! You know that Jesus changes everything. You know where you’re going. So, Jesus’ followers were known for celebrating. Fasting is about waiting for something to change - why would Jesus’ followers fast whenever Jesus was with them? Jesus gives us unending joy!

Not only does Jesus change our spirits, but He also changes our looks. You don’t take a brand new shirt, cut it in half, and replace it with a very dirty, old, and discolored shirt. Now you have two ruined shirts. Jesus isn’t here to make something old look newer and improved, He is here to bring about something new. This is what He gets at with the wineskin illustration as well. We have to understand this world. I’ve never tasted wine, so these things require me to study more because of my lack of knowledge. In this context, the wineskin that held the wine was often made from the hide of an animal. When the wineskin was new, it would be stretchy. Newer wine would ferment and stretch the wineskin. Jesus is saying that it would be foolish to put new wine in an old wineskin because it would actually break the container and the wine would be lost.

What does this mean? Jesus is making a direct point: He didn’t come to the earth to patch up or dress up something old. No, He brings something new. Today, Jesus isn’t an addition to your life. He isn’t a 1-week free trial. He brings about something new. He changes our perspective. He changes our hearts. He changes our desires. And whenever He saves you, He comes to live inside of you, and whenever this happens, He wills you with lasting joy that this world can’t touch.

Hebrews 7:25 CSB

25 Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, since he always lives to intercede for them.

As we sang about, Jesus is mighty to save. He seeks and saves the lost. He calls the unqualified and He qualifies those He calls. Each person so far in Luke 5, Peter, James, John, Matthew, the leper, the cripple, none of these people deserved saving. It’s all because of grace. John Newton, the hymn writer of Amazing Grace, knew this. “Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace shall lead me Home.” Before he died, he told a friend this: “I know two truths: I am a great sinner, and Jesus is a great Savior!” Aren’t you thankful for this?

Good News About God’s Grace:

Grace is Greater Than Shame

Regardless of your past, Jesus is able to save! Look at the leper. Jesus was able to save him - Jesus is able to save you from whatever has caused separation and isolation in your life. His grace reaches down to the uttermost!

Grace is Greater Than Hurt

Regardless of your pain, Jesus is able to save! If you’re hurting today - physically, relationally, emotionally, Jesus is able to change you today. Jesus

God’s Grace Leads to Repentance

Grace doesn’t keep you where you were, Grace changes you!

Grace Generates Guts

Grace leads you to say “Jesus died for me, I will live for Him!”