Jesus Calls Sinners to Repentance

Introduction

As a kid, wherever your parents, grandparents, went you had to tag along. In fact, whoever you lived with, wherever they went, you went as well. It didnt matter if you didnt like the folks whose house you were going by, you had to go. As you get older and get invites to certain places, the big question many people now aski in some circles, “Who all are going to be over there?” Why, well it all depends on the folks at the party or gathering that will determine if you are going to show up or not. The right people, the right “vibe” I am there. The wrong people, wrong type of vibe, I’m good.

It seems, Jesus, according to the religious leaders of the day, never asked the question, “Who all are going to be there.” However, he was in the business of actually, drawing the folks that were the outcast, broken, sinful .

In fact, Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.” Luke 7:34–35

This was Jesus MO, this was who he came for. Those who the father has given Him, those who He was calling unto himself. While their were many who rejected the message of the Kingdom of God. To those who did believe he did not turn away, but gave them eternal life. The point of this message is simple, Jesus, calls sinners too repentance.

JESUS CALLS THE SINNER TO FOLLOW HIM-VS 27-28

Luke is taking us on a deeper journey into the the life of our Lord Jesus. In the verses before this, we read Jesus healing a paralytic, but not only healing him but forgiving his sins. We saw the authority and power of Jesus as God in the flesh. That he is the only one who can both forgive and heal.

Remember, Luke is showing the reader that Jesus is indeed who he claimed to be. Now directly after this, Jesus is walking along the seaside, he is not to far from Caperneum and is walking along the sea of Galilee. This account can also be found in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark.

As Jesus is walking he noticed a man sitting at a toll booth. Now if you have driven anywhere and driven through a toll booth, they are collecting money. They are collecting a tax.

Now, if we just glossed over this, the richness of what Jesus is about to do would be lost on us.

I don’t know too many people who enjoy paying taxes. It is part of our civil duty, but does not mean it is enjoyable. It becomes even less bearable when the government overtaxes its people to the point they are burden down or taxed for every little thing.

Now remember, right before this Jesus forgave and heal one who was paralyzed and among many even seen as cursed by God because of his condition. This was not the case and Jesus heals and forgives.

Now, here is Jesus meeting a man named Levi on his job, as a tax collector.

It probably goes without being said, but even then people despised tax collectors. Well part of the reason, many times they not only were working for the Roman government as Jewish citizens, but they often took more than they should.

Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He told them, “Don’t collect any more than what you have been authorized.” , Lk 3:12–13.

In fact, the pharisees often asked Jesus disciples, why does your master eat with publicans and tax collectors.

In New Testament times these taxes were paid to the Romans, and hence were regarded by the Jews as a very heavy burden, and hence also the collectors of taxes, who were frequently Jews, were hated, and were usually spoken of in very opprobrious terms. M. G. Easton, Easton’s Bible Dictionary (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1893).

So you had the publicans like Zacchaeus who framed how the taxes would be collected from specific towns and districts. They would often hire subordinates like Levi to collect these taxes. So Levi was a government subcontractor.

What did he collect? Well they would tax merchandise, travel, etc and they would set up on the Roman provided roads.

Jews had it double hardship as they were subkect to the relgious tax as well, such as the temple teax and tithes on produce for the preists.

Yet, here was the probelm, in order to make money, they would demand higher tax. So they would take off the top and then give what the Romans asked for.

Since the Jews considered themselves victims of Roman oppression, Jewish tax collectors who overtaxed their fellow countrymen were especially despised. Jews viewed such favor for Rome as betrayal and equal to treason against God. Rabbinic sources consistently align Jewish tax collectors with robbers. Jeffrey E. Miller, “Tax Collector,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

Tax collectors were despised, seen as unclean, and excluded from religious activities.

The Scripture tells us plainly, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”, Lk 19:10.

So, Jesus finds Levi working. Minding his own business, collecting taxes and says to Him, follow me!

If it would not have been for the grace and mercy of God, would we have come to Jesus?

“ We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!- Ephesians 2:3-5

He met the despised, unclean and excluded in his sin and yet says to Him follow me.

Follow Me

This wasn’t Jesus saying, hey come along and grow deeper in discipleship, no this was a call to come and die to your old life, a call to become a follower of Christ.

Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. , Lk 9:23.

Could you imagine the cost for Levi? You’re making great money, you have all the friends who have money you could want. Power, respect from those who have power.

You know the reality is, it does cost everyone who is a follower of Jesus to follow Him.

It costs something, yet everyones cost is different. If it has not cost you something to follow the Savior are you truly following him?

In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple. Lk 14:33.

You may not lose clothing, cars or fame, but some do and even their lives. Yet for many of us, it is a lost of relationships. For some it is a lost of certain opportunities. For others, your lifestyle so changes that the entire course of your life changes as well.

Notice, Leaving everything behind, he got up and began to follow him

It wasn't just a one time following, but this marked the start of his following Christ.

See American Christianity says, you walk the aisle, you shake a hand, you get wet and all your wildest dreams of the American dream come true.

Biblical Christianity says, you come to die to your old life, live for Christ and follow Him until the day you die.

You follow the Son of Man. The one who had no place to lay his head, the one was maligned and mistreated, the one who loved the broken and the outcast, the one who died on the cross, was buried and rose again on third day, the one who forgives our sins and washes us clean. We come to follow Jesus not as a fad, but because He is God and if we left him where else would we go?

JESUS TRANSFORMS THE SINNERS HEART- 29-30

Levi went from collecting taxes to hosting a feast for Jesus and his friends at his home.

Remember the association issue. Okay Jesus you talked to this man outside at his tax booth, now you are sitting at his table in his own eating with him. This was scandalous.

Imagine a member of a neo nazi party, staunch racist, responds to the grace of God, God saves him, as God has the prerogative to save who he wants, when he wants. He calls him to himself and now this person is part of a church like ours.

Imagine now another person who lets say in the nation of islam, they come to follow the true Biblical Jesus, they are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone and they come to the church.

These two people have been transformed by the same power, the Power of the Gospel. It has the power to transform cold dead hearts into hearts of flesh. it is the power of God unto salvation.

Yet, it starts with repentance. Acknowledging your sin before a holy God and receiving forgiveness.

The text tells us, there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others who wee guest with them.

Now, here was part of the problem, guilt by association . To have fellowship with sinners was moral compromise. Yet, we have to challenge our own thinking in this. Was Jesus a glutton, drunk, moral compromiser. Was the perfect son of God who loved sinners one as well?

He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21

The pharisees and their scribes were complaining not to Jesus, but his disciples, why, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

Well you say, well, see it wasnt that “bad” when I came to Jesus, no Jesus just cleaned me up.

as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one., Ro 3:10–12.

When we look at the cross, we should see the cost of our sin. The great love of our God. The great lengths he went through for us. The wrath he took on for you and I.

Christianity is not me centered it is Christ centered and based on what He has done. His finished work.

Often we can take on the same attitude:

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.’“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!’  I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other; because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:11-14

The true born again person understands that they are who they are by the grace of God.

The moment you begin to justify your righteous based on the merits of men. have confidence in your righteousness by looking down on others, you have a false and man centered righteousness. You can’t even gain righteousness by knowledge. You can’t gain it by ethnicity.

Understand we are only made right, righteous by the finished work of the only righteous one to ever walk the earth. He was 100% God 100% man. In his incarnation he was God.

JESUS CALLS SINNERS TO REPENTANCE- VS 31-32

Jesus lays out clearly for the religious leaders with an ideom or saying.

“It is not those who are healthy who need a doctor, but those who are sick.” Luke 5:31

This is part of the problem with American christianity. We keep telling everyone they are not sick.

Most popular Christianity says, how great you are, how much you deserve blessing, etc.

See the good news not good if you don’t know why it is good.

Imagine someone coming to you saying, take this medicine, it will cure you. Cure me of what I am fine. Now imagine you going to the doctor and the doctor saying to you, we have run test and discovered you have cancer, you can be cured, but here is the remedy.

The scribes laid such a heavy burden on the people, they ignored concerns of justice, mercy and faith.

Jesus says, look, those who are healthy don’t need a physician, it is the sick.

See how the Gospel is for every person. Every individual regardless of background, socio economic status, ethnicity, why, we all like sheep have gone astray.

Yet, so many believe they are not sick at all. I am as good person, but by whose standard? Yours or God’s

Notice who he calls, sinners to repentance.

What is repentance?

Literally a change of mind, not about individual plans, intentions, or beliefs, but rather a change in the whole personality from a sinful course of action to God. It is a transformative process that involves turning away from sin or transgression and turning back to God. Lesley DiFransico,

What is the result

New Birth

A turn back to God

Right standing

NEXT STEPS

Do you see people as God does, in need of salvation?

Have you rested that God’s salvation is sufficient?

Are you in need of forgiveness?