A Wonderful Insult

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! The world is filled with critics and complainers concerning the Christ. In contrast to these detractors, Scripture says a living Lord calls all who are troubled in conscience and heavy in heart. The Bible tells us and believers rejoice in the Savior who receives sinners. Amen.

Lutherans sing during Communion. I don’t know what other denominations do while the congregation is taking Communion, but Lutherans sing.

Thirty years ago, I was pastor of a congregation where people really liked to sing. I remember one special Sunday; the congregation was singing and I was busy in the front of the church distributing the Elements of Communion. Since they were singing wonderfully well, I concluded that I had managed, for once, to pick a song they really liked. They were in the fourth verse of that hymn when there was a noticeable drop in volume. I looked up from what I was doing and saw the reason for the drop in decibels. A young lady, one of our college students home for the weekend, was coming up the aisle. You will understand why the music became muted if I tell you that she was coming up the aisle dressed in what, at that time, was the height of fashion: a mini-skirt… a very, mini-mini skirt.

She walked up the aisle, and as she passed each row, heads went up, and the volume of singing went down. Finally, she reached the front of the church and, as was the custom, she bowed. I remember hearing an audible gasp arising from the entire congregation; I remember the organist was, all-of-a-sudden, playing a solo without any vocal participation from the parish; I remember thinking the people of my congregation really weren’t able to multi-task, that is, sing and watch at the same time.

There is one other thing I remember about that day. I remember the discussions which took place after the service. There were two distinct opinions being expressed about the young lady’s attire: there were those who used words like scandalous, inappropriate, in poor taste, and objectionable. You may well understand if I said those opinions, expressed with some degree of fervor and forcefulness, were primarily pronounced by the ladies of my congregation. You might also understand if I tell you, the men, for the most part, seemed to have a somewhat different take on the outfit. If I remember correctly, they said they had a more “receptive” opinion about the young lady and the way she had dressed.

As for me, I didn’t have time to form an opinion, at least not right away. You see, I had to calm down some of the ladies; and I had to tell some of the men to “grow up.” Only then did I have a chance to think about what had happened. On the one hand, I thought, the young lady hadn’t shown the best of taste in what she had worn; on the other hand, at least she was in church. On the one hand, her dress was offensive to some; but on the other hand, she had worn the best she had when she came into the Lord’s house. On the one hand, I was sad to see the service disrupted and the people put at odds with each other; but on the other hand, a young girl who hadn’t been to church in a long time, came to worship her Savior.

That kind of mental back-and-forth arguing might have continued on forever, if the Lord Himself hadn’t intervened and brought an end to the discussion for me and the entire church. One of the appointed readings for the following Sunday was taken from the opening verses of the fifteenth chapter of Luke. The Bible says: The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Him [Jesus]. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

Those words were pretty close to home. Before I go any farther, let me give you a quick bit of background on the text. When the Bible says, tax collectors and sinners, it’s another way for Scripture to say: these people, who were not on society’s approved “A” list, were getting close, uncomfortably close, to Jesus. Tax collectors and sinners were the folks who partied too much; were slightly shifty in their business dealings; were a bit too politically adaptable and personally adjustable. Tax collectors and sinners were not the kinds of people you wanted your son or daughter to marry, date, or even be seen with. Tax collectors and sinners were the kinds of people who might wear a mini-mini skirt to church and not even know they were doing something wrong.

In complete contrast, and in total opposition to the tax collectors and sinners, the passage mentions another group: the Pharisees and scribes. The Pharisees and scribes were the kind of folks who worked very hard to be on everyone’s “A” list; the type of people who were widely regarded as being pillars of the community. They would be the folks you prayed would move into the empty house next door. If they did, you would breathe a sigh of relief because you knew their lawn would always look like a putting green; their cars would always be washed; and their children would always be buffed to a high-gloss shine. They were the kind of folks who lived their lives so as to be above criticism. Of course, that doesn’t mean they felt themselves to be above criticizing others.

These Pharisees and scribes were, in fact, very much like the members in my church the previous Sunday. Back then the Pharisees and scribes criticized Jesus; I, and my church, criticized a young lady. Now, don’t get me wrong. The college student may not have done the right thing, or been the poster girl for modesty; but we should have worked harder at singing and worked less at judging. Sadly, that Sunday we had played the role of Pharisees and scribes. We, like they, had criticized and said, “Look, Jesus is associating with sinners.” Thirty years ago, both myself, and my people felt very uncomfortable with the comparison. No Christian likes to be called a Pharisee or scribe; none of us wants to be associated with those who, according to the New Testament, and without any command from God, considered it their moral obligation, their civic duty, to straighten out the shortcomings of others.

Criticizing. That’s what the Pharisees and scribes were doing at the beginning of our Scripture lesson. No, they weren’t criticizing the tax collectors and sinners. The criticism of tax collectors and sinners was beneath them, a total and terrible waste of their time. Tax collectors and sinners were simply too far gone, too mired down in the muck to be salvaged. No, the ever-glaring eyes and the perpetually sharp tongues of the Pharisees and scribes were being directed toward Jesus. Their voices dripped with poison as they offered this scathing and sarcastic critique of the Christ: “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

You know, as I think upon my readings through Scripture, and the many ways the Bible describes the Savior’s relationship with those who are lost, these three words – Jesus receives sinners – are to my ear, the most beautiful. Jesus receives sinners. Those words, once spoken by Pharisees and scribes with derision, disdain, disrespect, and displeasure, were intended to be taken as an insult to the Savior. That I and the hundreds of millions of Christians in the world do not hear those words that way, is a credit to the completeness of the Savior’s work and the gracious power of the Holy Spirit. True, there can be no arguing the Pharisees and scribes were right in what they said. Jesus did receive sinners; He still does. So that sinners could be received before the Judgment Seat of God and be declared innocent of all wrongdoing and transgression is why Jesus had lived His life.

If you look at the Savior’s ministry, you will see just how seriously He took His heaven-given assignment. The rebuff of his hometown; the rejection of an entire community; the refusal of a single individual or a great crowd was not enough to stop Him from receiving sinners. The powerful persuasions of the prince of darkness; the judgments of stiff-necked Pharisees; the hatred of envious Priests; the cowardice of His judges; the cruelty of His tormentors; the scorn of His scoffers; could not keep Jesus from receiving sinners. The whip, the fist, the spit, the crown, the nails, the cross, the spear, the borrowed grave did not turn our Redeemer from giving His life so sinners, called by the Holy Spirit, might be forgiven, might be declared clean, might be moved from darkness into light and received into heaven. To receive sinners is why Jesus lived; to receive sinners is why He died; to receive sinners is why the risen Christ shows Himself to a world steeped in sin.

Jesus receives sinners. Do you doubt the truth of the once-scornful insult now made wonderful by the Savior’s resurrection? To find peace for your doubts, please, please, read through the Gospels and see for yourself how Jesus regularly and repeatedly received the worst of sinners, the most despised of humanity. When He encountered lepers, the physically ill outcasts of society, Jesus received them, healed them, and restored them. When He came upon a man, possessed by demons, and dispossessed by all those who had once loved him, Jesus freed the man from his hellish evil and sent him home, healthy and whole. When He met an adulterous woman at a Samaritan well, the Savior did not recoil because of her nationality or her scandalous lifestyle. On the contrary, Jesus received this woman, engaged her in conversation, revealed her transgressions, and granted her a new lease on temporal and eternal life. When the Christ was summoned to the home of Jairus and those who mourned the death of that man’s daughter, Jesus did not excuse Himself lest contact with the dead might make Him ceremonially unclean. On the contrary, with the power which God’s Son alone could possess, Jesus stood by the girl’s deathbed, took her hand, and called her back from the grave.

Look through Scripture and see how Jesus received sinners. He received the dinner invitation of a great sinner like Jericho’s tax-collecting Zacchaeus, and, by the end of the evening was glad to announce, “Today, salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:9). Jesus received a thieving sinner like the man who hung beside Him on the cross; and even though the Savior’s hands were nailed to Calvary’s crossbar, He still managed to snatch that repentant soul out of the grasp of Satan. A resurrected Jesus received a denying disciple like Peter; deserting students like Andrew and James; a doubting sinner like Thomas. His hands, torn by Roman nails, set aside their sins, settled down their fears, and received them back into friendship, forgiveness, freedom, and faith. To them Jesus said, “Do not doubt, but believe” (John 20:27).

And do not, not for a moment, think that Jesus stopped receiving sinners centuries ago, or when the last of the Apostles breathed his last. There has never been a moment in history; no, let me make this personal; there has never been a moment in your life, when Jesus has not been ready to receive you. That’s right, Jesus wants to receive sinners like you. No, don’t tell me you’re not a sinner. You are. You may not be a really big sinner, but you are a sinner. Ask your spouse, or your loving children, or your best friend. I’ll tell you what, ask the person who defends you and stands by your side, no matter what you do. Ask him, or her, “Am I a sinner? Have I ever done, or said, or thought anything which didn’t seem right to you, or pleasing to God?”

Go ahead, do it. Don’t think I’m joking. Really, ask them. I’ll wait. (Pause) You’re not going to ask them, are you? I didn’t think you would. You’re not going to ask, because you know, as much as they love you, as often as they’ve taken your side and defended you, they’re going to hesitate just a little bit too long before they give an answer. Their over-long hesitation means they know, and you ought to know, you are a sinner. Worse, you are a sinner who can’t do a single thing to change yourself, or your wrongdoing. You can’t do anything, if you’re left the way you are, to change the unpleasant place you’re going to be spending eternity after you die and have been judged. You, my sinful friend, need to be received by Jesus.

Maybe denial of sinfulness isn’t your particular problem. Are you among those who, as you look back on your life, find overwhelming evidence showing you to be a depraved, debauched transgressor? Is your shame so great, your guilt so troubling and terrifying, that you believe if you were ever brought before Jesus, He would recoil at the sight of you and refuse to receive you? My dear, big-sinning friend, don’t be so foolish. When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, He was crushed to the ground by the great weight of humanity’s sins. Your transgressions were there that night. Jesus knew you, your life, and every one of the sins you have ever committed.

Trust me on this. I’ve read the Bible. There is not a single passage which speaks of Jesus carrying the sins of everybody with the exception of you. Nowhere does it record Jesus saying, “Yes, Father in heaven, I’ll die to save the world with the exception of Bob or Bertha in the 21st century.” I want you to know that Jesus didn’t recoil at your sins which He saw; He didn’t refuse to redeem you from sin, death, and devil. Jesus knew your sins, and He carried your sins, along with the sins of every one of us, to His cross. Jesus carried the sins of big sinners and little sinners and even those sinners who pretend they’re not sinners. There, on the accursed tree, He gave His life as your ransom and offered His perfection to win your salvation. He paid the price, and then, with His resurrection from the dead, showed to all who are given eyes to see: Jesus receives sinners.

It has been some years since I was told of a small, local newspaper that ran an article about the City Council. The owner of the paper, somewhat upset by recent events, had written an editorial which, in big, bold type, had as its title: “Half The City Council Are Crooks!” While the editor expected a reaction, he didn’t expect all the cancellations that began coming in. Finally, and somewhat reluctantly, he agreed to print a front-page retraction. Being a man of his word, next week, the paper did come out, with a front-page correction. The headline, in bigger, bolder type said: “Half of Our City Council Are Not Crooks!” Well, the truth of the matter is, all of us are sinners – every last one of us.

We are all sinners that Jesus wishes to receive and change. Yes, you heard me right: He will receive you and He will change you. You didn’t think He was going to leave you the way you were, did you? What would be the point in that? If you were going to stay the same, there would have been no purpose in Him living and dying for you. No, Jesus will receive you the way you are; and make you into what God wants you to be. Jesus will receive you and give faith to you, and forgive you and change you. It’s not painful; on the contrary, it’s wonderful to be redeemed and recycled, remade with a new heart, get a new life filled with forgiveness, lifted up by hope, and given a wonderful life which will never end. It all happens because Jesus, the Savior, receives sinners. How do I know? Well, I know because He changed me – and He changed the people of that congregation which had been scandalized rather than singing. After hearing the sermon about the criticism of the Pharisees and scribes, that congregation was changed; and I’m proud to say became some of the most blessed people it is still my pleasure to know. Do you want to know the name of the congregation? I won’t tell you; but if you need to know the name of a place where you can meet the Savior who receives sinners, call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FOR: 74-27
AIRS: March 18, 2007
TOPIC: Distracted by grief, part 3

ANNOUNCER: Now, Pastor Ken Klaus answers questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer.

KLAUS: Mark, this past week, I’ve been thinking about the lady who is mourning the death of her mother. She felt she was condemned by God, maybe even condemned to hell, because she couldn’t keep her mind on her devotions and prayers.

ANNOUNCER: That’s right; and we’ve spent the last two sessions talking about this listener who now feels very much alone.

KLAUS: That’s the one. Well, I wanted to say a few more things to that lady, and, I think, I’ll also be speaking to a great many other listeners who may feel like she does.

ANNOUNCER: Please, continue.

KLAUS: As I remember, Mark, the lady was sure that her mother had gone to heaven.

ANNOUNCER: Right. She said that right off the bat.

KLAUS: Our listener also knows Jesus as her Savior?

ANNOUNCER: She said that, too.

KLAUS: Even so, she feels alone and was afraid she was destined for hell.

ANNOUNCER: Yes, that’s the sum of what she wrote.

KLAUS: Do you see any kind of problem there, Mark?

ANNOUNCER: I don’t know if it’s a problem, but maybe an inconsistency. We were answering the questions of a lady who, even though she is a Christian, she still feels condemned and finds herself in despair. Is that what you were thinking about?

KLAUS: Yes, exactly. I wondered how that could be. I’ve spent some time thinking about it and I think the answer comes from one word: temptation.

ANNOUNCER: Temptation? In what sense?

KLAUS: I’m glad you asked. You know, Mark, the devil is an experienced and dedicated adversary. He knows that Christ earned salvation for all people through His death and resurrection. The devil also knows that if his kingdom is to expand, he must do all he can to undermine our faith and rob us of the joy that Jesus won for us. In this task, the devil is most skilled. He studies us, evaluates us, and tries to hit every one at our weakest point. He doesn’t believe “one temptation fits all.” He knows that what may be a vulnerable spot for you will be like cast iron in me.

ANNOUNCER: So, in other words, my weak spot won’t necessarily be yours.

KLAUS: You see, Satan tailors his temptations to fit the individual. Unbelievers he tempts with the idea that they’re OK just the way they are, or he tempts them to procrastinate and put off repentance.

ANNOUNCER: And I would imagine he employs a completely different set of temptations against believers?

KLAUS: He does. Believers, by the Holy Spirit’s power, know that Jesus’ entire life was lived in order to take away their sins. They know this… but sometimes they find it difficult to really trust what they should believe.

ANNOUNCER: Why is that?

KLAUS: Well, Satan seeks their weak spot, sneaks up and whispers into their ear: “Your sin is too great to be covered.” In the case of our listener, I believe the devil has used the death of her mother, a lady whose presence and prayers were very precious, to try and drive a wedge now between this lady and her Lord.

On one day the devil may suggest to her, “You’re never going to make it to heaven where your mother is.” On another day he might say, “You are all alone, and nobody cares.” On another day he will say, “You know, God really doesn’t love you that much.”

Every day, depending on how our listener is feeling, the devil will try a different, discouraging thought or idea.

ANNOUNCER: And the point is that’s not just true for our listener, right?

KLAUS: Right. Everything Satan does to every Christian is designed to rob him or her of the joy of Jesus and the sure hope of heaven.

ANNOUNCER: So what are you saying?

KLAUS: To our listener, I’m saying: If the devil interrupts your prayer, what of it? You can begin again. If you can’t concentrate on a sermon, don’t despair, you’re not alone. Before we ever think the thought, before we ever open our mouths, the Lord knows the intentions of our hearts. He knows those who are worshiping Him in Spirit and in truth. He knows. And Christ Himself is interceding for us before God in heaven. Christ comes to us in His Word and Sacraments to strengthen our faith and assure us of His love and forgiveness.

ANNOUNCER: How would you sum all of this up for us?

KLAUS: To this Christian listener, I want her to know that her salvation is not based upon her works or her feelings; it is God’s gift to her in Jesus Christ. The desire to be saved by Christ is itself the evidence of saving faith. If a person wants to be saved by Christ, that’s proof that they already are.

ANNOUNCER: Thank you, Pastor Klaus. And with that we bring our program to a close for another week. We thank you, the listener, for making this program part of your day. We hope you will join us next time. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.

Music selections for this program:

“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC

“Jesus Sinners Will Receive” arranged by Henry Gerike. Used by permission