Questions for Jesus: "Why Does Jesus Eat with Sinners?", part 2

This is a continuation of the previous entry, taken from Matthew 9:9-13

Answer #2: "Go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'"

Jesus was quoting Scripture here, from the Old Testament prophet Hosea. Hosea was warning God's people that their sacrifices were useless, because their "love" (worship) of God does not last. They offer sacrifices, but then leave the temple to exploit the poor.

So what does this have to do with the Pharisees' question? I think Jesus was telling them that they are missing the point of worship (sacrifice) and what it means to be holy.

Believers have always struggled with two aspects of the calling of God that can be in tension with one another: holiness and mission. Holiness calls us to distinguish ourselves from the world and mission calls us to love the world.

Some withdraw from the world in the name of holiness. A Fundamentalist newspaper that comes to our church likes to quote the Scripture "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" as a reason to never cooperate with anyone who does not line up doctrinally, top to bottom. They see it as obedience to the call from Revelation 18:4: "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues."

But total separation from the world -- and certainly not condemning and abandoning the world -- is not what holiness is. Jesus was absolutely holy, and yet we find him here among "sinners." So holiness must mean something other than removing oneself from the world.

The Pharisees had abandoned the call to missions. Jesus repeatedly blasted the religious leaders of that day because they had abandoned the call to be a light to the Gentiles and to show the way of life to those headed for death. He told them, in fact, that they blocked the way! They were too concerned with the minute details of their own manufactured righteousness to care about the dying world.

This pharisaical attitude certainly still exists today, but many today are losing their holiness in the name of mission. We are afraid to be too different from the world, to seem "judgmental" or weird. We feel like we need to keep up with a depraved popular culture and the idolatrous race to keep up with technology and fashion. So how we spend our money, time, and affections do not look much different from anyone else.

But what good is salt that's not salty? Salt in Jesus' time contained impurities. And if there got to be too much dirt in it, it was useless. We are useless if we get too much of the world inside of us, if we cannot separate ourselves in our hearts. Jesus may have been spending time with scoundrels and prostitutes, but they knew he was not one of them. To be like him, to access the power and freedom and love and joy with which he lived, they knew they would have to change, radically.

We in the evangelical community make great efforts to invite people to come and join us. But why would people adjust their lives to be like people who don't live any differently? This watered-down version of discipleship may be more palatable first because it's less demanding, but in the end it offers nothing they don't already have.

I also think that Jesus is pointing them to transformation through mercy, that by extending mercy to others, they begin to be changed themselves.

If we have confidence in our own righteousness based on our ability to follow the religious rules that we emphasize, then we will have no compassion for those who seemingly have less willpower.  People are especially hard on others who struggle with sin that is not a strong temptation to them.

But when we have mercy on others, we become more aware of our own sin, weakness, and need for a Savior.  As I grow in Christ, I also become more and more aware of the utter sinfulness of my unredeemed nature.  I realize that apart from God's grace, I am capable of the most disgusting and reprehensible sins that exist.  I would never admit to anyone the evil that I know lurks in my sinful nature.  I truly am sick and in desperate need of a doctor.  Thank God for his grace given to me in Christ Jesus!

Answer #3: "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

This last statement captures the surpise of the gospel -- not so much a surprise to us who are familiar with the gospel but to those who first heard it: God is not drafting a team, where he is looking for the best and the brightest.  He is bringing those who recognize their poverty before them so that he can pour his grace into them and bring glory to himself through them.

I think of that commercial where the dad is teaching his son how to throw, but he is comically clueless as to the horrible habits he is passing down to his son.  When we are confident in our own righteousness before God, it's like that dad showing up to a Major League tryout camp.

We are utterly impoverished before God.  And whatever righteousness we think we've learned is so filled with bad habits that it is useless.  When we recognize this truth, we will be more compassionate to others and we will be able to receive the healing and training that comes from a relationship with Jesus.

Why did Jesus eat with sinners?  The same reason he bothers with you or me: because he loves them, and he is delighted to help all that come to him in faith for healing.