NEW SERIES: Lost & Found: A Study in Luke

TEXT: Luke 5:27-32

MESSAGE: “The Mission of God”

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v. 32 —“I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

“Those who do not think about their own sins make up for it by thinking incessantly about the sins of others.” — C. S. Lewis

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” — Revelation 3:15-17

TEXT: Luke 5:27-32

“What does (the healing of the leper) mean?…When you go through the Gospels, you’ll see something really strange. There is a disproportionate number of what the world would consider losers, what the world considers outcasts, what the world considers unimportant, what the world considers defiled that Jesus is reaching out to and touching and pulling in to community and very often making leaders…You look at the gender outsiders. You look at the racial outsiders. You look at lepers. You look at the tax collectors, who were political outsiders. Jesus takes the people the world sees at the bottom and brings them in. Jesus looks at the people the world sees on the outside and brings them in. Why? Because that’s the pattern of Jesus’ own salvation.” — Timothy Keller

Q: What can we learn about Jesus’ mission and why we need it today? We learn that Jesus powerfully transforms lives…(1. Individually 2. Socially 3. Theologically)

      1. Individually (v. 27-28)

“After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.”

      2. Socially (v. 29-30)

“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. 30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

“True Christianity has always broken down economic, social, ethnic, and racial barriers; for where Christ is truly present, ‘people will come from east, and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the Kingdom of God.” — Robert Stein

      3. Theologically (v. 31-32)

“And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

“Jesus was a friend of sinners not because he winked at sin, ignored sin, or enjoyed light-hearted revelry with those engaged in immorality. Jesus was a friend of sinners in that he came to save sinners and was very pleased to welcome sinners who were open to the gospel, sorry for their sins, and on their way to putting their faith in Him.”  — Kevin DeYoung

TAKEAWAYS: Let’s ask three questions to help us see how Jesus transforms us…

• How has Jesus pursued you personally?
• How has Jesus changed who you are willing to associate with?

“There is no shortcut to understanding the people. When you understand the people, you often know what to say and do and how. When the people know that the Christians understand them, they infer that maybe Christianity’s High God understands them too.” — George Hunter

• How has Jesus changed the way you view God?

“Jesus himself suffered outside the city gate, so his blood would make people holy.” — Hebrews 13:12