Sermonette for Saturday
But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against His disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? Luke 5:30
The Malvern Hills Presbyterian Church in Asheville, North Carolina, had a sign out front that read, ‘This church is not full of hypocrites. There’s room for more!’ At least they were being honest. There are very few churches these days that don’t have a sizable percentage of hypocrites in their congregations. They go out of their way to appear pious and respectable. And in most cases, they go out of their way to shun and avoid those who don’t appear to be as respectable and pious as themselves. And don’t point the finger at the denominations, either. Consider how out-of-place many of the non-Assembly people look that are invited to our Gospel meetings or to our conferences. Most of us will do what we can to make them feel accepted and comfortable, but it’s hard for them to ignore the fact that they look a little different and talk a little different, and some people give them the obvious sideways glances. In effect, they are probably thinking that people are wondering about those who are hanging around with them. They suspect that we are not as comfortable as we should be with ‘publicans and sinners’. Are we?
Luke’s account of this incident is different from that of Matthew and Mark’s Gospels. In those first two books, the scribes and Pharisees question why Jesus is eating and keeping company with publicans and sinners. But in Luke, the question is directed at the disciples: why do ye? It was not just the Lord Jesus who was at Levi’s great feast, it was his disciples. They were following their Master’s lead, and were eating and drinking with those attending the feast. The scribes and Pharisees obviously did not think that was right. But if the Lord Jesus was doing it, the disciples should be doing it as well. And so should we. This was in fact a Gospel supper, an effort by the new convert Levi to reach his friends and former associates. It was very successful; the attendance was overwhelming, and we have no idea how many of those folks were saved as a result of their introduction to the Guest of honour. Just as we will never know the results of our efforts to reach out to people with the Gospel in a welcoming and friendly way.
One of the problems we have as we witness for our Lord is convincing people we are sincere and not just peddlers of religion. It makes it all the more important that our lives are in order, that we are not living something different from what we profess. If we are caring, kind, and honest, people will have few stones to throw at us. The more we pattern our lives after our Lord, the more we will be accepted as speaking for Him. Those who condemn us for being like the Lord Jesus are the ones in the wrong, just like the scribes and Pharisees were.
The more we know of the Lord Jesus, the more impressed we are at His humility and compassion. And the more likely we will be to be like Him. -Jim MacIntosh