Jesus, Friend of Sinners

Known for his unique ability to simplify profound truth so that it can be applied to everyday life, Adrian Rogers was one of the most effective preachers, respected Bible teachers, and Christian leaders of our time. Thanks for joining us for this message.

Here's Adrian Rogers. Well, there's some passages of Scripture that are a blessing. There are some that are classic. We're going to deal with one of those passages this morning. I would like for you to find in your Bibles Luke chapter 15. And if you have been on the trail for a while, you'll recognize this as a story that Jesus told about how much God loves you. Now, perhaps you think, you know, Pastor, I have sinned so much. I have gone so far. I have refused so long that God has written me off. There is no hope for me.

Well, I want to take that idea out of your head today. And we're going to look here in Luke chapter 15. Now, I want us to get the setting, verses 1 and 2. Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners, for to hear him. Now, notice he said publicans and sinners.

In this day, it was almost like one word. The publicans were the tax collectors. They were hated and they were crooks, most of them. So, then they're coming now to hear the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, look, if you will, in verse 2. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, this man receiveth sinners and eateth with them. What they were doing was criticizing the Lord Jesus Christ for spending time with publicans and sinners.

Now, these Pharisees, in whom the milk of human kindness had curdled, began to criticize. I want to say to you, it doesn't take a lot of size to criticize. And every church sometimes has people who are critics. One pastor said, Brother Jones, would you stand and lead us in a word of criticism? And they're criticizing. But they're criticizing the very Son of God.

Who were these that were doing this criticism? Well, they were the elite, the high society of religion in that day. We might call them the upper crust. Somebody says the upper crust, a lot of rich people held together by dough. But you see, these were held together by religion, but they didn't have Jesus.

Now, they were the up and out. And then the publicans and the sinners were the down and out. And the word Jesus Christ is going to teach in this passage is that he loves all. And I want to stand here today and tell you, precious friend on the back row, down here in the front, wherever you may be, God loves you. And the title of the message is this, Jesus, the friend of sinners. Jesus, the friend of sinners. I rejoice that he is a friend of sinners, don't you? I'm telling you, where would I be if Jesus Christ were not a friend of sinners? Thank God that he was.

Thank God that he is. Now, when they criticized the Lord Jesus, Jesus gave a parable. A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. So, Jesus told these stories. And the Bible says here he gave a parable. Now, some people think in this 15th chapter there are three parables. But really, it's a parable with three parts to it. One is he talks here in this parable about a lost sheep. Then he talks about some lost silver. Then he talks about a lost son.

And he tells their needs, and he tells why he loves them. So, let's look, first of all, at what I want to call the sinful nature of man. This is your nature, my nature, our nature, the sinful nature of man. For example, we are weak like a sheep.

Look, if you will, in 15.4 now. What man of you having 100 sheep, if you lose one of them, does not leave the 99 in the wilderness and go after that which is lost until he finds it? Now, sheep is one of the weakest animals around. Let me tell you about a sheep. First of all, the sheep is dumb.

I mean, they're stupid. You know, if you go to the circus, you might see a trained elephant, trained lion, a tiger, a horse, a dog. You've never seen a trained sheep. A sheep is, you know, he's dumb. Now, sometimes we think that because we're sheep, we're being praised.

No, we are sheep, but a sheep is dumb. And because he's dumb, he can't find his way home. He'll browse here, nibble there, and eat here. And he gets further and further away, and he can't find his way home. A dog can find his way home. A horse finds his way home.

A cow can find her way home. But a sheep, because it's dumb, this sheep strays from God. Therefore, they need a shepherd. Now, Romans chapter 3 verse 11 speaks of how dumb sheep are. It says, there is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after God. If you're here without the Lord Jesus Christ, I want to tell you something. You do not understand the things of God.

Now, you say, wait a minute, pastor. I made good grades in school. I do. I run a business. I'm a lawyer. I'm a doctor. I'm an entrepreneur. I'm this, I'm that.

Friend, without Jesus, can I say this nicely? You're dumb. You're dumb. I mean, you're like a sheep. A sheep is dumb. And not only is a sheep dumb, a sheep is defenseless.

Now, you think about it. A horse can run. The tiger can claw. The wolf can bite. Cat can scratch.

What can a sheep do? Now, you say, well, wait a minute. I'm strong.

I've got finances. No, listen. We're talking on a spiritual plane. It's an earthly story with a spiritual meaning. What Jesus says is, the devil's coyote is after you. The devil's vultures are after you. The devil's mountain lions are after you.

And you'll not escape. Like a sheep, we're dumb. Like a sheep, we're dependent and defenseless. Keller, in his book, a shepherd looks at the 23rd Psalm, talks about a sheep being so dependent.

You know, that's the reason why Jesus said, when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion, for he saw them as sheep having no shepherd. They say that a sheep, Keller says in this book, and he was a sheep herder. He said that sometimes a sheep will feed on the green succulent grass, and then the sheep will lie down and stretch out to digest that food, but if there's a crevasse there or a hollow place, sometimes the center of gravity will shift, and he'll find himself on his back. Now, a sheep does not have enough agility to get up, and he can't, he just paused the air. And when he does that, the gases begin to fill up in his stomach.

He begins to bloat, and the circulation is cut off to his legs. And after a while, he will be dead. He is so dependent upon the shepherd. So am I.

So are you. Now, the good shepherd gets back to the fold at night, and he counts his sheep. He has a hundred sheep. Ninety and nine are there, but one is missing, and he goes out to the mountainside to find that missing sheep who is so dependent upon the shepherd to put him back on his feet. Now, friend, Jesus was asked, why do you keep company with sinners?

He said, they're weak, like a sheep. And then he gives another parable, if you will, verse 8. Either what woman, having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, does not light a candle and sweep the house and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors, saying, rejoice with me, for I have found the piece that I had lost.

Now, Jesus talks about a lost sheep. Now he's talking about lost silver. Here's a woman who lost a valuable coin, and she needs that coin. She wants that coin. And so she is searching for that coin because not only is man weak like a sheep, he is worthless like a lost coin. You see, when a coin is minted, it is meant to be spent or else treasured, but it is not to be lost. Now, God made you to serve him, and until you serve him, not only are you weak like a sheep, you are worthless like a lost coin.

You say, well, now, wait a minute. I'm not worthless. Without Jesus, you are.

Now, the Bible teaches this very clearly and plainly that we have all gone out of the way. Together, we've become unprofitable. You see, if a coin is lost, it is not profitable. When I was swimming down in West Palm Beach, Florida, in the ocean, one day I looked up and my wedding ring was gone. It had slipped off while I was swimming and went to the bottom of the ocean. Now, there's some shells down there and a ring down there. My ring on the bottom of the ocean is worth no more than no shells if it's on the bottom of the ocean. You see, a treasure that is lost is no treasure. A coin that is lost is unprofitable. Now, you may think that you're very profitable, but I'm talking about the kingdom of heaven. You see, our Lord is talking about the worthlessness of a man without God.

God created you to know him, love him, and serve him. Now, how did this coin get lost? Well, it was lost, first of all, in the darkness.

Look if you will in verse 8. It says, either what woman, having 10 pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, does not light a candle. You see, this coin, like every unsaved person, is in darkness and great darkness because the God of this world had blinded their minds. And so, like a lost coin, you're in darkness. And then the same verse of Scripture says that she not only lights a candle, but she sweeps the house. Look in verse 8.

She sweeps the house. Not only was it lost in darkness, it was lost in dirt. It's just down there somehow in the dirt. And so, she's sweeping the house, disturbing the dirt, hoping to find the coin. But now listen, not only was it lost in darkness and lost in the dirt, it was lost in disgrace. Now, Jesus here speaks of 10 pieces of silver.

That's very interesting. He doesn't say which of you having a piece of silver loses it. He talks of 10 pieces of silver and one is lost. Ten is the complete number. Like seven is the perfect number, but 10 is the complete number. Five fingers, five fingers, 10. And so, in Bible symbolism, 10 means completeness.

Now, let me tell you why I said it was lost in disgrace. Back in this day, a husband would give to his wife 10 pieces of silver. There'd be a hole in the center with a ribbon that would go through them. The husband would engrave his name on it. And if you've seen the pictures of Middle Eastern women with these coins going across their face, I think you have.

Very similar to our wedding ring today, our engagement ring. And she would wear these that spoke of the loyalty of her husband to her and she to him. Now, if she were unfaithful, if she became an adulteress, they would take a coin right out of the center and there'd be a hideous gap there.

She would be disgraced. You can understand now why she is frantically seeking this coin. You see, God loves you and he wants you to be his, but the devil wants to make you a disgrace to God. And so, man is so weak like a lost sheep, dumb, dependent, defenseless.

A man is so worthless like a lost coin, lost in the dark, lost in the dirt, lost in disgrace. Remember, they're asking Jesus, why do you keep company with these people? And Jesus said, that's why I do it. Now, the third thing that Jesus told was the story of a lost son. Story, remember now? Lost sheep, lost silver. And now the story of a lost son.

Now, look if you will in Luke 15 verses 11 through 12. And he said, a certain man had two sons and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that fallest to me and he divided unto them his living. Both sons got the same amount. When this young man was saying to his father, Father, I want my inheritance and I want it now.

Now, the inheritance was normally given when the father died. But this man says, I want it and I want it now. It was a way of saying to his father, I wish you were dead. I don't need you. I don't want your love. I don't want your fellowship. I don't want your authority over me. I just want what you have.

I don't want you. Now, friend, there are many people just like that today. They don't want God, but they want what God has. They walk on God's green earth. They breathe God's fresh air. They live on the abundance that God has given the rain and the sunshine, but they don't want God.

They don't want God. And so, Jesus tells the story of this boy. And Jesus is going to say he is a wretched boy because he is away from home.

Now, look, if you will, in verse 13. And not many days after, the younger son gathered altogether and took his journey into a far country. And there wasted his substance with riotous living. Now, I don't know where he went. Maybe he went to Las Vegas. Maybe he went to Miami.

Maybe he went to Tunica. I don't know where he went, but he went to a far country. And there he wasted what his father had given him, living high, wide, and handsome, women, liquor, and song, and soon it was gone because he was spending money like it was water in his hands.

Now, what happened? Well, first of all, there was depression. Now, the Bible says a mighty famine came in that land. Look in verses 14 through 19. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land, and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

And he would fain have filled his belly with the husk that the swine did eat. And no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, that is when he was in his right mind, he said, How many hired servants of my fathers have bread enough and to spare? And I perish with hunger. I will arise and go to my father, and I will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

Make me as one of thy hired servants. Now, what is the fruit of this kind of sin? First of all, there's depression.

There arose a famine in that land. That's just another word for saying depression. Now, you say, Well, I'm not in depression. I've got a lot in the bank. I'll tell you something, one of two things.

Soon, it will leave you or you will leave it. There arose a depression. Don't boast about what you have, about your strength, about your friends, about your intellect. All of these things are here, but Jesus is saying there's going to be a depression. Now, not only was there depression, but there was degradation. This boy, having lost it all, went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, that is a stranger somewhere else, and he sent him out to feed the pigs, to feed the swine. Now, remember, Jesus is giving this parable to the Pharisees, the high muckety-mucks of the Jewish religion, and it's a Jewish audience. This was a Jewish boy. A self-respecting Jew would not touch a pig with a 10-foot pole, and there he is, slapping the hogs and wanting some of the swill that the hogs could eat. He would feign to fill his belly with the husks that the swine did eat, and no man gave unto him. What is the story?

Look at it. It is a story, ladies and gentlemen, of depression, and then it's a story of degradation, and then it's a story of dissatisfaction. He's hungry. He doesn't have anything to satisfy his deepest longings. Now, remember, Jesus is talking in a spiritual sense right now. Now, what he is saying is this, that without the Father, there is a gnawing hunger in every man's breast.

Now, you may be wearing a mask today. You may be laughing and going on your way, but I'll tell you this much. Down in your heart, if you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ, there is a hunger for God. Friends all around me are trying to find what the heart yearns for by sin unto mind.

I know where it is found. Only true pleasures in Jesus abound. Friend, if you don't know the Lord Jesus, I know that I know there's a God-shaped vacuum in your heart. And so what our Lord is talking about here is the weakness of man without God like a sheep, the worthlessness of man like a lost coin, the wretchedness of man away from God. He said, you want to know why I keep company with him?

That's the reason. But now let's turn it over and think not only of the sinful nature of man, but let's think of the saving nature of God. In this parable, there were three who would go out and seek that which was lost. There was the shepherd, there was the woman, and there was the father.

Now, you're going to learn something about the nature of God as you look at these people. For example, the shepherd represents the Lord Jesus Christ. The woman represents the Holy Spirit, and the father represents the loving father in heaven. Now, first of all, the shepherd is the Lord Jesus Christ. The sheep is lost. The shepherd is Jesus. The good shepherd given his life for the sheep. Now, let me tell you what the nature of Jesus is. You want to know what the nature of Jesus is?

It is to seek the lost. Why did Jesus come to this earth? He didn't come primarily as a teacher. He didn't come as a healer. He came as a savior.

Do you know that? As a savior. Luke 19, 10, the son of man has come to seek and to save that which is lost. The apostle Paul said this is a faithful saying. And worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. That is the nature of the Lord Jesus.

And let me just put this in parenthetically. If Jesus is in your heart, you are going to want to go out after the lost. Now, if you don't care about lost people, I think you better check up on that thing you call salvation because the nature of Jesus is to rescue, to rescue the perishing.

That is his nature. He is the seeking savior. And so the Lord, when he told this story, spoke of a shepherd that represented him.

Then he spoke of a woman. That represents the Holy Spirit of God. And not only do we see in the shepherd the rescuing nature of God, but in the woman we see the revealing nature of God. What this woman did was to light a candle.

Because this coin was lost in the darkness. That's what God the Holy Spirit wants to do in your heart this morning, to light a candle, to see the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Because, friend, without the Holy Spirit, you'll never understand. That's the reason I got on my knees this morning before I came out here as I do every Sunday. And said, oh God almighty, please anoint me to preach because it's the Spirit that gives light.

Not a sermon, not an outline. The Holy Spirit of God. God wants to light the candle of hope in your heart. So she lights a candle. And then she begins to sweep. The candle speaks of illumination. The broom speaks of disturbance.

This is conviction. She begins to sweep and to stir up all of that filth and that dirt. Now, if God is working on you this morning, you're going to see that candle and you're going to feel that broom. Now, if you don't have that, then I suggest that you wait before God till he sends it to you.

You see, this coin was lost in darkness and lost in dirtiness and lost in disgrace. But you see, there's not only the saving nature of God the Son, the rescuing nature. Not only is there the revealing nature of God the Spirit, but there is the receiving nature. Oh, listen to me, precious friend of God the Father.

The receiving nature of God the Father. Now, this boy's down in the pig pen. What does he say? He came to himself and said, why, the servants in my father's house, the servants have bread enough in despair.

They don't eat everything on their plate. And here I am perishing with hunger. I will arise and go to my Father.

Now, listen to this. And I will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight and I am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the Bible says when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion on him and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And he said, Father, I'm not worthy to be your son. Would you just make me a servant?

Let me bunk out with the other slaves. And the father fell on his neck and kissed him and said, bring a ring and put it on his hand. That's a sign of sonship. Bring a robe and put it on him and put shoes on his feet.

The slaves didn't wear shoes. Here this father is receiving this boy. It's one of the most moving pictures in all of the Bible. This father's been longing for his son. He goes to the mailbox, no mail. He asks, everybody, have you seen my boy? Have you seen John? Nobody's seen him.

The father is sitting up there on the front porch looking down with his keen eye down the long road that leads to the house. And he sees a figure coming. And first he is of no consequence to the old man. But then there's something about the way the boy swings his arms. There's something about his gait, the way he walks.

Something about the way he swings his head. And the old man says, that's John. That is John. And he leaps over the banister. And he begins to run down that road to meet that boy. What a picture of God the father. You know in the Bible, God moves with deliberate majesty. In every other place when you read about God the father, he is never late. He's never in a hurry. And we're told to wait on God. But here's a picture of God in a hurry. And here comes that old man as he gathers up his robes and runs and runs to meet that boy coming home. I'm telling you this morning I'm going to give an invitation. And if you step out and start down one of these aisles, God will run up the other side to receive you.

He loves you. Friend, Jesus said, you want me to tell you why I keep company with sinners? They're not sheep. They're worthless like a lost coin.

They're wretched like a lost son. That's the nature of sinful man. But let me tell you the nature of almighty God. There's the rescuing nature of God the son. There is the revealing nature of God the spirit.

There is the receiving nature of God the loving father. I don't believe I've ever preached on this passage, but what I tell the following story, I've told you before many, many years ago. I don't know where the story first originated, but a preacher, an old preacher, was riding on a train and he looked across the aisle and he saw a young boy. And the preacher, knowing the ways of man and having counseled many people, he could see the boy was in trouble. He could see he was fidgety and nervous. So I went over and sat by him and said, son, I'm a minister of the gospel and I don't want to pry, but do you have a problem?

Perhaps I can help you. The boy said, yes sir, I do have a problem. He said, let me tell you, many years ago, I had a fight with my parents.

My parents are good and decent people. I was wicked and ungrateful. And I left home and slammed the door behind me and looked back and said, I will never come back to this house again. He said, I've lived apart from my loving parents. And he said, I have received word now that my daddy is sick. And I thought how hurtful and hateful and sinful I'd been.

Would I let my daddy die without my apology to him, without asking his forgiveness? So he said, I'm on this train. These tracks run close to my house and we're almost there.

There's a curve at the track. And out by the track behind my parents' house is a tree, a large tree. And I told them I would be on this train. And I told them if they would let me come home to tie a handkerchief on that tree.

But if I didn't see the handkerchief, I would know I was not worthy to come home and I would just keep writing. And he said, now we're very close. The preacher said, son, you pray and I'll look. And the old preacher in his heart said, oh God, let there be a handkerchief on that tree.

The train came around the curve. He said, son, lift up your head and look. And that old couple had gone out there and gotten every towel, every bed sheet, every quilt, everything that they could find that was white and that tree looked like a mountain of snow. Come home. Come home. I want to tell you, God loves you. The good shepherd is seeking you. The Holy Spirit is shining light on you.

And God the Father has his arms open wide. I want you to bow your head in prayer. If you've been away from God, you need the Lord. I want you to let God speak to your heart.

In a way, I want you to forget what I've said and I want you to listen to what God is saying because God is telling you to come home. My dear friend, I want to lead you in a prayer. And if you realize how much God loves you and will receive you, I want you to pray this prayer after me. Dear God, thank you for the Holy Spirit who reveals my sin, disturbs my heart, puts me under conviction. Thank you for the dear Savior who died and gave his life for the sheep and shed his blood that I might be saved. Thank you, God, that you love me and you will not turn me away for you've said in your word whosoever will may come. Now pray this, friend, if you can pray it and mean it. Dear God, I open my heart. I receive you. I come to you now. I'm coming home. Save me, Lord Jesus. In your holy name I pray, amen. .