Friend of

SINNERS
By Rich Wilkerson Jr.
NOTES:
Look for the word: rioter

INTRODUCTION:
For Jesus the title “Friend of Sinners” was a sign of success, not a source of shame. It was
the very definition of His mission.

“The goal of this book is to discover the implications of this concept for you and me.
Friendship is far more important to God than we often realize. We tend to think he puts top
priority on performance, purity and perfection, and we assume relationship is the eventual
reward for those things. In other words, the more like Jesus we become, the closer our
relationship with Him will be.

Actually, it works the other way around. The closer we get to Jesus, the more like him we
become. Relationships come first; change comes later.”

-Pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr.

We often try to correct people before we connect with them.

PART 1

Christ: The Scandal of the Gospel

What is the gospel?

What did Jesus teach?

And what does that mean for us?

Many people just think that the answers to the question have to do absolutely with
morality and behavior, good and bad, sin, and holiness, right and wrong. But no! This is part
of His messages, but it´s not all of it. And it´s not the most important part.
Chapter 1: Missed Message.-
Some people think Jesus came to preach about good works. That His goal in life was get us
talk, act and be better. On the other hand, others thought Jesus came to establish holier-
than-thou country club religion. With a bunch of self-disciplined and self-righteous people
getting together and calling themselves church and having judgment thoughts about a
sinful world. Others saw him as a philosopher. And there are few who though that Jesus´s
life was a protest against evil. And the list goes on.

However, Jesus is not a philosopher or martyr or life coach. Jesus´s message is far simpler,
but far more powerful than any of these concepts. Jesus lived a uniquely impacting life. For
some reason, his birth split, human chronology in half. For some reason, his teaching and
his story resonate in the human heart. For some reason people pray in his name, and time
and time again, report answers to their prayers.

 Jesus and the Gangster

The Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are full of stories meant to paint a picture of
Jesus. Present a man consumed with a message.

Matthew used to be a gangster before Jesus called him. He betrayed his people for a
paycheck. He born as Levi in Israel, God chosen people; however, he cared more about
money and changed his name, to be a tax collector. By working for Rome, Matthew had
turned his back in his Jewish heritage.

Jesus didn´t just call people like Matthew, he talk to them, he loved them, he changed them,
he was his friend and made them part of His story.

 The message

Sometimes we make it too difficult for people to follow Jesus. We forget is a journey and on
that journey we all are in different places. Religion tends to look for outward signs that are
qualified to follow God, but Jesus shatters that paradigm time and time again. He doesn´t
wait for us to clean ourselves up or renounce our lifestyles. He finds us where we are and
call us to follow him. Jesus´ message was grace. It was salvation for all who believed in
him. It was mercy and compassion and forgiveness for all who put their faith in him. Jesus
himself was the message. It´s that no matter who you are or how badly you´ve messed up,
grace and forgiveness are available in Jesus.
Jesus came to literally be grace over thirty-three years. His life was his message and His
message gives life. The more we follow Jesus, the more we find our lives defined and
transformed by God´s love and grace.

One thing is to read verses about grace, bur another thing is to truly understand it and live
it. We listen to grace on Sunday and then live with guilt, law and condemnation Monday
through Saturday. When Jesus is our message, we realize that everyone is a candidate to be
called by God. When it comes to faith, everyone´s on their own journey. But they still need
friends along the way. The Jesus message is not one of religion but of relationship.

 Finding the Pharisee within:

Religion apart from relationship is more concerned about outward behavior than inward
change. It values performance and perfection. The Pharisee was the standard of holiness in
Jesus´ day. They were also arrogant, mean; instead of showing mercy and leading people to
God, they condemn and discourage people. But apart from Jesus there´s no such thing as a
“good person”. There´s no distinction between righteous or unrighteous people, or between
healthy and sick people. Without grace there´s only one category to be exact: sinners. Jesus
came to save everyone but only those who recognized their need of salvation would be
saved.

When we miss the Jesus message, we become blinded by our good works, religion and self-
effort. Tend to think that we have righteous areas apart from grace. Grace teaches us that
Jesus is Friend of Sinners, and since we´re sinners, He is our friend. Not because we earned
it, not because we asked for it. But because God loves the world, and he sent his son, Jesus,
to save the world. When we missed the message we tend to think actions and behavior are
the goal.

Jesus himself is the goal of life.

“When we value friendship with Jesus first, rather than behavior, and when we recognize that
he is our friend because he wants to be, not because we deserve it, everything changes. That is
the power of understanding the message of Jesus. We will find ourselves growing and
changing from inside out. Suddenly, life looks different.

Chapter 2: More than pants.-

Many times we project our earthly hurts onto our Heavenly Father. Underestimating Jesus´
message might ultimately be worse than missing his message.
  The problem with Good

Sometimes we underestimate Jesus because we overestimate ourselves. The way we

approach people indicates how we view them. Approach reveals perception, reveals value.
Reveals whether we underestimate, overestimate or properly estimate the qualities and
capabilities of the person we are approaching. How we perceive someone doesn´t just
dictate how we approach them—it dictates how we receive from them.

Rabbis were highly educated, intelligent, incredible men who had given their lives to
understanding the Torah, which was God´s law. They had memorized the first five books of
the Bible. These guys knew the entire thing by heart. They were serious about obeying God
and keeping his requirements. They were constantly answering questions, giving advice
and interpreting the Scriptures. They were good people.

Many people want Jesus to be part of their lives, but they don’t want him to be Lord of their
lives. It doesn´t work that way. Jesus is not a shout-out at an awards speech. He is not a
good luck charm. He is not a piece of jewelry. As it has often been said, either. Jesus is Lord
all or he is not Lord at all.

 The wrong question

Religion makes you proud of yourself and your efforts. The gospel makes you proud of
Jesus.

Jesus didn´t come to earth to help good people get better. He came to bring spiritually dead
people back to life. None of us are good—only God is good.

He asked for medicine instead of a miracle.