Outreach to the Outcast

Life of Jesus

Mark 2:14-17
Many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him. When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, "Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?" And hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Jesus specifically sought out those who were unacceptable in his society to eat with them and to teach them and to call them to be disciples. Although he taught those who were upstanding in Galilean society, he said that his purpose was to bring those who are sinning back to the Father. So his main purpose in his ministry was to connect with and teach the outcast—those who were unacceptable to conservative society.

Luke 15:1-10
"I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Some were complaining about Jesus associating and accepting the outcast from Jewish society. In parables, Jesus taught that he is reaching out to those who should be entering the kingdom, but fell away from God because of their sin. He calls these people “lost”. So Jesus is just calling back those who were originally in God’s way, and that when they return, there is more rejoicing over that return than for many who remained with God their whole lives.

Matthew 21:28-32
Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.
Jesus uses another parable to contrast the conservative religious Jews and the sinners who began to follow Jesus. It is better, Jesus is saying, for a person to refuse to obey and then to change their minds than to be one who agrees to obey and changes their minds. The sinners are those who did evil, but then decided to come and remain with Jesus. But the conservative religious folks are those who claim to be doing God’s will but never actually do.

Luke 19:1-10
Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Zaccheus is an example of one of the lost. He was living in sin—he was cheating some of his fellow Jews out of their money in order to line his own pockets. And he was wealthy, so he didn’t need the money. But he realized his sin and so desperately sought Jesus out. Jesus agreed to accept him, and there was grumbling about this by the conservative religious folks. But Zaccheus shut them up by speaking of his actions of repentance. At this point, Jesus declared that Zaccheus was fully accepted into the family of God.

Our Lives

James 2:1-9
Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man.
No matter who comes into church—no matter how insignificant they are, no matter how bad they act or smell—we need to be accepting to them. If they lead other people to sin, then we need to separate them out. But otherwise we need to accept them and treat them as well as we would treat the president if he arrived. We are to give everyone good treatment, showing that they are welcome to come to God.

I Corinthians 9:19-23
To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.
Not everyone is called to be an evangelist. Not everyone is called to specifically reach out to those who are unacceptable. But for those of us who are, we are to become servants, workers, slaves for those whom we are called to. We need to put their needs first and establish what they need so that we can try to meet it, according to our resources and abilities.

Examples

• Phillip left proper Jewish society and reached out to those who were considered “heretics” and “a cult”—the Samaritans. Phillip did not tell them how evil they were, he just explained the opportunity they had to enter the kingdom of God through Jesus. Many Samaritans took the opportunity to come to Jesus. Phillip was also the first person to give the gospel to an Ethiopian, about whom no one knew much.

• John Wycliffe was a professor at Oxford. Bible education was something only for the wealthy because it was considered that the poor couldn’t properly understand it. But Wycliffe determined that the Bible taught that the gospel should be given to the poor and so he started holding classes for the poor in English. When a peasant riot occurred, Wycliffe was blamed because of his teaching. Nevertheless, he continued to teach the poor.

• William Booth lived in England near the turn of the 20th century. He determined to do two things—to teach of how to live the holiness of God and to reach out to the poor. He and his wife Catherine called many people to dedicate their lives to live for those who were considered unacceptable in their society. They started the organization known as the Salvation Army which is still today a church and an organization that assists the poor.


Living It Out

• Don’t show favoritism
No matter what race, religion, or past experience, everyone has an equal chance to come to God and be accepted by him. Let us not do anything that stands in the way.

• Go out of your way to welcome the unacceptable
People who are not accepted by society should be given preference so that they can come to the Lord.

• Do all you can to accept and help brothers and sisters who are unacceptable by mainstream society
Churches today reject many people who do not look like them or act like them, even if people are not strictly involved in sin. Mainstream churches have a hard time accepting the mentally ill or homeless. But we must go out of our way to accept and help those who don’t look or act in a “proper” manner, but they are still doing all they can to follow the Lord.

• No matter how sinful someone is, give them the opportunity to repent
Don’t write people off just because they have a lifestyle of sin or have rejected the Lord in the past. Anyone can come to the Lord anytime—it is a matter of the Lord softening their heart and they receiving his gift of faith. Keep giving people the opportunity to come to the Lord, even if it seems like they never would.

Mercy is Greater Than Sacrifice

One day Saint Epiphanius sent someone to Abba Hilarion with this request: "Come, and let us see one another before we depart from the body." When he came, they rejoiced in each other's company.

During their meal, they were brought a fowl. Epiphanius took it and gave it to Hilarion. Then the old man said to him, "Forgive me, but since I received the habit I have not eaten meat that has been killed."

The bishop answered, "Since I took the habit, I have not allowed anyone to go to sleep with a complaint against me and I have not gone to rest with a complaint against anyone."

The old man replied, "Forgive me, your way of life is better than mine."

-From The Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Trees and Pizza-- Matthew 13

Jesus told the disciples another story: "God's utopia is like a mustard seed, a tiny seed compared to most other seeds. But a man took that insignificant thing and planted it in his land and he let it grow. And when it grew up fully, it became a sturdy tree so strong that the birds rested in the branches. Even so, you, my disciples, are insignificant and the least. But when the Father and the Spirit are done with you, you shall be strong enough that the nations of heaven will rest comfortably within you."

"God's utopia is like a small pinch of yeast which a woman carefully places into four gallons of pizza dough. Then she mixes it all together so that the yeast cannot be seen anymore, yet it has permeated the whole of the flour, so that it has all been transformed."

Releasing Others From Judgment

Jesus’ Life

Matthew 4:23-24
Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.

Wherever Jesus went, he healed and cast out demons. But he did not do this by the knowledge or power of human beings. Instead he depended on the Father, speaking by his authority over the spirit world, delivering people from their ailments caused by the spirit world. Some followed him because of his teaching, but most people followed Jesus because they wanted him to perform a miracle and to show his authority. But Jesus did not do the work because he wanted to give a show. Rather, he had real compassion on the people who came to him and wanted to see them be delivered (Matthew 14:14; Luke 7:12-16)

Mark 2:1-12
Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven'; or to say, 'Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk '?

The illnesses that Jesus cured were seen as caused by spirits who were given opportunity to judge people because of their sins. When people came to be healed, they were looking for mercy from the One who allowed them to be judged because of their sin, or the sin of their community. Here, a group of people are going to Jesus with one of their friends, asking for forgiveness for all of them, although only one was punished. Jesus gave them forgiveness—telling the man that he was acceptable to the Lord. As a sign of that acceptance, he commanded the spirit world to release the man from his infirmity.

Luke 13:10-17
There was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your sickness."

This woman had a back pain, but it was clear that this was an infirmity caused by Satan as a judgement. Jesus insisted that the woman be healed immediately because she had suffered long enough under Satan’ judgment. So Jesus commanded the spirit world to release her from judgement and so she knew that she was acceptable before the Lord.

Matthew 12:28-29
"If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can anyone enter the strong man's house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house."

Jesus said, that if a slave is to be delivered, the master of the slave must first be bound and placed under the authority of the one delivering the slave. Jesus came to deliver people from slavery of sin and Satan. But Jesus first has to bind the master of the person—the one who is controlling them through judgement from the spirit world. Jesus releases people from the judgement and gives them an opportunity to be a slave of God.

Our Lives

Luke 10:19-20
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.

The authority over the spirit world that Jesus had, he passes on to others. And so the followers of Jesus are to use that authority to set people free from the bondages of evil spirits. However, Jesus said, we are not to be impressed with ourselves because we are able to do that. Rather, we are to rejoice that it indicates that God has accepted us and will receive us into his kingdom.

Matthew 10:8
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.

In being able to control spirits, there are many sicknesses and even deaths that we can reverse. We have to be aware and listen to the Spirit to determine when we are to do this.

Mark 16:15-18
"These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

Every believer has some authority over the spirit world, granted to them by their Lord Jesus. Signs will follow every believer that they are people who are powerful in the Spirit world.

Ephesians 6:10-12
Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Our task is not to battle against other people, as if we were warriors on the earth. Rather, we are to be fighting for people’s lives in the spirit realm. We are to battle against spiritual forces, which, in some ways, are more powerful and dangerous than anything we have on earth.


Examples

• After receiving the Spirit, Peter met many opportunities to heal and to release people from spiritual judgement. He taught about Jesus, but he also healed a paralytic, he raised a woman from the dead, and healed many others by the authority given to him by Jesus.

• Paul also healed many and cast out many demons. He wrote that a sign of a true apostle is “miracles.” He was deeply concerned about others but he primarily used his authority granted to him by Jesus to build up the kingdom of God.


Living It Out

• Look for how people are bound by Satan. Most everyone has at least one area of bondage, more often than not many more. But don’t assume that you know what their bondage is—sometimes one sin pattern is covering up a deeper bondage and sometimes it is difficult to see at all. Everyone, before they come to the Lord, is bound by Satan and sin and that bondage is displayed. If one says that they have never needed to be delivered from anything, then it probably means that they still need to be delivered from something.

• When you speak the gospel, pray for others. Speaking the gospel and prayer go hand in hand. To speak a message of deliverance means to pray for deliverance and to see God’s kingdom at work in our lives.

• Speak by the authority given to us by Jesus. We need to remember that we ourselves do not have the authority necessary to command the spirit world to do anything. Only Jesus gives us the power to do this and so we must use that power only for the sake of Jesus’ kingdom and for love of others, even as Jesus’ commanded.

• Don’t overstep your authority. If you do not have the authority to command spirits, don’t. If you attempt to command spirits that have not judged anyone unjustly, then they do not need to listen to you. Take care, as well, not do disrespect any spiritual authority.

• Be alert! Take care in attacking the spirits to realize that you will be attacked as well. Be aware of these attacks and do not allow them to overwhelm you. Cry out to the Lord for deliverance.

Jesus' Relationship With the Father

A translation of John 14

Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going. How are we able to know the way?"

Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. If you had known me you also will know the Father. And from now you will know him and have seen Him."

Phillip said to him, "Lord show us the Father and we are content."

Jesus said to him, "I am so much time with you and you have not known me, Phillip? He who knows me knows the Father. How do you say, 'show us the Father?' Don't you believe that I am in the Fater and the father is in me? The word which I say to you I do not speak for myself, but the Father who is abiding in me does His works. Believe in me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or else believe through these works."

Thomas responded, “Lord, don’t you see? We DON’T know where you are going? So how can you say we know the way you are going when we don’t know the destination?”

Jesus said, mysteriously, “I am the way, Thomas. I am the way to Father God, the road you must take. I am also the truth about Father God. I am also the life that Father God gives. So without me, no one can obtain Father God. But you will know Him from this point on because you have seen him already.”

Phillip, confused, said, “So are you going to show us the Father now? Do that and all our prayers will be answered.”

Jesus replied, “Phillip, you’ve been with me for so long but you still don’t have any clue who I am? If you have experienced me, then you have experienced the Father.” Jesus sighs. “I can’t believe you just asked me to show you the Father. Don’t you understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father? I am speaking to you, but I’m not speaking my own words, but the Fathers’. I do miracles, but it is not me doing them, but the Father. If you believe nothing else, believe me when I say that I am living in the Father and the Father is living in me. Or, at the very least, believe that it is true because of the miracles the Father did through me.”

Judas said to him, not the Iscariot, "Lord, what happened that you are going to make known Yourself to us and not to the world?"

Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves me my word he will keep and my Father loves him and to him we will come and make a dwelling with him. He who does not love me does not keep my words and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent me. These things I have spoken to you abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, who the Father will send in my name, that one will teach you all things and remind you all that I said to you."

Judas (not the betrayer) then said to him, “Lord, why is it that you are giving us the experience of knowing you, but you aren’t revealing yourself to the nation of Judea?”

Jesus responded, “Because we have love and they do not. If anyone loves me, he will not only hear my word but treasure it and do it. The obedient one who loves me the Father also loves. That is the one whom the Father and I chose to come to and to be roommates with. If anyone chooses to ignore what I say, he doesn’t love me or the Father—because what I say isn’t mine, but the Father’s. Since the Father appointed me to the task to speak, it is His words I speak. So I speak the Father’s words to you and not to them while I am here. But even though I am leaving, the Father will send you the Assistant—otherwise known as the Holy Spirit. The Father will deliver Him to you with my authority. He will inform you of all you need to know and will bring to your mind every word I said.”

"You Will Always Have The Poor With You"

While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head. But some were indignantly remarking to one another, "Why has this perfume been wasted? For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor." And they were scolding her.

But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me."
(Mar 14:3-7 NAS)

"Here is a clear case of Jesus fatalistically acknowledging the perpetual existence of the poor and showing the priority of worship over social concern-- or does He?

Interestingly, Jesus quotes directly from Deuteronomy 15, the chapter containing Jubilee and sabbatical instructions. Earlier in the passage God tells the Hebrew people that if they obey Him there will be no poor in their land. But He does on to say that if they harden their hearts there will be poor. As long as greed and selfishness continue the poor will be among them. Does this justify a callous looking the other way which neglects the poor?

Just the opposite. "For the poor will never cease out of your hand to your brother, therefore I command you, you shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in the land." (Deut. 15:11). In light of His continual plea on behalf of the plight of the poor, it's hardly conceivable that in this one verse Jesus is contradicting the bulk of His teaching by telling us to tighten our pocketbooks since after all the poor will always be around and there's not much we can do about it. Rather, He is saying that since greed and ambition will continue to govern the lives of people and their social systems, there will always be poor. They are a natural product of greedy systems. The observation of the fact does not justify it perpetuation. In light of this reality, how much more do we need ot care and give and be sure that we are not part of structures and organizations which trample the poor!"
-The Upside Down Kingdom, Donald B. Kraybill

Speaking The Gospel

Jesus’ life
Mark 6:1-5
And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages teaching.

Jesus taught everywhere, all the time. Jesus taught in appropriate settings, such as the synagogue, if they were available. But if they were not, he taught wherever he could. He taught the people who would listen to him and the people who would not—those who believed and those who did not. Often when people listened to him, they did not accept his authoritative teaching. If that was the case, then his authority over spirits was not seen much, due to their disbelief.

Mark 6:30-34
The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.
Jesus taught because he had compassion on the people. The people had no direction, they didn’t know what was right or what was wrong. There had been so many teachings and so many “truths” that he needed to clarify what was right. He did this because he hated to see the people forsake God out of their ignorance.

Mark 1:14-15
Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."

Jesus taught repentance and the gospel. Jesus taught that everyone had to be ready for the coming kingdom of God which would sweep out all wickedness. Therefore, the people needed to repent and be rid of any wickedness so the Lord would accept them. Also, they needed to believe the good news that Jesus was proclaiming—that he is speaking of the Law of God and the need for humility and prayer for the coming kingdom.

Mark 1:21-28
He entered the synagogue and began to teach. They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Jesus taught with authority. This doesn’t mean that he taught forcefully or loudly or commandingly. Rather, Jesus taught and those around him obeyed. He taught with the truth, not opinions. He taught as a King would—with a single, firm word, not many options. He taught with power—in that spirits would listen to him. Because of this authority, the people listened to him, for his teaching was proven more effective than the teaching the people were used to.

Mark 4:10-12
"To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE."

Jesus taught in mystery. Because he saw that the people who were following him around had no interest in actually obeying his teaching, he would teach in stories and allegories that only made sense to those who listened carefully to his teaching. The stories repeated the same things his clear teaching taught, but it hid them so only those who understood his teaching could understand the stories. The stories were sometimes used to illustrate, but more often than not, they were used to confuse the listener. If the disciples were confused, they asked him directly what they meant.

Our Lives

Mark 16:15
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation."

We are to announce the gospel. The same message that Jesus gave, we are also to give, to whomever would listen. And we are to do it everywhere, not excluding everyone, unless they indicate that they do not believe.

Matthew 28:19-20
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations..."

We are to make disciples. A disciple is one who sits at a teacher’s feet and memorizes the major teachings of the teacher. But we are not to teach our own ideas and words, as if we are the teacher. Rather, we are to teach the words of Jesus and so grant him the authority. Anyone who comes to follow us is actually a disciple of Jesus, not us.

Matthew 25:14-30; Mark 4:21-23
"For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light."

Jesus gave us his teaching to give to others, not to keep it to ourselves. The work we are to do is to give the gospel, however much we have received. If we only know a little, we should give what we know. If we know a lot, then we will be responsible for that amount. But we cannot hide it, or else we will be punished.

Examples

• Stephen was not established as an evangelist or a teacher—he was a deacon, a server of food. But when an opportunity came to teach the truth of Scripture and Jesus to his enemies, he did not hesitate. And so he died as a proclaimer of the gospel, not as a food server.

• Peter Valdez was a merchant, not a teacher. But when he read the word of Jesus, he realized that if fisherman and tax collectors could be teachers, so could merchants, cobblers, butchers, farmers and other workers. He taught the gospel to all who would hear and sent them out to announce the same to others.

• John Wycliffe was a professor at Oxford. But he realized the truth of the gospel was for everyone, not just his paying students. So he taught the gospel to the poor and sent them out to proclaim the gospel to others.

Living It Out

• Learn the gospel of Jesus—sit at his feet and learn from him. Read the gospels, read Paul, understand the depth of the love of God and his work and then you will be ready to proclaim.

• Announce Jesus’ words, not your own. We are to teach God’s truth, not our own opinions or the opinions of others.

• Tell what you know—don’t guess. If someone asks you a question and you don’t really know, say, “I don’t know.” Only say what Jesus gives you.

• Proclaim the gospel to whoever will listen. If they don’t want to listen, then stop. If they just think your teaching is entertaining, but don’t follow it, then teach in mystery.

• Practice what you teach and teach what you practice. If we speak and don’t live, we are a hypocrite. If we live and don’t speak, we are a mystery. Allow the teaching of Jesus to be consistent in your words and life.

• Don’t make anyone pay for the gospel. Give it away, all the time, in whatever form.

• When you teach, pray. When God answers the prayer, thank him and give him the glory. If God never answers your prayer, look and see if what you teach or how you live is consistant with Jesus’ teaching.