Jesus is… Week 1 – Your Friend (All-Church Baptisms)
Series Big Idea: Jesus is unlike anyone you’ve ever known. In Jesus, you’ll discover a new way of living.
Message Big Idea: Jesus is your friend. In Jesus, you are accepted and loved.
Scripture: Matthew 9:9-13; Romans 3:10, 3:23, 5:8
Props: Set up 2 small tables and chair(s) on either end of the stage. You could also have sign holders and
different signs for each group mentioned in the talk and change the signs out as you talk about each
group. Signs: Jocks, Speech Club, Debate Team, Band, Math Club, Nerds and Geeks, Sinners, Saints, Really
Good People, Those People. One idea for sign holders is to tape a paint stick to the back of each sign and
then use a small bucket filled with rice or popcorn kernels as the sign holder.
_______________________
Host Moment: Series Introduction (Pre-Message)
Today is a great day because today we are starting a new series called “Jesus is…” If I were to ask each of
you to complete that sentence, I’d probably get a hundred different responses. Jesus is the most
important figure in human history, and whether you are curious about him, skeptical about him, entering
into a relationship with him for the first time, or you’ve known him for decades; there is always more to
discover about the depth of his character and the impact of his life.
During each week of this series, we’re going to complete that sentence; “Jesus is…” in five different ways.
Our hope is that all of us will come to know Jesus better and, because of him, discover a new way of living.
But a new series is not the only reason today is a great day…today is Baptism Sunday! Today we have
(number) people who are choosing to go public with their faith in Jesus by being baptized. We’re going to
celebrate their baptisms later in the service, but I wanted to mention it now because I want you to know
the opportunity to be baptized is open to you today, too.
We’ll talk more about that later, but for now, let’s get started with Week 1 of “Jesus is…”
Video: Series Bumper
Introduction: Tables
I want you to take a little trip back in time if you will. For some of us this will be a relatively short trip, for
others it might take a little while longer to get there. I want you take a trip back to your teenage years.
Specifically, your school cafeteria.
At least in my high school, we had an unpublished seating chart. Can you see it in your mind? This seating
chart was made up of the different groups of students that shared lunch together at their respective
tables. You know what I’m talking about.
(Hold up signs) There were some easy to recognize groups such as the Jocks. This was the table made up
of athletes, super competitive people, and oftentimes cheerleaders as well. They were pretty easy to
identify, especially when they were wearing their letter jackets in 80-degree weather.
And then there were those in the Speech Club or on the Debate Team. They were the Thespians likely
rehearsing lines for the next school play.
1
(Walk to the other table and hold up signs) The Band kids grouped together at another table. Sometimes
they were joined by other “gifted” students from the Math Club.
And no cafeteria would be complete without a table or two composed of Nerds and Geeks. Many of
whom are likely now supervising the work of those who used to sit at the other tables. 
That’s not an exhaustive list by any means. There will always be subgroups composed of:




Mean Girls
Guys who compete in food dares
NASCAR fans
Guys who want to be rappers.
Now that we’ve taken a minute to refresh our memories, quick show of hands:
How many of us had a table? You know which group you belonged with?
How many of us would like to forget that experience entirely?
I assumed when I became an adult, the cafeteria table classification system would disappear. But just last
year I was at a luncheon where I knew no one. After grabbing a plate of food I courageously approached a
table that could sit 10 and asked the two women sitting there if I could join them and they said, “Sorry,
these seats are reserved for friends.” Ouch.
One of the things we likely learned in that cafeteria is that tables have always defined social structures.
Our table tells us who is included…and who is not.
And every one of us needs a table where we belong.
The Sinners and The Saints
There were tables back in Jesus’ day as well. The Gospels record eight dinner invitations that Jesus
accepted. Three of those were with close friends and family while the other five were with misfits and
social outcasts.
Here’s a story from one of those dinners as told by a follower named Matthew.
“As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s
booth. ‘Follow me,’ he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and
ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why
does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’
On hearing this, Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and
learn what this means: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have not come to call the
righteous, but sinners.’” -Matthew 9:9-13
As we’re reading this story, it’s interesting to note that 2 tables emerge. We could describe the first one as
the “Sinners” table. (Sign Stage Left)
Specifically seated at this table are the Tax Collectors. To understand how Tax Collectors were viewed,
imagine this… Imagine you have a neighbor who goes around stealing packages off people’s porches and
2
selling the items on eBay. Or even worse…he starts breaking into your house when you’re not home,
taking valuable things, and pawning them at local pawnshops. Everyone knows he’s doing this, but
nobody can seem to stop him. How would you feel about that guy? Would you want to hang out with him?
Would you want to have him over for dinner or be seen going to his house? That’s essentially the scenario
in this story.
The Tax Collectors were worse than package stealing, house robbing jerks! As Jewish men working for
the Roman Government, tax collectors were considered the worst traitors. They collected the taxes
required by their superiors and then on top of that would squeeze people for more and more. They were
greedy. Dishonest. They preyed upon the poor. They took advantage of their own people, all in the name
of personal gain.
Now, Matthew is not only a main character in this story, but he’s also the storyteller. As he writes about
this scene, he seems to know at which table he and his friends belong. The Sinners. And knowing how
those at The Sinners table were viewed, it’s not surprising no one in the rest of the community wanted to
sit there. Especially those at the other table.
The other table, for lack of a better word, we’ll label “Saints.” (Sign Stage Right) Seated at this table are
the Pharisees. While Tax Collectors seem to know they’re sinners, the Pharisees seem to think they’re
saints. It’s not that they really were; they just thought they were.
The Pharisees were experts in many things. They were masters of religious law. So in an effort to be as
noble as possible, they made up hundreds of rules to follow, and then followed them. Their piety allowed
them to feel self-righteous, and it also emboldened them to point out the faults and sins of everyone else.
They were professionals at judging others measuring their “goodness” by other people’s “badness” which
meant they felt justified in looking down on everyone else.
In their attempt to hate sin, the Pharisees ended up hating sinners. And the best way to deal with those
who don’t measure up, in their opinion, was to sit at another table.
It makes sense then why they are puzzled by Jesus’ behavior. Sharing a table meant sharing your life. To
say, “I’d like to have dinner” was equivalent to saying, “I’d like to be friends.” So the Pharisees ask the
disciples one of the most frequently asked questions of Jesus: “Why does he hang out with tax collectors
and sinners?” In other words, when given a choice between the Sinners and the Saints, “Why does Jesus
always choose those people at that table?”
In their self-righteousness, they don’t understand Jesus. But before we judge the Pharisees too harshly, is
it possible that we somehow, even in some small way, can at times be like them?
The Badness Scale
This story in Matthew 9 exposes a tendency most of us have to arbitrarily set up a rating system for sin.
This rating system is something we can call a “Badness Scale”.
(Stage right) On this scale, we categorize small sins…you know, things like speeding or little white lies or
secretly liking the band Nickelback. Nothing to worry about here, right? Well, maybe that Nickelback
thing.
(Stage right-center) As we start to move right on our Badness Scale, we’re still in pretty safe territory.
These are the medium-small sins. Sure, they are a bigger deal than the small sins, but most of these sins
don’t really hurt anyone so we don’t take them too seriously.
3
(Stage left-center) But we start to get a little nervous when we move over to this side of the scale. When
we see someone with medium to large sins, we start questioning the person’s character.
(Stage left) But even the things in this medium to large section don’t compare to what we find over here.
Over here are the supersized sins. These are the biggies! Most of us know enough to avoid the stuff over
here.
And here’s the real danger…not only do we categorize sin according to our Badness Scale; we also have a
tendency to categorize people by it.
(Sign on stage right table “Really Good People”) Over here on the far end we have the “Really, Really Good
People” table. Not many of us ever expect to take a seat at this table, but we don’t sweat that. This table is
reserved for people like Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., and John Ciesniewski. OK, maybe John is at
the table next to Mother Teresa’s.
(Sign on stage left table “Those People”) On the other end, we have a table reserved for “Those People.” We
might imagine some of the worst figures in human history at this table, but I think we also can assign
people we know personally to sit there. You know, the package-stealing neighbor. The business partner
who is dishonest. The neighbor who spews hate. The former friend who betrayed us.
And where do we put ourselves?
A few of us might put ourselves at the “Those People” table. Maybe we take pride in being a little
rebellious. Or maybe we have a lot of regret in our lives and think we belong there.
I don’t think many of us believe our seat is next to Martin Luther King Jr. at the “Really Good People”
table.
(Stage right-center) I think most of us put ourselves somewhere here. We’re not perfect, we’ll admit that,
but we’re not one of “Those People.” (Point stage left) People on that side of the Badness Scale, they sin.
Me? I just mess up from time to time. My sins are pretty tolerable.



A little gossip.
A hint of pride.
Some greediness.
And we think to ourselves, “I’m basically a good person.”
The problem is…God doesn’t view people in the same way we tend to. God doesn’t have a “Badness Scale.”
In his letter to the Romans, Paul warns us:
“There is no one righteous, not even one…” (Romans 3:10)
And: (Add)
“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:23)
4
When it comes to sin, there is no sliding scale. When it comes to sin, there really are only two categories
of people: Jesus and everyone else.
(Point stage right) Jesus knows there are those who think they are righteous, (point stage left) and those
who know they are sinners. (Move stage right center) The real caution in this story is to those who think
they are righteous - those of us who think we are good or even OK on the Badness Scale - because we can
end up being the ones who miss out on being close to Jesus. Author Judah Smith warns:
“In reality, for many people, the greatest hindrance to receiving the grace of God is not their
scandalous sins--it’s their empty good deeds.” –Judah Smith
Jesus, Friend of Sinners
(Stage left…sit at table) When Jesus grabbed his tray and walked into the 1st Century cafeteria, he chose a
seat at “The Sinners” table. He chose to be close to…




The liars.
The thieves.
The gossips.
And the drunks.
He pulled up a chair next to…




The gluttons.
The prostitutes.
The cheaters.
And the screw-ups.
Jesus sat down with the people who knew they were sinners, probably because he knew that they were
ready and willing to welcome him.
Jesus is a friend to sinners. He wants to hang with them. He wants to be in relationship with them.
Because here’s the thing about Jesus…Jesus’ friendship isn’t predicated upon merit but mercy. His
desire to be close to us has never had anything to do with our worthiness or unworthiness. It’s nothing
we can earn or achieve. We can never mess up so bad that he’d turn his back on us. Jesus’ desire to be
close to us has everything to do with his love, his kindness, and his grace. Paul reminds us that…
“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” -Romans 5:8
Jesus sees our sin. He’s not oblivious to it. In fact, our sin is the reason he came to us. Every person on the
“Badness Scale” is a sinner. The “Really Good People,” “Those People,” and everyone in between. Jesus
came “not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Jesus is a friend of sinners, which is good news because it
means Jesus is our friend. And that truth leads to both an invitation and a challenge.
An Invitation
First, the invitation. This is the most important thing I need to tell you today: You belong at Jesus’ table.
Maybe you’ve never realized Jesus’ desire to be in a relationship with you. Maybe you’ve always thought
of Christianity as some sort of moral code or religious system and never understood that what it really
means to become a follower of Jesus is to enter into a relationship with him.
5
If you’ve never decided to receive his friendship, today can be the day you make that decision. And there
is no better way to mark that decision in your life than by being baptized.
Baptism is a marker event in the life of every Christ-follower where we put a stake in the ground and
declare, “I’m starting a new life as a follower of Jesus.” In baptism, we are united with Jesus. Baptism is a
reenactment of his death and resurrection. As we go down into the water, we die to the person we used
to be, and as we rise back up we are declared new. If you’ve never before publicly declared, “I am a
follower of Jesus,” you can do that today. As I mentioned, we have (number) people who have already
decided they want to follow Jesus by being baptized today, and you can make that decision today too.
Even if you didn’t plan for it, you still have the opportunity to be baptized today.
Maybe you’re thinking, “I didn’t come ready for this! I don’t have extra clothes or a towel.” We have
everything you need.
We have t-shirts, shorts, hair-dryers, and towels.
We are over-prepared. We’ve done everything we can to make this moment possible for you today.
Sometimes in these moments, people will ask, “I was baptized as a baby, do I need to do this?” All I can
tell you is in the Bible; this decision to be baptized was always a step of faith a person took for
themselves. Your decision to be baptized doesn’t lessen the decision your parents made for you years
ago; it actually affirms it as you choose for yourself what they wanted for you all along.
Maybe you’re thinking, “I have family and friends who aren’t here who’d want to see this.” We have
photographers here to capture the moment so that you can share it with your family and friends later. My
encouragement to you is this…if you sense God leading you to this step, don’t put it off.
If you’ve never made the decision to be baptized to publicly declare your trust in Jesus, today can be your
day. You belong at Jesus’ table. He wants to be in a relationship with you. Will you accept his invitation
and open your life to him?
A Challenge
For those who have already accepted the invitation, I want to issue a challenge.
In Jesus, we see what it looks like to reach out to people regardless of who they are or what they’ve done.
It was the pattern of his life to choose to sit at tables and befriend people that others would never accept.
So here’s the challenge:
What table do you need to sit at? Or better yet…
Who do you need to welcome to your table?
It’s so easy to choose the tables that are made up of people just like us. So you might just take a moment
to confess to God the times and the ways you’ve used a sliding scale of sin to judge people.
And then let’s commit to God together that the next time the opportunity comes along to love someone, to
accept someone, and to build a friendship; that we will respond like Jesus. It may be at a table at school or
work where we choose to sit with a person or a group. Or it may be inviting someone to sit at the table in
our home.
6
Sharing a table means sharing your life. When we sit down with others, when we reach across a social
divide or reach across a table, we’re extending a hand that can help other people find their way back to
the God who longs for them to know him too.
Conclusion
Jesus is a friend of sinners. It might sound like a simple statement, but its reality is incredible. The God of
the universe, the Creator of all things came and sat at our table. Nothing will ever transform us, nothing
could ever sustain us, nothing can ever empower us like his friendship. You and I? We belong with Jesus.
We belong at his table. There is room for all of us there.
Communion Idea
Communion is an invitation to a table. Here at the Lord’s Table, we celebrate what Jesus did for us. Jesus
himself said:
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. –John 15:13
And then he laid down his life for his friends…for you and for me. The bread represents his body that was
broken for us because of his great love. The juice represents his blood that was shed for us because of his
great love. As we receive Communion today, may we recognize this table, his table, as the place we
belong. Let’s come together and celebrate our friend.
7