And the services that we attend are not Church.  The buildings are just buildings and the meetings are just meetings.  They are not the Church.  We are the Church.  The Church is people who love God and have chosen to follow Jesus. Sure, we get confused and say, “I’m going to church,” when we mean that we are going to a meeting in a building, but I believe we actually know that the Church is people, not places or events.

So, if we are the church, if I start talking about vision for the church, you understand that I’m really talking about vision for us as people, right?  God’s vision for church involves us as people.  If vision is just a concept on paper –if it is just a slogan we post on our website –if it is just theological jargon that doesn’t really affect the way we live our lives and the way we sort out our priorities and the way we spend our time and energy and talents and resources, it is irrelevant. 

Here is where the church’s vision starts.  Our vision starts with Jesus.  Since God became man and lived here with us, His vision for ministry while He was here, can’t be a bad starting place.  In fact, we –the world-wide community of Christians are not only called The Church, we are also called the Body of Christ because we are the literal continuing presence of Christ on earth.  The Bible says that His Holy Spirit enters us and indwells us and is in the process of conforming us to the very image of Christ.  To a fallen, broken, hurting, confused world, we are to be as Jesus Himself.    So, we can’t really go wrong adopting Jesus vision for ministry as our own.  We find Jesus articulating His vision for ministry shortly after He began preaching and teaching and healing and doing public ministry, when He returned to His hometown of Nazareth, where He had been raised.      When Jesus returned to Nazareth, His reputation had preceded Him.  People from all over were talking about Him, and His fame piqued the local people’s curiosity.  They wanted to hear their local celebrity preach.  So, on the Sabbath, when Jesus went to the local synagogue, they handed Him the Scroll containing the Scriptures.  Jesus found a passage –a Messianic prophecy –an Old Testament prophecy concerning the promised and long awaited Messiah –from the prophet Isaiah.  And Jesus read this prophecy to the people of His hometown: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."  Luke 4:18-19   

After reading this prophecy, Jesus said to the people gathered in His hometown synagogue, “Today in your presence, this Scripture is fulfilled.”I believe that this Scripture Jesus claimed was fulfilled in Him is the basis for all ministry of the church.  Since this is the kind of ministry Jesus did, it is the kind of ministry we want to be doing.   It does involve teaching and preaching the Good News and announcing and proclaiming God’s favor –but it also speaks of healing broken hearts –healing our emotional woundedness.  And it also speaks of proclaiming freedom and release for those in bondage and oppression –deliverance for the afflicted.  And it also speaks of recovery of sight for the blind –literal physical healings.  This passage is all about ministering to the hurting and the fearful and the lonely and the lost.  This passage sets the basis for understanding salvation in the terms the New Testament actually uses –not just as forgiveness of sins, but also as spiritual wholeness, as spiritual completeness, as spiritual health.  The New Testament uses the Greek word, Soteria.  Soteria literally means wholeness and completeness.  The New Testament writers used this same word interchangeably to mean salvation and healing.  The Biblical vision for the church (Jesus’ personal ministry vision according to Luke 4:1-19) is that we are to be bringing salvation and wholeness to a hurting, broken, dying world.

I want you to do something for me –I want you to use your imagination.  I want you to imagine that you’re going to see your family doctor.  Imagine that you’re going to see him because you’ve been coughing a lot –and there is spot of skin on your leg that’s discolored and sore.

So you go to your doctor –lets be realistic, so imagine that even though you’ve made a 9:00 am appointment, the nurse calls you into the examining room about 11:00 –and about ten minutes after that the doctor comes in and asks, “What seems to be the problem?”  About that time, you start coughing.  And as you point to the discolored skin on your leg, your doctor shrinks back, covering his mouth and nose with his hand and begins backing out of the room mumbling something about how sick people make him uncomfortable.     Obviously, you wouldn’t keep that doctor for long –but since you are clearly sick, you’d probably make an appointment with a different doctor.   

So, on your first visit to your new doctor, he hears your cough and looks at your leg and makes a bunch of notes on his chart.  He also takes your blood pressure and takes a blood sample to check your cholesterol level.  A week or so later, he calls you back into his office –and he begins to let you have it with both barrels.    “Your blood pressure is off the charts –that’s because you’re too fat –and judging from your cholesterol levels, that’s because you’ve been eating way too many cheeseburgers –are you an idiot or something?  There’s no excuse for not knowing how to take better care of yourself.  And that cough –it’s probably caused by too many cigarettes, and what if you don’t smoke –that’s no excuse –it’s been on the news over and over that second hand smoke is just as deadly as first hand smoke –or maybe your not quite bright enough to follow the news.  And that thing on your leg –it’s skin cancer –you people just think you can lay out in the sun all day without problems –I can’t believe how stupid you are.  I could prescribe some ointment that might help –but what’s the point –you wouldn’t be in such bad shape if you weren’t so stupid.  Your health problems are your own fault –I’m sick and tired of fixing problems you create for yourself.”    Ok, some of what the doctor said might make sense –but you’re still sick, and you’re not going back to a doctor that charges more than you can afford when all he does is abuse you.  So find another doctor.   

The next doctor seems very nice.  He smiles and is kind and listens to your cough and looks at your leg, and listens intently as you admit to the high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  He, of course, takes some tests himself, and calls you back a week or so later.    “Well, you’re a fascinating case,” he tells you.  “Your cholesterol is high, but manageable –your blood pressure can be controlled with the right medication.  Your cough is due to a respitory infection that will likely respond to an anti-biotic.  The most troubling thing is, of course, the skin cance on your leg –but I’m confident it can be removed with fairly minor surgery.”
 This doctor seems very thorough and competent –he sure seems to know what he’s talking about –you like him.  But then as he turns to leave the room, you say, “Wait –it’s good to know all of my problems can be fixed –but what about the treatments?  I mean, I guess I need some  medicine, and I need to set up the surgery.”    To which the doctor replies, “O –I just make the diagnosis –you’ll have to find somebody else for the treatment –but, for an extra $50 I’ll photocopy my notes for you.”   

Does this scenario seem a little outrageous?  Doctors that don’t heal.  Doctors that hate being around sick people.  Doctors that are too critical and judgemental to be of any help.  Doctors that can tell you everything that’s wrong, but don’t give you the cure.  That’s outrageous, isn’t it?   

I hope you don’t think I’m actually talking about doctors here –that would be slanderous –and we don’t need any lawsuits.  I’m not talking about doctors,  I’m talking about the condition of the church.  Welcome to the world of the lost, hoping to find a cure for the loneliness and heartache and fear and discouragement and despair caused by living outside of a relationship with God.  People sometimes come to buildings and meetings and find more criticism than they do encouragement –they find more people who are intent on pointing out their sins than people who are showing them forgiveness –they find more people who are concerned with preserving their own holiness than those willing to be exposed to the tragic cost of sin in real lives.

But that’s not the way Jesus did things, is it?  Jesus didn’t mind getting right down into real life with the people who needed Him the most.  Take Matthew, for instance.  The story of Jesus calling Matthew to be one of His closest disciples is told in the book of Matthew –this little portion is Matthew telling his own story –Matthew 9:9-13.  

“As Jesus was going down the road, he saw Matthew sitting at his tax-collection booth. "Come, be my disciple," Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.That night Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to be his dinner guests, along with his fellow tax collectors and many other notorious sinners.  The Pharisees were indignant. "Why does your teacher eat with such scum?" they asked his disciples.  When he heard this, Jesus replied, "Healthy people don't need a doctor--sick people do."  Then he added, "Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: `I want you to be merciful; I don't want your sacrifices.' For I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough."   

Now, just so we understand what’s really going on here, let fill in some of the blanks.  Jesus and His disciples are walking into the city of Capernaum.  Capernaum was a fairly small, but influential city –a small seaport on the sea of Galilee.  Capernaum was basically a Roman city –it was both a military city and a trade center.     As Jesus entered the town, they walked past a tax-collector’s booth.  In the Roman Empire, a tax-collector’s booth wasn’t anything like an IRS office.  Rome was a big empire comprised of many, many small nation it had conquered.  Rome needed a cost effective way to collect taxes, and their solution was to auction off the right to be a tax collector.  The person who won the auction was responsible for delivering to Rome a certain amount of money each year –and given the authority to collect the money –and they were legally allowed to keep any amount they collected over and above the agreed upon sum.  Obviously, this didn’t make for honesty and integrity in the tax collecting business –but Rome didn’t care because as long as they got paid, it was the tax collector’s problem if people thought he was unfair.    And the way they would collect taxes is that they would set up a booth on a busy, well traveled road and they would demand taxes from everyone who passed by.  If, for instance, you came by with a donkey loaded with goods for the market, they would charge you a tax for the donkey, a tax for the goods, a tax for the road usage, a tax for your spot in the market, a tax for the right to sell –in short, it was up to them what they wanted to tax and how much it was going to cost.  Everyone knew this wasn’t fair, but it was sanctioned by Rome, so there was nothing to be done about it.   

As you can imagine, tax collectors became some of the wealthiest, and at the same time, some of the most despised people in all of society.  In fact, since typically the person who won the auction was a local person, tax collectors were seen as people who were willing to exploit their own people for money –people who helped keep their own people in bondage to Rome.  And this was a particular problem for Jewish tax collectors because, as you know, the Jews didn’t integrate into Roman society –they were separatists.  So, in Jewish circles, there were serious repercussions for being a tax collector.    Tax collectors weren’t allowed to hold public office –who could trust them?  They weren’t allowed to testify in civil court –who would believe them.  They couldn’t give money at the temple –their money was unclean and tainted.  In fact, they couldn’t even go to the temple to worship –they were excommunicated –they were traitors.  Tax collectors had the worst possible reputation.  They were considered to be worse than prostitutes –worse than lepers –worse even than gentiles and pagans.  And, for the most part, this reputation was entirely deserved.  To put it modern terms, if you take the combined greed of an ENRON executive and the average television evangelist, and then you throw in the audacity and arrogance of an ambulance chasing lawyer –then mix in a bit of a pimp’s morality, and finish it off with a smidgen of a drug dealer’s code of ethics, you’ve got your 1st century tax collector.   

So, Jesus and His disciples were entering into Capernaum, and they walked past the local tax collector’s, Matthew’s, booth.  The Bible says that Jesus said to Matthew, “Follow me,” and Matthew left everything and followed Jesus.  But because this is a real event that really happened in real life, I suspect there was a little more to it.   

And just when Matthew is about to give up on getting any money out of these guys, Jesus says something startling.  Jesus says, “Say, Matthew, why don’t you come follow me too?”
And I don’t know if  it’s a twinkle in Jesus’ eye, or if it’s the seriousness of His voice, or if it’s respect and dignity that Jesus always seemed to give to people –but Matthew took Jesus seriously –it had probably been a long time since anyone had spoken kindly to him –it had been ages since anyone had wanted him to be around –and maybe even there was a spiritual stirring in his soul, and he wasn’t allowed into the temple –but whatever the case, Matthew got up, left his tax booth behind, and followed Jesus.

It was kind of a custom in Jesus day that if you wanted to honor somebody, you threw a feast for them.  Matthew was so grateful for the respect and friendship that Jesus was offering that he wanted to throw a feast for Jesus –it was the only way he knew how honor Jesus.  And, of course, Matthew had plenty of money –he could throw a terrific feast.  The problem was, being a social outcast and all, there were some serious limitations on who would come to this feast to honor Jesus.  Matthew probably even felt a little foolish bringing this up to Jesus –“Jesus, I want to throw a party for you.”And Jesus says, “Ok –we’ll be there.”“Wait, maybe you don’t understand –I want to throw a party –but I only know a handful of people that might come.”And Jesus says, “No problem –we’ll be there.”And Matthew’s a little nervous, “I think maybe you still don’t understand.  I don’t have very many friends –and the ones I have aren’t exactly –you know –very religious.  I know some other tax collectors –and a few prostitutes –and maybe some of the other tax collector’s have a few other friends that might come.” And Jesus says, “I understand –we’ll be there.” So, Jesus and the disciples show up that night at Matthew’s home –along with a rag-tag group of other tax collectors, prostitutes and notoriously bad people. 

Then enter the Pharisees –not that they entered Matthew’s house-that would be spiritually unclean and religiously incorrect –but they enter the story –I’m guessing that maybe it’s the next day when they see Jesus and His disiciples in the local synagogue.   “We saw you eating with those tax collectors and sinners –it’s just like we thought –you’re a faker –godly people don’t associate with people like that.”

And the Jesus says some of the greatest words ever spoken –words that defined His ministry –His earthly ministry –His reason for dying on the cross for our sins –His continuing ministry as our Savior and friend.  Jesus said, "Healthy people don't need a doctor--sick people do.  I want you to be merciful; I don't want your sacrifices.' For I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough."

Tragically, many of our meetings in buildings have simply become hotels for saints, not hospitals for sinners.  And worse, we seem to be proud of it.  But church isn’t about big fancy buildings and well run programs –that’s all well and good, but it’s not what we are actually called to –we were called to bring people to Jesus and make them well and make them whole.  And bringing people to Jesus isn’t rocket science.  People are hurting.  People are lonely.  People are fearful.  Jesus fixes all of that.  People desperately want a friend who understands and who will sit and listen.  We can do that.

I'm confident that if we actually pursue what Jesus calls us to do, we make Jesus happy.  Jesus is happy when we are friends to sinners.  Jesus is happy when the Good News is preached;  Jesus is happy when the brokenhearted find comfort;  Jesus is happy when those in bondage are delivered, and when those who are oppressed are set free.  Jesus is happy when people find healing in His name.  Jesus is happy when we proclaim God’s favor in the agape message:  “The Father loves you very much, and desires to have a close and personal and intimate relationship with you.”   And that’s why we do the things we do.

-Written by Steve Pennell, By His Stripes Ministries- 

Questions To Consider:

If the building we meet in is not actually Church, and the meeting inside the building is not church, what or who is the Church? 

Why should Jesus' mission be our personal mission (as the Church, corporately and individually)?

If Jesus preached the Good News, healed the broken hearted, set those in bondage free, healed the sick, and proclaimed God's favor, what does this imply for us as the Church?