Jesus is for Everybody

by Demetrius Davis

In his time on Earth, Jesus often positioned himself to converse with those out on society’s margins. As my old pastor would say, “Jesus came from the least, the lost, and the left out.”

Unlike Christianity today that is steeped in religiosity, Jesus took the time to see past people’s sin and straight to their humanity.

These themes are apparent throughout the gospel writings of the Gospels. Jesus’ moves are constantly being criticized by hyper-religious folk and religious leaders.

The essence of Jesus’s ministry can be summed up in one Luke 5:31–32, where He responds to the Pharisees by saying, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor — sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”

The story of Zacchaeus, in Luke 19, is another example of this.

Jesus had entered Jericho, and there is madness going on like a celebrity sighting in Times Square. The crowds are gathering; the kind of gathering people do when they spot a celebrity, they gather to walk and yell, and scream, and stare at the person as they walk. This is the scene as Jesus walks through Jericho.

There are so many people, and the crowd is so thick that it’s hard to get a glimpse of Jesus. One person, by the name of Zacchaeus, came up with the novel idea of climbing a tree to get a better view because he could not see over the crowd.

This is no longer “obscure Jesus.” This is Jesus, who has risen in three years to acclaim throughout the region. Jesus has crossed barriers with the Samaritans, who Jews hated. Jesus crossed social borders with women, who were often viewed as less than. Jesus talked with the Pharisees and dared to touch the sick to bring healing. Jesus did not let His power, authority, or title keep Him from caring for all people. Jesus knew tax collectors.

Each of these actions put Jesus in more beef than anyone in history. Especially in beef with religious folk.

Dear Southern Baptist Convention, if you really believe in racial reconciliation, what will you do with the blood money in your endowments that came from slave owners who made their fortunes off the bodies of enslaved Africans?

Let me say that if your righteousness rose to the level of Zacchaeus if you really were as much of a literal interpreter of scripture as you claim, you would pay back four times as much. You would go through your records and identify the lands owned by slaveholders that were bequeathed to you. The significant donations were given by slaveholders that obviously profited from an oppressive enterprise.

Redemption ought to come with restitution. Repentance ought to come with reparations.

And I feel that if that is who Jesus was after, the religiously marginalized, the people who have been turned off by religion. Jesus had the uncanny ability to see people and see past their sin, to see their soul, to see their humanity.

This is the heart of Jesus’s mission. He was enamored by life’s lost and found column. And because of this, He broke all the religious, social norms and often found Himself spending time on the margins with religiously marginalized and ostracized people.

If I break down your fence, you should forgive me, but I should repair it.

Jesus came for those on the margins of religion. Therefore, His church should reflect that.

Watch the full sermon titled Jesus is for Everybody by Pastor Demetrius Davis of CityPoint Community Church YouTube Channel.

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