The Broken

The Rev. Joseph Winston

April 21, 2011

Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ.1
If you looked around the room on that Thursday, then you would have been
disappointed.
Over there is Simon. After all that time with Jesus, you might hope to know a
little bit about him. Maybe even hear what he has to say about Jesus or how Jesus
called him. The only fact we have about him is his name. James and Jude are not
much better known than Simon is. Well, we do have one tiny detail about these
two men that followed Jesus all those years. Mary is the mother of James (Mark
15:40; Mark 16:1; Matthew 27:56). Jude might be the brother of Jesus (Mark 6:3;
Matthew 13:55-57). That is it for these three.
For the ones we do know something about, the twelve look even worse.
Bartholomew also known as Nathaniel, well he could not believe that a back-
1
Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians
1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3.

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water town like Nazareth could turn out anything worthwhile (John 1:46). That
has to be a hard reputation to live down.
Matthew is the former tax collector (Matthew 10:3). Not much more needs to
be said about this one. He willingly helped the enemy of his people for all those
years.
Thomas will be always associated with his assertion that belief comes with
seeing. You know his name that we still use today: doubting Thomas. After all, he
would not trust the word of the others who had seen Jesus after His death (John
20:24-25). More importantly, Tomas did not remember what Jesus had told and
shown him.
James and John, you know them. Their mother went to Jesus uninvited and
asked Him to name her two boys as the number one and two men in the kingdom
(Matthew 20:20-27). That request did not go over too well with Jesus. Can you
imagine the jokes about this? “Hey guys, did you hear about the two men that
could not stand up to their mother?”
When Jesus asked Philip where to buy bread for the assembled crowd, Philip
proved his math skills for all time. He calculated for Jesus that it would take an
average worker six months of labor to give everyone a small piece of bread (John
6:5-7). Andrew does not fare any better. He informs Jesus the obvious fact that
five loves of bread and two fishes cannot feed that many people (John 6:9). Neither
one of these men remembered what Jesus had already done in front of them. Jesus
turned plain old water into the best wine in the world (John 2). They both failed to
recall Jesus giving a boy life again (John 4:49-54). Philip and Andrew obviously

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forgot Jesus telling the lame man at the pool at Bethesda to get up and walk after
not being able to for thirty-eight years (John 5:1-16).
There are only two left: Simon Peter the rocky disciple and Judas Iscariot who
betrays Jesus (Matthew 10:4; Matthew 26:25; Mark 3:19; Mark 14:10; Luke 6:16;
Luke 22:48; John 6:71; John 12:4; John 13:2). Do not let Peter off the hook. Jesus
has already called him satan (Matthew 16:23; Mark 8:33; Luke 4:8).
It is not getting any better this evening. Peter and the rest do not have a clue
why Jesus is down on His knees washing their feet. Then there is Judas. He is
getting ready to do what he must do.
It looks about the same here. Most of us have been in the church our entire
lives but to put it mildly, we are struggling. There are bills to pay. There is no
vision. There is no mission.
Jesus did not come for the ones who want to see their names in bring lights,
for the ones that have the answer to every question that life throws to them, for the
ones that have everything going their way.
Jesus came for the complete unknowns: the ones that do not know their right
hand from the left; the ones no one else wanted; the ones that never left their mark
on the world. These are the people Jesus came to save.
Jesus came for the people who could not keep their mouth shut: the ones who
called it as they saw it; the ones who always stuck their foot into their mouth; the
ones who forgot to engage their brain before their mouth. These are the people
Jesus came to save.
Jesus came for the people who were on the wrong side: the ones who never

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lived on the right side of the tracks; the ones that always were on the loosing side
of the deal; the ones that never picked the winning team. These are the people
Jesus came to save.
Jesus came for the people that do not know what to believe; the ones that have
seen it all but just do not get it; the ones that do not know if the morning will ever
come again; the ones that cannot trust. These are the people Jesus came to save.
Jesus came for the ones that want to lead instead of serve; for the ones that
want a comfortable life; for the ones that want to rule; for the ones that never help.
These are the people Jesus came to save.
Jesus came for the ones that should know better; for the ones that see but do not
understand; for the ones that have been blessed but cannot take a risk for someone
else; for the ones that know the light but cannot trust it right now. These are the
people Jesus came to save.
Jesus came for the ones that say one thing and do another; the ones that are
bold but cannot share the story; the ones who start so well but finish so poorly; the
ones that should understand but do not. These are the people Jesus came to save.
Jesus came for the ones who betray; the ones who turn a good friend in; the
ones who cannot keep a confidence; the ones who want things to go their way.
These are the people Jesus came to save.
Jesus came for the ones that need help. Jesus came for you and me. These are
the people Jesus came to save.
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and

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minds through Christ Jesus.”2

2
Philippians 4:7.