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Sin & Sinners in the Gospels

[Every instance of the words “sin,” “sins,” “sinner,” “sinners,” “sinful” and “sinfully” that occurs in the four gospels is underlined in its contextual passage below.]

Believe me, there is pardon for all the other sins of mankind and the blasphemies they utter; but if a man blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, there is no pardon for him in all eternity; he is guilty of a sin which is eternal. This was because they were saying, He has an unclean spirit.

Next day, John saw Jesus coming towards him; and he said, Look, this is the Lamb of God; look, this is he who takes away the sin of the world.

The cripple who had been healed did not know who it was; Jesus had drawn aside from so crowded a place. But afterwards when Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, Behold, you have recovered your strength; do not sin any more, for fear that worse should befall you, the man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had restored his strength.

But Jesus bent down, and began writing on the ground with his finger. When he found that they continued to question him, he looked up and said to them, Whichever of you is free from sin shall cast the first stone at her. Then he bent down again, and went on writing on the ground. And they began to go out one by one, beginning with the eldest, till Jesus was left alone with the woman, still standing in full view. Then Jesus looked up, and asked her, Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you? No one, Lord, she said. And Jesus said to her, I will not condemn you either. Go, and do not sin again henceforward.

And Jesus saw, as he passed on his way, a man who had been blind from his birth. Whereupon his disciples asked him, Master, was this man guilty of sin, or was it his parents, that he should have been born blind? Neither he nor his parents were guilty, Jesus answered; it was so that God’s action might declare itself in him.

And they brought him before the Pharisees, this man who had once been blind. It was a sabbath day, you must know, when Jesus made clay and opened his eyes. And so the Pharisees in their turn asked him how he had recovered his sight. Why, he said, he put clay on my eyes; and then I washed, and now I can see. Whereupon some of the Pharisees said, This man can be no messenger from God; he does not observe the sabbath. Others asked, How can a man do miracles like this, and be a sinner? Thus there was a division of opinion among them. And now they questioned the blind man again, What account do you give of him, that he should thus have opened your eyes? Why, he said, he must be a prophet. The Jews must send for the parents of the man who had recovered his sight, before they would believe his story that he had been blind, and that he had had his sight restored to him. And they questioned them, Is this your son, who, you say, was born blind? How comes it, then, that he is now able to see? His parents answered them, We can tell you that this is our son, and that he was blind when he was born; we cannot tell how he is able to see now; we have no means of knowing who opened his eyes for him. Ask the man himself; he is of age; let him tell you his own story. It was fear of the Jews that made his parents talk in this way; the Jews had by now come to an agreement that anyone who acknowledged Jesus as the Christ should be forbidden the synagogue; that was why his parents said, He is of age, ask him himself. So once more they summoned the man who had been blind. Give God the praise, they said; this man, to our knowledge, is a sinner. Sinner or not, said the other, I cannot tell; all I know is that once I was blind, and now I can see. Then they asked him over again, What was it he did to you? By what means did he open your eyes? And he answered them, I have told you already, and you would not listen to me. Why must you hear it over again? Would you too become his disciples? Upon this, they covered him with abuse; Keep his discipleship for yourself, we are disciples of Moses. We know for certain that God spoke to Moses; we know nothing of this man, or whence he comes. Why, the man answered, here is matter for astonishment; here is a man that comes you cannot tell whence, and he has opened my eyes. And yet we know for certain that God does not answer the prayers of sinners, it is only when a man is devout and does his will, that his prayer is answered. That a man should open the eyes of one born blind is something unheard of since the world began. No, if this man did not come from God, he would have no powers at all. What, they answered, are we to have lessons from you, all steeped in sin from your birth? And they cast him out from their presence.

You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I tell you that he who casts his eyes on a woman so as to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye is the occasion of your falling into sin, pluck it out and cast it away from you; better to lose one part of your body than to have the whole cast into hell.

They answered him, We are of Abraham’s breed, nobody ever enslaved us yet; what do you mean by saying, You shall become free? And Jesus answered them, Believe me when I tell you this; everyone who acts sinfully is the slave of sin, and the slave cannot make his home in the house for ever. To make his home in the house for ever, is for the Son.

And yet I can say truly that it is better for you I should go away; he who is to befriend you will not come to you unless I do go, but if only I make my way there, I will send him to you. He will come, and it will be for him to prove the world wrong, about sin, and about rightness of heart, and about judging. About sin; they have not found belief in me. About rightness of heart; I am going back to my Father, and you are not to see me any more.

But hardly had this thought come to his mind, when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take your wife Mary to yourself, for it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that she has conceived this child; and she will bear a son, whom you shall call Jesus, for he is to save his people from their sins.

And he, John, wore a garment of camel’s hair, and a leather girdle about his loins, and locusts and wild honey were his food. Thereupon Jerusalem and all Judaea, and all those who dwelt round Jordan, went out to see him, and he baptized them in the Jordan, while they confessed their sins.

And so it was that John appeared in the wilderness baptizing, announcing a baptism whereby men repented, to have their sins forgiven. And all the country of Judaea and all those who dwelt in Jerusalem went out to see him, and he baptized them in the river Jordan, while they confessed their sins.

And he went all over the country round Jordan, announcing a baptism whereby men repented, to have their sins forgiven: as it is written in the book of the sayings of the prophet Isaias, There is a voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, straighten out his paths.

And now they brought before him a man who was palsied and bed-ridden; whereupon Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the palsied man, Son, take courage, your sins are forgiven. And at this, some of the scribes said to themselves, He is talking blasphemously. Jesus read their minds, and said, Why do you cherish wicked thoughts in your hearts? Tell me, which command is more lightly given, to say to a man, Your sins are forgiven, or to say, Rise up, and walk? And now, to convince you that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins while he is on earth (here he spoke to the palsied man), Rise up, take your bed with you, and go home. And he rose up, and went back to his house, so that the multitudes were filled with awe at seeing it, and praised God for giving such powers to men.

So they stripped the tiles from the roof over the place where Jesus was, and made an opening; then they let down the bed on which the palsied man lay. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the palsied man, Son, your sins are forgiven. But there were some of the scribes sitting there, who reasoned in their mind, Why does he speak so? He is talking blasphemously. Who can forgive sins but God, and God only? Jesus knew at once, in his spirit, of these secret thoughts of theirs, and said to them, Why do you reason thus in your minds? Which command is more lightly given, to say to the palsied man, Your sins are forgiven, or to say, Rise up, take your bed with you, and walk? And now, to convince you that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins while he is on earth (here he spoke to the palsied man); I tell you, rise up, take your bed with you, and go home. And he rose up at once, and took his bed, and went out in full sight of them; so that all were astonished and gave praise to God; they said, We never saw the like.

But, finding no way of carrying him in, because of the multitude, they went up on to the house-top, and let him down between the tiles, bed and all, into the clear space in front of Jesus. And he, seeing their faith, said, Man, your sins are forgiven you. Whereupon the Pharisees and scribes fell to reasoning thus, Who can this be, that he talks so blasphemously? Who can forgive sins but God and God only? Jesus knew of these secret thoughts of theirs, and said to them openly, Why do you reason thus in your hearts? Which command is more lightly given, to say, Your sins are forgiven you, or to say, Rise up and walk? And now, to convince you that the Son of Man has power to forgive sins while he is on earth (here he spoke to the palsied man), I tell you, rise up, take your bed with you and go home. And he rose up at once in full sight of them, took up his bedding, and went home, giving praise to God.

It is from the heart that his wicked designs come, his sins of murder, adultery, fornication, theft, perjury and blasphemy. It is these make a man unclean; he is not made unclean by eating without washing his hands.

Thus he declared all meat to be clean, and told them that what defiles a man is that which comes out of him. For it is from within, from the hearts of men, that their wicked designs come, their sins of adultery, fornication, murder, theft, covetousness, malice, deceit, lasciviousness, envy, blasphemy, pride and folly. All these evils come from within, and it is these which make a man unclean.

Then he took a cup, and offered thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink, all of you, of this; for this is my blood, of the new testament, shed for many, to the remission of sins.

And he said to them, It is granted to you to understand the secret of God’s kingdom; for those others, who stand without, all is parable: so they must watch and watch, yet never see, must listen and listen, yet never understand, nor ever turn back, and have their sins forgiven them. Then he said to them, You do not understand this parable? And are these the men who are to understand all parables? What the sower sows is the word. . .

And you, my child, will be known for a prophet of the most High, going before the Lord, to clear his way for him; you will make known to his people the salvation that is to release them from their sins. Such is the merciful kindness of our God, which has bidden him come to us, like a dawning from on high, to give light to those who live in darkness, in the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

One of the Pharisees invited him to a meal; so he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at table. And there was then a sinful woman in the city, who, hearing that he was at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought a pot of ointment with her, and took her place behind him at his feet, weeping; then she began washing his feet with her tears, and drying them with her hair, kissing his feet, and anointing them with the ointment. His host, the Pharisee, saw it, and thought to himself. If this man were a prophet, he would know who this woman is that is touching him, and what kind of woman, a sinner. But Jesus answered him thus, Simon, I have a word for your hearing. Tell it me. Master, he said. There was a creditor who had two debtors; one owed him five hundred pieces of silver, the other fifty; they had no means of paying him, and he gave them both their discharge. And now tell me, which of them loves him the more? I suppose, Simon answered, that it is the one who had the greater debt discharged. And he said, You have judged rightly. Then he turned towards the woman, and said to Simon, Do you see this woman? I came into your house, and you gave me no water for my feet; she has washed my feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss of greeting; she has never ceased to kiss my feet since I entered; you did not pour oil on my head; she has anointed my feet, and with ointment. And so, I tell you, if great sins have been forgiven her, she has also greatly loved. He loves little, who has little forgiven him. Then he said to her. Your sins are forgiven. And his fellow guests thereupon thought to themselves. Who is this, that he even so forgives sins? But he told the woman. Your faith has saved you; go in peace.

Once, when he had found a place to pray in, one of his disciples said to him, after his prayer was over, Lord, teach us how to pray, as John did for his disciples. And he told them, When you pray, you are to say. Father, hallowed be your name; your kingdom come; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our sins; we too forgive all those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation.

This is what I told you, he said, while I still walked in your company; how all that was written of me in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, must be fulfilled. Then he enlightened their minds, to make them understand the scriptures; So it was written, he told them, and so it was fitting that Christ should suffer, and should rise again from the dead on the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

You have no knowledge, either of me or of my Father; had you knowledge of me, you would have knowledge of my Father as well. All this Jesus said at the Treasury, while he was teaching in the temple; and no one seized him, because his time had not yet come. And he said to them again, I am going away, and you will look for me, but you will have to die with your sins upon you; where I am going is where you cannot come. At this, the Jews began to ask, Will he kill himself? Is that what he means by, Where I am going is where you cannot come? But he went on to say, You belong to earth, I to heaven; you to this world, I to another. That is why I have been telling you that you will die with your sins upon you; you will die with your sins upon you unless you come to believe that it is myself you look for.

Once more Jesus said to them, Peace be upon you; I came upon an errand from my Father, and now I am sending you out in my turn. With that, he breathed on them, and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit; when you forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven, when you hold them bound, they are held bound.

As he passed further on his way, Jesus saw a man called Matthew sitting at work in the customs-house, and said to him, Follow me; and Matthew rose from his place and followed him. And afterwards, when he was taking a meal in the house, many publicans and sinners were to be found at table with him and his disciples. The Pharisees saw this, and asked his disciples, How comes it that your master eats with publicans and sinners? Jesus heard it, and said, It is not those who are in health that have need of the physician, it is those who are sick. Go home and find out what the words mean, It is mercy that wins favour with me, not sacrifice. I have come to call sinners, not the just.

And as he passed further on, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at work in the customs-house, and said to him, Follow me; and he rose up and followed him. And afterwards, when he was taking a meal in his house, many publicans and sinners were at table with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many of these who followed him. Thereupon the scribes and Pharisees, seeing him eat with publicans and sinners in his company, asked his disciples, How comes it that your master eats and drinks with publicans and sinners? Jesus heard it, and said to them, It is not those who are in health that have need of the physician, it is those who are sick. I have come to call sinners, not the just.

Then he went out, and caught sight of a publican, called Levi, sitting at work in the customs house, and said to him, Follow me. And he rose up, and left all behind, and followed him. Then Levi made a great feast for him in his house, and there was a crowded company of publicans and others who were their fellow-guests. Whereupon the Pharisees and scribes complained to his disciples, How comes it that you eat and drink with publicans and sinners? But Jesus answered them, It is those who are sick, not those who are in health, that have need of the physician. I have not come to call the just; I have come to call sinners to repentance.

As for this generation, to what shall I compare it? It reminds me of those children who call out to their companions as they sit in the market-place, and say, You would not dance when we piped to you, or beat the breast when we wept to you. When John came, he would neither eat nor drink, and they say of him that he is possessed. When the Son of Man came, he ate and drank with them, and of him they said, Here is a glutton; he loves wine; he is a friend of publicans and sinners. It is by her own children that wisdom is vindicated.

To what, then, shall I compare the men of this generation? What are they like? They put me in mind of those children who call out to their companions as they sit in the market-place and say. You would not dance when we piped to you, you would not mourn when we wept to you. When John came, he would neither eat nor drink, and you say. He is possessed. When the Son of Man came, he ate and drank with you, and of him you say, Here is a glutton; he loves wine; he is a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.

And once more he found his disciples asleep when he came to them, so heavy their eyelids were; this time he went away without disturbing them, and made his third prayer, using the same words. After that he returned to his disciples, and said to them, Sleep and take your rest hereafter; as I speak, the time draws near when the Son of Man is to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up, let us go on our way; already, he that is to betray me is close at hand.

Had you not strength to watch even for an hour? Watch and pray, that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing enough, but the flesh is weak. Then he went away and prayed again, using the same words. And when he returned, once more he found them asleep, so heavy their eyelids were; and they did not know what answer to make to him. When he came the third time, he said to them, Sleep and take your rest hereafter. Enough; the time has come; behold, the Son of Man is to be betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Simon answered him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and caught nothing; but at your word I will let down the net. And when they had done this, they took a great quantity of fish, so that the net was near breaking, and they must needs beckon to their partners who were in the other boat to come and help them. When these came, they filled both boats, so that they were ready to sink. At seeing this, Simon Peter fell down and caught Jesus by the knees; Leave me to myself, Lord, he said; I am a sinner.

Why, what credit is it to you, if you love those who love you? Even sinners love those who love them. What credit is it to you, if you do good to those who do good to you? Even sinners do as much. What credit is it to you, if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much in exchange. No, it is your enemies you must love, and do them good, and lend to them, without any hope of return; then your reward will be a rich one, and you will be true sons of the most High, generous like him towards the thankless and unjust.

At this very time there were some present that told him the story of those Galileans, whose blood Pilate had shed in the midst of their sacrifices. And Jesus said in answer, Do you suppose, because this befell them, that these men were worse sinners than all else in Galilee? I tell you it is not so; you will all perish as they did, if you do not repent. What of those eighteen men on whom the tower fell in Siloe, and killed them; do you suppose that there was a heavier account against them, than against any others who then dwelt at Jerusalem? I tell you it was not so; you will all perish as they did, if you do not repent.

When they found all the publicans and sinners coming to listen to him, the Pharisees and scribes were indignant; Here is a man, they said, that entertains sinners, and eats with them. Whereupon he told them this parable: If any of you owns a hundred sheep, and has lost one of them, does he not leave the other ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders, rejoicing, and so goes home, and calls his friends and his neighbours together; Rejoice with me, he says to them, I have found my sheep that was lost. So it is, I tell you, in heaven; there will be more rejoicing over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine souls that are justified, and have no need of repentance. Or if some woman has ten silver pieces by her, and has lost one of them, does she not light a lamp, and sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she does find it, she calls her friends and her neighbours together; Rejoice with me, she says, I have found the silver piece which I lost. So it is, I tell you, with the angels of God; there is joy among them over one sinner that repents.

There were some who had confidence in themselves, thinking they had won acceptance with God, and despised the rest of the world; to them he addressed this other parable: Two men went up into the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, the other a publican. The Pharisee stood upright, and made this prayer in his heart, I thank you, God, that I am not like the rest of men, who steal and cheat and commit adultery, or like this publican here; for myself, I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican stood far off; he would not even lift up his eyes towards heaven; he only beat his breast, and said, God, be merciful to me; I am a sinner. I tell you, this man went back home higher in God’s favour than the other; everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and the man who humbles himself shall be exalted.

He had entered Jericho, and was passing through it; and here a rich man named Zacchaeus, the chief publican, was trying to distinguish which was Jesus, but could not do so because of the multitude, being a man of small stature. So he ran on in front, and climbed up into a sycamore tree, to catch sight of him, since he must needs pass that way. Jesus, when he reached the place, looked up and saw him; Zacchaeus, he said, make haste and come down; I am to lodge to-day at your house. And he came down with all haste, and gladly made him welcome. When they saw it, all took it amiss; He has gone in to lodge, they said, with one who is a sinner. But Zacchaeus stood upright and said to the Lord, Here and now, Lord, I give half of what I have to the poor; and if I have wronged anyone in any way, I make restitution of it fourfold. Jesus turned to him and said, To-day, salvation has been brought to this house; he too is a son of Abraham. That is what the Son of Man has come for, to search out and to save what was lost.

They were still puzzling over this, when two men came and stood by them, in shining garments. These said to them, as they bowed their faces to the earth in fear, Why are you seeking one who is alive, here among the dead? He is not here, he has risen again; remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, The Son of Man is to be given up into the hands of sinners, and to be crucified, and to rise again the third day.

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