The Chief of Sinners

It appears that the early church was in the habit of using short, repeated statements as a way of teaching and maintaining their faith. Some of these sayings are recorded in the Bible in the letters that Paul wrote to the preachers Timothy and Titus (1 Timothy 1:15; 3:1; 4:7-9; 2 Timothy 2:11-13; Titus 3:8). Paul describes these as “faithful” (KJV, ASV, NKJV) or “trustworthy” (ESV, NASB) sayings, affirming their truthfulness and encouraging these preachers to continue to teach and repeat them.

The first of these faithful sayings is the Gospel in a nutshell: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:15). Over the years, I have heard or seen several presentations of this text that more or less ignore the “faithful saying” part of the verse. These teachers assume that Paul was affirming this statement about his present life in Christ. The thought process is something like this: 1) In spite of all of his sacrifices and good works, Paul was still the chief of sinners. 2) Since this is true, it should be assumed that every Christian is still nothing but a sinner, and it would be prideful to assume otherwise. I’d argue that if this is true though, there’s no Gospel in the statement at all. If Jesus came to save Paul, and, even after His saving work, Paul was still nothing but the greatest sinner who ever lived, then what hope do any of us have?

I’d further argue that the context demonstrates that this interpretation misses the point of this faithful saying. Paul says very plainly in the next verse, “I obtained mercy” (1 Timothy 1:16), repeating the phrase he used earlier. He “obtained mercy” as one who “was formerly, a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man” (1 Timothy 1:13). It was in these things, not his present behavior, that Jesus had shown “all longsuffering” and created “a pattern” (1 Timothy 1:16). You see, the Gospel – the good news – is that someone can be all the things Paul was, and yet, 1) experience God’s longsuffering and 2) obtain mercy. This is the “pattern” that Paul sets – not of being a sinner in spite of Jesus’ work, but of being saved in spite of his sin. Paul was not presently the chief of sinners; no, as he had previously said, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry” (1 Timothy 1:12).

So what then is the point of this early Christian saying? It achieves something similar to the prayer in the chorus of Dottie Rambo’s hymn, “Remind Me, Dear Lord.” She says, “Roll back the curtain of memory now and then; Show me where you brought me from, and where I could have been.” As each Christian examines his or her life and is totally honest about his or her sin, he or she should say, “If it were not for Jesus, I would be nothing but the chief of sinners. It is for my sin that He died, and without Him, I would be absolutely and totally lost.”

We can very easily be guilty of the attitude expressed in another hymn by Ira F. Stanphill entitled, “Follow Me.” In it, he juxtaposes his attitudes as a weary Christian soldier with some imagined responses from Jesus. He writes, “‘I work so hard for Jesus,’ I often boast and say, ‘I’ve sacrificed a lot of things To walk the narrow way, I gave up fame and fortune; I’m worth a lot to Thee.’” While not many Christians would be very likely to say such things out loud, it can be a great temptation to feel like this. The faithful saying, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief,” serves to keep us grounded and to remind us, like Stanphill’s hymn, that what we’ve done would amount to absolutely nothing without Jesus.  

Two back to back events in Mark’s Gospel represent two extremes in approaching Jesus. In the first event, recorded in Mark 3:1-6, Jesus is in a synagogue on the Sabbath. Present that day is a man who has “a withered hand” (Mark 3:1) as well as several Pharisees (Mark 2:24; 3:6). The Pharisees do not appear to be there to learn or to worship; no, instead, the Bible says “they watched Him,” i.e., Jesus, “closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him” (Mark 3:2). They weren’t concerned with doing right; they were concerned with being right. They would demonstrate this by telling everyone how wrong Jesus was. In their minds, they had no need of Jesus, and, seemingly, no need of God.

The second event occurs by the shores of the sea of Galilee and is recorded in Mark 3:7-10. “A great multitude” (Mark 3:7, 8) “came to Him” because of the “many things He was doing.” They did not come to judge Jesus; they recognized that they “had afflictions” and “pressed about to touch Him” (Mark 3:10). Their desperation reminds me of the amendment to the hymn “Just as I Am” by Travis Cottrell. He writes, “I come broken to be mended, I come wounded to be healed. I come desperate to be rescued, I come empty to be filled. I come guilty to be pardoned by the blood of Christ, the Lamb.” This is the opposite extreme from the attitude of the Pharisees, and is exactly the sentiment captured by the faithful saying, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.”

When you gather around the Lord’s table each Sunday to remember Jesus’ death, do you remember the grace that brought you there? Another set of contrasting pictures is found at the table of Simon, recorded in Luke 7:36-50. Simon has invited Jesus to have a meal at his house. He does not see Jesus as the Son of God. No, to him, Jesus is his guest. The table is his, and the honor in being there belongs to Jesus. He doesn’t need to show Jesus any special treatment; it is enough for him to have extended this invitation to Jesus. It’s possible to partake of the Lord’s Supper with a similar attitude, almost expecting Jesus to say, “Thank you,” just because you did so.

In attendance at Simon’s house, not invited, is a sinful woman. She has no right to be there, and she will not be served anything but disapproving glances by the host, Simon. She doesn’t mind though; it is enough for her to sit at the feet of Jesus. As she sits in the presence of Jesus, recognizing Him for who He is, she cries. At the same time, she notices that Jesus’ feet are dirty. So, with her tears, her hair, and some fragrant oil she had with her, she begins to wash and kiss His feet (Luke 7:38, 45-46). It is this woman, not Simon, who hears, “Your sins are forgiven. […] Your faith has saved you. Go in peace” (Luke 7:48, 50). And it is this woman, not Simon, who represents each of us as we gather around the table to memorialize Jesus’ death.
 
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” I would argue that He succeeded, and that’s good news! I would also argue that if it were not for Him and His glorious work of salvation, only that last part would be true: “I am the chief of sinners.”

-Patrick Swayne 
patrick@tftw.org