The Friend of Sinners

Jesus was ripped by the religious leaders of His day for hanging with sinners.  He was actually way nicer to the outcasts than to the Pharisees.  Jesus didn’t go around the region of Samaria to avoid the “half-breeds” who lived there, He planned his trip so that He could go right through Samaria.  He went through Jericho and had lunch with Zacchaeus, the tax collector.  Mary Magdalene was one of His closest followers.  She was a former prostitute.  Bartimaeus was a blind beggar whom Jesus befriended and healed.  And then there was the leper whom Jesus healed of his incurable disease.  Jesus actually touched the leper - probably the only human touch the leper had felt in many years.  He was isolated not unlike today’s Covid-19 patients.  But Jesus didn’t hang with sinners to validate them; He came to redeem them!  Jesus didn’t come to give them new importance in their world; He came to give them new life for the world to come!  Dr. Luke said it best in Luke 19:10. “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”  If you are a Christian, you should hang with sinners.  If you are a pagan, you should not be afraid to be around Christians.  Hey, give it a try!  You both might benefit from the exchange.