A Friend of Sinners

 

Jesus was ripped by the religious leaders of His day for hanging around with sinners.  He was actually nicer to the religious outcasts than to the Pharisees.  The snobby Jews would avoid traveling through Samaria because of the “half-breeds” who lived there, but Jesus traveled right through Samaria.  He had an encounter with “the woman at the well” and spent two days with her and her friends.  On another occasion, He went through Jericho and had lunch with Zacchaeus, a 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 this leper - probably the only human touch the leper had felt in many years.  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 that is 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.