One of the complaints lodged against Jesus was that he was a friend of sinners. It is rare that you will find someone of great stature spending time with tax collectors and sinners, but that is what Jesus did. This irritated the religious community. “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” (Luke 15:1,2) They could not accept that a Rabbi could do such a thing. Surely the “dirty” would cause him to be dirty.
Taking the point further, it is hard to understand how God, the Creator, the one who has always existed and knows all things, would lower himself to even approach mankind. Even the story of the Fall of Mankind in Genesis 3 reveals a God who pursues sinners.
The apostle Paul said, “while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. (Romans 5:6-8) Paul reminds us that man does not think like God does. He loves all. He is a friend of all even though all have sinned.
The implication is that God is full of patience and reaches out to every human being as a friend and not a judge. Oh yes, he is a judge, but first he is a friend.
God does not pick and choose as man does. The Pharisees could not believe that Jesus would lower his standards as to be a friend of the worst of society. The arrogance of the Pharisees is so sad because they too were sinners needing the friendship of God. They felt that they were above others. They simply did not see their own desperation. Jesus warned the Pharisees when he reminded them of their lack. “You disregard justice and the love of God”. (Luke 11:42)
We can learn something from the error of the Pharisees. All of us – not just some, but all of us – are sinners (Romans 3:23) And God has chosen to reach out to us. What a wonderful reason to worship him today! We appreciate your Comments