A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Proverbs 18:24 (ESV)
Series: His Name is Jesus
Have you ever felt like you didn’t fit in or you weren’t accepted? Like you didn’t have a friend in the world? Thought that whatever was in your past, or perhaps even in your present reality, meant you wouldn’t be welcomed in certain circles? Experienced rejection and isolation from others who deemed you wretched and unworthy?
Me too.
We are not alone in these feelings, thoughts, and experiences. All of humanity encounters and wrestles with these lies.
The truth is, we are accepted right here, right now, by One who desires our company and loves us passionately. Let me introduce you to my best friend. His name is Jesus, Friend of Sinners.
You see, Jesus, part of the divine Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—stepped down from heaven and took on flesh so that He could reveal the love of the Father to the people on earth. Throughout His ministry, Jesus went directly to the broken, the hurting, and the sinful, to meet with them.
In Mark 2:15-17 (NIV), we read about Jesus sharing a meal with sinners:
While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Him and His disciples, for there were many who followed Him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked His disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
With grace and mercy, Jesus pursued the company of imperfect people. He sat and dined with the forsaken. He offered dignity and love to the misunderstood. He welcomed the rejected and restored the lonely. Jesus came to heal the sick and call the sinners to righteousness. And He did this by being a friend to them.
The Pharisees and Sadducees (priests and teachers of the law) condemned Jesus for communing with sinners. In Matthew 11:18-19 (NIV), we see Jesus’ response to their criticism:
“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”
The religious leaders used “friend of sinners” to chastise Jesus for eating with tax collectors and social outcasts. They attempted to shame Him for ignoring social and religious boundaries. However, Jesus refuted their reprimand by saying wisdom is proven by the results it produces. In other words, look at the fruit to determine if something is good or evil. Jesus’ method of meeting people where they were—befriending sinners—drew people to the Kingdom of God.
The kindness and compassion that Jesus poured out to others led people to repentance and changed lives. Jesus did not join in or approve of sin. Instead, He offered grace while calling people to truth. In doing so, He attracted multitudes to Himself, and thus to our Father in heaven. Good fruit abounded as He befriended those considered unworthy.
In John 15:14-15 (NIV), John recorded the words of Jesus:
“You are My friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you.”
Hallelujah! Jesus called His disciples His friends. His disciples were imperfect people, just like you and me. Paul, in Romans 3:23, assures us that all people have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We are all sinners, and Jesus came for us all. He is the Friend of sinners. There is nothing we can do that will stop His desire for or pursuit of us.
We see in the Bible that Jesus dined with sinners and tax collectors. He met with the woman at the well. He called Zacheus down from the tree. He protected the woman caught in adultery. He healed the sick. He raised the dead. He met with the lonely, the outcast, and the rejected. He lived daily life with His followers and called them His friends.
Jesus is the most trusted Friend we can ever have. He is the wisest teacher and our exceedingly compassionate confidant. He is the only righteous and pure person we can look to. He is the strongest and most powerful warrior we can lean on. He challenges us to do better, to be better, and to come up higher with Him. Life with Jesus is never boring. And, He invites us to not just meet with Him, but to live with Him.
What a friend we have in Jesus!
Know that nothing can separate you from His love. Nothing will stop Him from pursuing you. His grace is sufficient for you. You are accepted in the Beloved. You are wanted, welcomed, needed, and loved by Him. And you, my friend, always and forever have the bestest friend ever in Jesus.
Holding Fast to Hope,
Maryann
Scripture References: Proverbs 18:24; Mark 2:15-17, Matthew 11:18-19; Luke 5:27-32, 7:33-34; John 15:14-15; Romans 3:23; John 4; Luke 19:1-10; John 8:1-11
