When the hypocritical ruling elite in Jerusalem hurled insults at Jesus, they didn’t call him a “no-good-fer-nothin’-so-and-so.” They called Him “a friend of sinners” (Matthew 11:19).
Jesus was guilty of associating with tax collectors like Levi, a.k.a. Matthew. After Jesus invited Matthew to become His disciple, Matthew invited Jesus to dinner, a lavish banquet with Jesus seated at the head table. The other chairs were filled by Matthew’s buddies from the tax office. “When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ Now when (Jesus) heard this, he said, ‘It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick… For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners’ ” (Matthew 9:11-13).
On the road to Calvary, Jesus made a strategic stop in Jericho for a Divine appointment with Zacchaeus, the head-honcho at Rome’s version of the IRS. As Jesus explained, “the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10), including prostitutes and pimps, the least and the lowest, the scum of the earth, like tax collectors. With Zacchaeus’s eternal destiny at stake, Jesus demanded, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down because today it is necessary for me to stay at your house” (Luke 19:5). “Zacchaeus, it’s imperative that you hear My Gospel message!”
The religious leaders trusted in their own righteousness, believing that their own efforts earned a ticket to heaven. They didn’t need a Savior! Like the worst of the worst, like Levi and Zacchaeus, I need Jesus! So do you!
“God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Aren’t you glad that Jesus is “a friend of sinners!”
“… think on these things” (Philippians 4:8, KJV).
