"Friend of Sinners" February 21 Readings: Leviticus 20-21, Mark 2, Psalm 26:4–12, Proverbs 6:23-24

Today's Readings - Leviticus 20-21, Mark 2, Psalm 26:4–12, Proverbs 6:23-24

Devotional - Friend of Sinners

The Pharisees were inflated with (self-)righteous indignation at the shocking behavior of Jesus of Nazareth. They could not deny that he taught with an authority and power that they seemed to lack and that made them angry. And there was no denying the miracles that were happening in the crowds that followed him around. But his behavior was just unacceptable - clearly not the actions of a true man of God, they surmised.

Why, he healed that man who was paralyzed, ON THE SABBATH! How could he? God in heaven must have been shocked and offended when the day of rest was used to relieve a man of a lifetime of suffering. And he did not fast and follow all the ceremonies that tradition had demanded of the real religious leaders of Israel. Shameful! One day (they could hardly say this without wincing) Jesus and some of his disciples were walking through a field and broke off a few heads of grain in the process, on the Sabbath, again!

But the worst thing of all happened one night after Jesus called a (gasp) tax collector named Matthew (Levi in Mark 2) to be one of his disciples. That was a scandal in and of itself. But then, with no regard for what was right and wrong, Jesus went into Levi's house and shared a meal with some tax collectors and other sundry sinners (Mark 2:15-17). He shared a table and a conversation with men who were not respectable, not part of the inner religious circle of Israel - something no Pharisee would lower himself to do.

The Pharisees were horrified, but Jesus was unapologetic and undeterred.

“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Jesus was on a mission from God. It was not to curry favor with the elite, the rich, or the self-righteous. It was to seek and to save that which was lost. And so Jesus went where the sinners were. He dined with them. He talked to them.

This is still a problem in the church today. Most of us do not sit in judgment as the Pharisees did (though it happens). But many of us lead sheltered lives, isolated from sinners. It has been said that God called us to put away sin, but not to put away sinners. If we are going to continue the mission of Jesus we must continue his methods. If we are going to be tools of God's work to seek and to save the lost then we must involve ourselves in their lives. We must befriend them and demonstrate the love of Jesus to them.

Father, may I be like Jesus. May I be holy and pure as he was, but may I also be a servant of the lost world as he was. As I avoid sin may I never avoid sinners. They are not the enemy of the gospel, but its goal. May that be a reality in my life.  

Think and Pray

Which of the readings spoke most powerfully to you today?
Is the Spirit of God moving you to repent of something you are doing, to begin something new, or to change something about your life as a result of your readings? What?

Do you involve yourself in the lives of sinners who need Jesus the most, or isolate yourself and withhold the love of Christ?