Matthew 9:10-13 ESV And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when He heard it He said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
The Pharisees asked a valid question. Why did Jesus eat with tax collectors and sinners? After all, these were people who had flaunted God’s laws and chosen to live by their own rules. Why would Jesus want to surround Himself with people like that?
The reason is simple, they were coming to Him. Jesus told the truth about God and then accepted anyone who accepted that truth. He was not politically correct or “seeker sensitive” (as that term is used today). He told whoever would listen who God was and what God expected. Those expectations included turning from sin (as God defines it) and living a life of obedience to God’s commands.
When people responded to that truth and came to Him, Jesus welcomed them. He did not care what their past was. They could have been a tax collector, a prostitute, a Pharisee (some did follow Jesus), or anyone else. All that Jesus cared about was that they were willing to let God be supreme in their life.
That was why most of the Pharisees resisted Jesus. They wanted to come to God on their terms. They wanted to make rules that they thought were good and then have God rubber stamp them with His approval. It doesn’t work that way. Humans do not get to tell God on what basis they will “accept” Him.
Today, Christians are charged with this same task. The apostle Paul called it the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:15-20). Christians are called to be ambassadors for God, bringing His offer to reconcile with a world that is in rebellion against His kingdom.
We are to tell the world the truth about God as He is described in the Bible and accept any who accept that truth, just as Jesus did. God accepts people as they are because He can see what they will become. We must accept people as they are and trust God to work in them, just as He did for us.
Thank You Lord for calling me to be Your child despite the rebellious person that I was. Give me a heart to see people as You see them. Let me faithfully carry out the ministry of reconciliation.