Matthew 9
Jesus was called a friend of sinners. His mission statement was, "I am a doctor for the sick and broken people of the world." Jesus saw hurting people and responded by leaving his comfort zone and becoming their friend. The party that Jesus and his disciples went to had a lot of the "riff raff" in attendance. People like tax collectors, sinners, pimps, prostitutes, party animals and whoever was unwilling to play "goody two shoes" with the Jewish law. I still can't figure out who invited the Pharisees to this party. Who would want to party with them?
It is noteworthy that neither Jesus nor his disciples evidently had any great hesitation about being there. Could I speculate on what caused the Pharisees to become unhinged? I don't picture Jesus as sitting in the corner, hoping this party would quickly end; no, he was enjoying himself. I can imagine him laughing, telling stories, and playing Charades. Jesus likes people, particularly broken people. And this love for broken people ultimately led the Pharisees to make the ruckus about Jesus regularly hanging out with "these people."
I'm convinced Jesus' approach to people is as attractive as ever. Whenever the world gets a glimpse of his unconditional love, acceptance, and forgiveness, it stands on tiptoes for an unrestricted view. How many of us are comfortable being called a "friend of sinners?" If we are going to imitate our mentor, Jesus, we'd better get used to messy people and messy lives. Because messy people need a doctor and we are the ones given the task of bringing the EMS ambulance to them.
Who could you drive the Jesus EMS ambulance to today?
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