There were a great many things that the leadership of the Jews found fault with the ministry of Jesus. They accused Him of picking grain in the fields on the Sabbath to eat (Matthew 12:1-2; Mark 2:23-24), performing miracles on the Sabbath (Mark 3:2-4; Matthew 12;10-129), and the casting out of demons as the work of the devil (Matthew 9:34; 12:22:-24; Mark 3:22). The Pharisees accused Jesus of teaching that the Jews were not to pay taxes to Caesar (Luke 23;2). They were constantly meeting together to find fault with Jesus (Matthew 26:59-61). But there was one accusation that just takes the cake. He was a friend of sinners! Here we have an accusation that is finally accurate. Jesus was a friend of sinners.
Matthew 9:11 (ESV) 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Luke 7:34 (ESV) 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
Early in His ministry, our Lord set forth a model of Christian witness that reveals a lifestyle and His heart for souls. This lifestyle got Him into immediate trouble with the religiously respectable. For you see, He sought out a publican to be one of His disciples! His name was Levi or Matthew. Matthew, in his excitement, hosted a dinner inviting all his “friends” (Luke 5:29)! This criticism was embellished over time to include accusations of gluttony and the consumption of alcohol and therefore our Lord most certainly was “the friend of publicans and sinners”! This criticism was again reinforced later when Christ ate with Zacchaeus the tax collector (publican).
Luke 19:7 (ESV) 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”
No doubt we all understand our Lord’s motives and have no problem finding fault with the Pharisees. Our Lord’s heart always went out to those in spiritual need. Did not our Lord make it clear that he was sent to “seek and to save which is lost (Luke 19:10)?” Didn’t He also say in response to those who had cast judgment that those who were whole have no need of a doctor, but rather they that are sick (Matt.9:12)? We sometimes find it hard to understand how the Pharisees could not see and understand the heart of true ministry and be so critical of Christ who exemplified it so well! Maybe our lack of understanding of the blindness of the contemporary religious community of our Lord’s Day is due in part to our own lack of understanding of the Great Commission and our Lord’s methods for reaching the lost.
I am convinced that there are very few true believers that are not concerned for the lost. We are concerned about lost relatives, friends and fellow workers. But at the same time, our concern most often does not translate into souls reached and won to Christ. Much of this fruitlessness is no doubt due to the coolness of our hearts and therefore a lack of motivation to extend ourselves into the lives of others and tied to this is the fact that many of us have few if any friends outside our Christian circles. We have been taught or at least understood that our friendships are to be with believers. We have equated the principle of “friendship with the world as enmity with God” (James 4:4) and intentionally avoided any real or meaningful friendships with the lost. The result has been that our sphere of influence for the sake of the Gospel as dwindled to a very small group of people. The church by in large is practicing this truth out of balance. There is a definite misunderstanding regarding the doctrine of “separation” and our Lord’s passion and methods for reaching people in genuine love with the Gospel.
-Michael Holtzinger
Helpful resources:
Evangelism: How the Whole Church Speaks of Jesus By: Mac Stiles
Questioning Evangelism: Engaging People’s Hearts the Way Jesus Did By: Randy Newman
Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God By: J.I. Packer