A Friend to Sinners

Have you ever made friends with a criminal or with someone who everybody assumes as a bad person? Jesus did. When Jesus lived here on earth, he did not just establish relationships with his disciples. Jesus also made friends with sinners. He dined with tax collectors, who were during those times, were considered as notorious sinners.

One of the most famous bible stories about Jesus’ fellowship with a sinner was when he went at the house of Zacchaeus to eat, a chief tax collector in Jericho. Tax collectors were hated by people during the time of Jesus because of their corrupt practices. Even if they try to get away from the stigma, the notion that they were corrupt and sinful was already engraved in the hearts and minds of the people. Such was the case of Zacchaeus.

When Jesus was in Jericho, a lot of people went to see Him. Zaccchaeus was one of those people. But because of his small stature, he was not able to see Jesus with the crowd so Zacchaeus climbed at a sycamore tree. Jesus saw and called him. He said, “Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home.”

So the short tax collector went down the sycamore tree and gladly took Jesus to his home. Because of this, the people who were there were dismayed. They hated the fact that Jesus opted to go and dine at a tax collector’s house instead of having fellowship with the ones whom they consider as “righteous”. The people said, “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner.”

But the notorious sinner whom these people were referring to changed his heart and decided to follow Jesus. He repented from all his sins and even pledged to give back more than he had cheated from the people. Jesus received the repentance of Zacchaeus and brought salvation to his household. Jesus said: “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

Many times, people tend to be like the crowd in Jericho – they judge and condemn others without even thinking that they are no greater than them. No one is righteous, the bible says, not even one. No one has the right to judge except God. All were born with a sinful nature.

You are sinful and you deserve to die eternally in hell. But the good news is that you have a friend in Jesus. Although you are a sinner, you can choose to be like Zacchaeus. You can leave that sinful nature behind by choosing Jesus Christ and accepting him as your Lord and Savior.

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