FRIEND OF SINNERS

Zacchaeus was a boss at the Inland Revenue Office of Jericho. Business owners dreaded the tax season because of him. Whenever the deadline for filing tax returns approached, everyone got jittery at the thought of his visit. Zacchaeus, on the other hand, looked forward to this season. He enriched himself by taking advantage of the multiple taxation system. Zacchaeus made personal gain extorting money from people and cutting deals with tax defaulters.

One day he heard commotion in the streets. Apparently, Jesus was passing through Jericho. Zacchaeus had heard of this man who claimed to be God. He had heard that Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead and performed all manner of miracles. Zacchaeus told himself he had to take advantage of this once-in-a-life time opportunity to catch a glimpse of Jesus.

Zacchaeus left his desk in the tax office and joined the crowd in the streets. Because he was small in stature, Zacchaeus climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus. To His amazement Jesus began to walk in his direction. This was almost unbelievable. But that was apparently just the beginning. This tax collector could never have imagined what would happen to him on this day that began just like any other. He was about to receive the shock of his life. Jesus made his way towards Zacchaeus. Then he stopped, looked up into the sycamore tree and said:

5 “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” Zacchaeus could not believe what he just heard. He was besides himself. At once confused and overwhelmed he highlighted from the tree immediately and gladly welcomed Jesus to his home.

7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” Luke 19:5-7

On another occasion Jesus was a dinner guest at the home of a Pharisee when a woman of easy virtue arrived on the scene. She was carrying an alabaster jar of perfume. Then she began to weep, wetting Jesus feet with her tears. To the surprise of the onlookers she proceeded to wipe His feet with her hair and even poured the perfume on His feet. But what was shocking was the fact that Jesus did nothing to dissuade her.

39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” (Luke 7:39)

Jesus needed to pass through Samaria because he had an appointment with a woman at a well there. This woman was the centre of gist in the tabloids and on social media. The women of Samaria kept their men away from her while the men found her irresistible. They did not seem to mind that she had had 5 failed marriages. In fact, she was on to a new relationship. Jesus engaged this woman in dialogue. Using the analogy of water, He preached the gospel to her. She believed, received a new lease of life and went round the city telling others about Jesus. Through her testimony, many people also believed.

Jesus’s habit of hanging out with sinners infuriated the religious folk of His day. This unbecoming behaviour earned him the infamous sobriquet – Friend of sinners.

If we were asked to mention the name of Jesus, our list would likely include names like King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Lion of the tribe of Judah, Good shepherd, Bread of Life, Light of the world and so on and so forth. We are unlikely to call Him Friends of Sinners and yet He earned that name from his conduct.

When He was questioned about his ‘irreligious’ conduct, Jesus’ response was that He came for the ‘sick’ and not for those who are already ’whole’.

God came down in human flesh and lived in our midst to demonstrate how His followers ought to live on earth.

As long as we are in the world, we cannot live in isolation and God never intended us to. Rather, His plan is for us to permeate the world like yeast does to dough and make the difference to the mix.

This revelation should affect the way one behaves in the office. Rather than fight that unbelieving boss, we should strive to excel on the job so that he or she would be drawn to the God we serve. We should live at peace with our flat mates and colleagues so that our lifestyle draws them to our God. The way we relate to other Christians should be a witness of the love of God in our hearts.

Though He was often with sinners, Jesus did not sin. Rather, He used every opportunity to tell those He interacted with about the Kingdom of His Father.

As He was a friend of sinners, so should every Christian also be.