A Friend of You
Jesus had a strange problem. No matter what He did, people found a reason to reject Him.
John the Baptist came fasting and severe — they said he had a demon. Jesus came eating at ordinary tables with ordinary sinners — they called Him a glutton and a friend of tax collectors. Like children in the marketplace who won’t dance to the flute or weep at the dirge, that generation could not be pleased (Matthew 11:16-19).
But look closer at the insult they threw at Him: a friend of sinners. They meant it as slander. I read it as good news.
Because if Jesus is a friend of sinners, then He is a friend of tired, imperfect, still-figuring-it-out me.
This matters more than we realise. Many of us quietly believe God tolerates us the way a strict teacher tolerates a struggling student: constantly grading our performance, and overall unimpressed by our effort. But Jesus didn’t come for the people who had it together. He came for the ones honest enough to admit they didn’t.
You don’t need to clean yourself up before you come to Him. You don’t need to earn a seat at His table. He is already pulling out the chair.
Whatever kept you at a distance from God this week — shame, failure, the sense that you’re too far gone — let it go. The Friend of sinners is calling your name.
Watch this week’s sermon here: Link