Tax collectors were hated far worse in Jesus' day than ours. They were despised by their communities and treated as outcasts. They were swindlers and crooks who collected much more than the Roman tax required. They used other people's money to live a life of luxury.
Nobody wanted anything to do with them, except other tax collectors, prostitutes, thieves and swindlers — except for Jesus. Jesus had a peculiar affection for these people who were far from God. He dined with them in their homes, spent time with them. Imagine that! This was the type of people who religious folks ran and hid from, or turned their backs on — even spitting or cursing at them on sight. They were sinners to be avoided at all costs and banned from the synagogues.
Truth is, Jesus ate and partied with sinners so often, He earned a damning reputation: "Jesus? He's a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of sinners!" (Luke 7:33-34, NLT). How's that for Son of God?
Finally, the religious leaders struck up the courage to ask why Jesus would build relationships with sinners. Jesus' answer was profound: "Healthy people don't need a doctor — sick people do. I've come to call sinners to God, not people who believe they are already good enough" (Matthew 9:12-13, NLT).
There's been a lot of talk in the news recently about so-called New York values. There's also been a lot of talk about church values. Over time, the Christians have drifted from Jesus' mission to reach the least and the lost — those in need of a doctor. Today we spend a lot of time focusing on those of us already inside the church walls. And instead of reaching out and making a connection with people far from God the way Jesus did, we point fingers of judgment and treat people like they're our enemies. Somewhere along the line we got turned around and missed the whole point of why Jesus came to Earth.
People are never our enemy — if anything, they're victims, bruised and beat up from life. Only one doctor can put their lives back together again: Jesus. We should know this because that's what Jesus did for us.
Well-known pastor and author Rick Warren is right in saying, "We never win our enemies to Christ, only our friends." A study done by Dr. Win Arn, of the Institute for American Church Growth, interviewed more than 10,000 churchgoers and found that the overwhelming majority of them, 79 percent, came to Christ and membership in a local church because a friend or relative invited them.
Here's the dilemma. The longer you are a Christian, the fewer and fewer friends you have who aren't Christian, too. As Carey Nieuwhof, author of "Lasting Impact: 7 Powerful Conversations That Will Help Your Church Grow," writes, "Many Christians say they want to reach unchurched people, but they don't actually know any unchurched people well enough to invite them."
How could we have abandoned not only the love and compassion of Jesus for people far from God, but His methodology of reaching them? It's as simple as sharing meals and being a caring friend to these individuals. So, let's invite some folks to dinner! Let's step out of our comfort zones and connect with folks who are still searching. Let's build loving and authentic relationships that God will use as bridges for people to experience and know Jesus.
The Rev. William Thomas is pastor at Hereford United Methodist Church. He can be reached at pastor@herefordumc.org.
