Was Jesus A Friend Of Publicans And Sinners?

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Category: Holiness

Published on Friday, 27 March 2009 07:47

Written by Ryan Hicks

WAS JESUS A FRIEND OF PUBLICANS AND SINNERS?

By Ryan Hicks

Luke 7:19-35
19   And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
20   When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
21   And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight.
22   Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.
23   And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
24   And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
25   But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts.
26   But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.
27   This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
28   For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
29   And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.
30   But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.
31   And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like?
32   They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.
33   For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil.
34   The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!
35   But wisdom is justified of all her children.

Luke 7:34 and Matthew 11:19 have long been used as an excuse by those who love the world in direct contradiction to the Scripture which states, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world" (1 John 2:15-16). They seek to make a mockery of our Lord's life by saying the very thing the blasphemers among the Pharisees and lawyers were saying.

When rebuked for their fellowship with unrighteousness (2 Corinthians 6:14), these people will say, "But Jesus was a friend of publicans and sinners!" I even have had one pastor tell me this numerous times when I rebuked him for his love for being around and excusing the sins of adulterers and sodomites. He was so deluded he could not see that to quote such is to join the ranks of the blasphemer who also thinks that Jesus was a glutton and winebibber! You cannot pick and choose what you will believe. If you believe that the last portion of Luke 7:34 and the same in Matthew 11:19 are truthful statements about Jesus' life, then you must believe the rest of it. No sane man would conclude that the statement that Jesus was a glutton or a winebibber is a true statement about our Lord, and yet people twist these verses all the time in order to cover their sins.

Proverbs 28:13
13   He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

The only covering of sins that God allows is when a sinner's sins are covered by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The word of God says this, "Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins" (James 5:19-20). The purpose of this article is to lead one from error and blasphemy into truth and convert them. This will save their souls from death and is the only true way to hide a multitude of sins. God "is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

Once one has their sins covered by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ they can stay cleansed or purged from sin by walking in the light as He is in the light (1 John 1:7). He is our example and was without sin, and separate from sinners (1 Peter 2:21-23). We are to follow in His footsteps, and not try to pave a new path by becoming a friend of the world and then call Jesus the same.

The Bible says of Jesus:

Hebrews 7:26
26   For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;

Jesus was no sinner, nor a friend of sinners. He was kind and compassionate on sinners, and never committed sin in His dealings with them for He "did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth" (1 Peter 2:22; Isaiah 53:9). His communication with sinners was pure and never encouraged them in sin. The people who knew Him and spoke the truth concerning him said, "this man hath done nothing amiss" (Luke 23:41). God "made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5:21). The Bible says that Jesus "was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). The Bible also says that "in him is no sin" (1 John 3:5).

Do any of these true statements about our holy Lord sound like that of the Pharisees and lawyers that were blaspheming the Lord? Most assuredly NO! It is bad enough when one tries to cover their own sin, but when they do so by trying convince Him of sin (John 8:46) it is damnable and is blasphemy. Fret not, you can repent of this wickedness as the Lord sees fit to grant you repentance:

Matthew 12:31-32
31   Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
32   And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

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