A Broken Mold

by Zeke Flores

Jesus broke the mold of how a rabbi should act. At least, He didn’t act in a way that the religious, holy-toity leaders in His day thought He should. It was bad enough to have accepted a (gasp) tax collector as a follower after He was seen associating with various other “sinners!” Seeing Jesus eat with this hated segment of society just made the Jewish leaders hate Him more, which prompted them to ask His disciples, “Why is your teacher eating with these people?”

Jesus overheard the question, and His simple reply cut to the heart of His mission. He was there for people who needed what he had. He wasn’t hanging out with sinners to simply have a good time, He was offering them change, real change, from a life of estrangement from God.
Here’s the thing: We shouldn’t judge a book by its cover or write off a sinner because they sin. They need Jesus just as much as you do. Approach them and try to help them see. After all, someone helped you.

"But when He heard it, He said, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice." for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners'" (Matthew 9:12-13).