Jesus Hangs Out With Sinners

“Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”” John 8:3-12

“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

‭‭John‬ ‭8‬:‭31‬-‭36‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

There are many examples, throughout the Gospels, of Jesus’s compassion for sinners. Yet, some people stop reading once He has done a miracle for them, or shared a meal with them, and so on. There tends to be a lot of focus on His mercy, His grace, and His kindness…there is sometimes little to no focus on His law, His judgment, and His instructions to those sinners. 

Yes, He came to heal us of our sins! He also came to remind us to “sin no more.” He came to save; but He also flipped tables. Jesus is the perfect balance of love and law. He is fully mercy, and also fully judgement. Christ’s judgment is righteous; it comes without hate, disdain, or rejection…which is why it’s hard for many folks to associate Him with both mercy or love and with judgment. 

Let’s be honest with ourselves, we have all fallen into judgment that was superficial, self-elevating, or in some other way just completely flawed. “Why is she wearing THAT?” “Who does he think he is?” “How can anyone think it is okay to say THAT?” “I would never be caught dead with…” We see people’s appearances, or we catch a glimpse of their actions, or hear some of their words without knowing the full story. We can’t see their hearts, their pasts, or even the entirety of their present situation. Yet, we are fooled by the deceiver into thinking - maybe for a moment or maybe for a while - that we are somehow better than those whom we have passed judgement on.

The Pharisees and other religious leaders felt they were better than the people Jesus came to save. In John Chapter 5, they are already seeking to kill Jesus because He healed on the Sabbath. In Verse 43, He reveals their misguided ways, “I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.” I think it’s easy to judge those Biblical religious leaders, and to be grateful that we don’t have the same problems today in the Christian church.

What if I told you that you are dangerously wrong about that? 

Sadly, there are many so-called “churches” that have strayed from the inerrant Word of God. There are denominations that solely preach the feel good parts of the Bible, without also including the hard truths about the law, our sins, and about the consequences we face without Christ. There are even some “churches” that deny the cross. I’m not sure how they make that make sense (or how they honor holy week and Easter). These “churches” call themselves Christians, and they insist that they are modernizing the message to be able to reach people who need love.

It’s an easy trap to fall into. “Let’s just preach about the love of Jesus, without His judgment, for a little while. We just need to get more butts in the seats. We’ll add the law back in after we reach our membership goals.” Pretty soon a little while becomes a long while. The next thing you know, the number goal for butts in the seats grows a bit more, and then more again. “We reached 500, let’s shoot for 1,000.” The intention begins as a way to tell more and more about the love of Jesus, how truly wonderful and awesome He is. Yet, grace without law is a fairy tale.

Other “churches” fall into this trap: “We no longer need the law of God because we have the love of Jesus.” All of a sudden, the love of Jesus turns into “you do you” and “follow your heart.” The false teachings that they share in the name of Jesus are leading people away from God, rather than towards Him. They cherry pick their Bible verses, taking them out of context to seemingly reinforce their twisted ideology.

My dear sisters and brothers, Christ is calling us to make disciples, not to spread feel good fluff! 

Yes, we have to get ourselves right with God before we can help our fellow sinners to get right with Him, but He isn’t calling us to be perfect. He’s calling us to be humble. He’s calling us to acknowledge our own sins, so that when we share the law, we can testify about how Jesus is saving us from our sins - and that He can, no, He will save all sinners who humbly repent. The love of Jesus - the full, amazing, unbelievable, all-encompassing love of Jesus - is only truly understood as merciful and gracious when it is viewed together with the law of God. To remove the law is to remove the reason Christ’s love is so vital. If we have no law, what do we need to have a Savior from? Does the law make us uncomfortable? Good! That means the Holy Spirit is working in us! We must let that discomfort lead us to the Truth, the Way, and the Life so we can spend eternity with our Heavenly Father. That’s the Good News. God doesn’t leave us in our sins; He doesn’t abandon us to our brokenness from our failures in keeping His commandments…instead, He sacrificed His One and Only Son, in love, to save us…to lead us in sharing this salvation (all of it, love and law) with as many others as we can. Let’s not be complacent, let’s not allow our messages of the love, grace, and mercy of Jesus be without the truth of His law and His judgements.