Jesus Hung Out with the Undesirables

[ivona]

A few years ago, I began to read the Orthodox Bible lesson on a daily basis. Over time, I realized how Jesus consistently chose the adulterous, physically ill, criminal, and basically undesirable people of ​His time to hang out with. And He makes good lessons of how He treats them, turning them all into an instrument of ​His teachings.
In the lesson of the adulterous woman, the scribes and Pharisees bring forth a woman to Jesus saying, “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?”
Jesus knows they are trying to trap ​H​im​,​ and He begins writing with a stick on the ground. The teachers ask ​Him questions​,​ and He says, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” No one throws a stone because none of them is without sin. Eventually they all walk away. The loving Jesus tells the woman there is no one to condemn her. He tells her to sin no more​,​ and they are both on their way. (John 8: 1-11)
Zacchaeus is a tax collector and what the locals call “a sinner.” Jesus ​is walking through Jericho​,​ and Zacchaeus so want​s to see Jesus that he climb​s a fig tree to get a better look at ​H​im. Jesus stop​s at the base of the tree and sa​ys, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” People beg​in to talk; they ​can’t believe Jesus ​is hanging out with a sinner. But Zacchaeus ​is so inspired by Jesus​ that he offer​s half of his possessions to the poor on the spot, and repayment times four to those he has cheated. Jesus says, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he is also a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and​ to save​ that which was lost.” (​​Luke 19: 1-10)
In one of my favorite stories, Saul is a big trouble maker. He does not like Christians and spends much of his time breathing threats against the disciples. Preparing for a journey to Damascus, he asks the high priest for letters to the synagogues so he can jail anyone he finds who is following “the Way.” As he near​s the city, a bright light flashes and Saul falls to the ground. He hears a voice saying,​ “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
It ​is the voice of Jesus asking Saul why he ​is doing what he ​is doing. The Lord tells Saul to go into the city and he will be told what to do. Saul gets up from the ground​,​ and when he opens his eyes, he cannot see. The men with him are stunned. They too heard the voice but saw no one. His men lead him the rest of the way into the city. Saul does not eat or drink for three days.
Now​,​ in Damascus​,​ there ​is a disciple by the name of Ananias. In a vision “The Lord told him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.”
Ananias knows that Saul has a reputation for harm and tells the Lord so. The Lord assures him that Saul is an instrument He has chosen to proclaim His word. Ananias shows up at the house where Saul is and places his hands on him​,​ saying, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, scales fall from Saul’s eyes and he is made able to see. After that, Saul ​is baptized and beg​ins to proclaim Jesus to all. (Acts 9: 1-19)
There are many other examples. Jesus places ​H​is hand on a leper and immediately he is cleansed. Jesus asks him to say nothing, but the man goes out and freely proclaims his healing. (Mark 1: 40-45) A paralytic cannot get close to Jesus​,​ so four men lower his bed through a roof to get him through. Jesus sees their faith and makes the man well. The man goes and proclaims his healing. (Mark 2: 1-12)
When Jesus asks Levi to come with him, He goes for dinner, “And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collector​s​ and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus answers, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Mark 2:13-17)
By hanging out with the undesirables, Jesus shows me His great capacity for love and compassion. By consistently taking those with crooked thinking and making them straight, He teaches us real lessons we can learn from to help others.
Over the last eighteen years, I have immersed myself in the field of recovery. Though I have no formal education in it, I am routinely involved in the lives of families who have been affected by alcoholism and addiction. It would be easy to turn my back on this, but I consider it my calling. I offer support to families affected by the disease through a program available in my own area. The love and humility this work has given me knows no limits.
I encourage you to involve yourself in a ministry that helps those less fortunate. In this way​,​ you will give great meaning to your own life, and help many others in the process.

 

http://myocn.net/jesus-hung-out-with-the-undesirables/