Daily Devotional
"And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, 'Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?'"
Matthew 9:11
Notice whom the Pharisees asked. Not Jesus, but His disciples. They went around Him and whispered to His friends. And the tense of the verb suggests they saw this as a habit: why does your teacher keep doing this? By Matthew 11 the pattern was so established that His enemies had a nickname for Him: “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Matthew 11:19). They meant it as an insult.
The Pharisees believed they were being biblical. Psalm 1 does bless the man who “walks not in the counsel of the wicked,” and Scripture does warn that “bad company ruins good morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33). But the biblical principle is to avoid being influenced by the ungodly, not to avoid influencing them. The Pharisees built a wall to keep sinners out. Jesus walked straight through that wall to bring sinners in. He was never in danger of being stained by their sin; they were in desperate need of being cleansed by His holiness.
As Dane Ortlund observes in Gentle and Lowly, the label the crowds meant as an indictment is one of unspeakable comfort to those who know they are sinners. It is only offensive to the person who does not think he belongs in that category. So the question for us is not whether we know the right verses about separation. The question is where we are standing. Are we at Matthew’s table, amazed that Jesus pulled up a chair beside us? Or are we outside the window with our arms crossed, wondering why He wastes His time on people like that?
Today's Challenge
Where in your life have you used a true principle (like avoiding bad company) as an excuse to avoid people Jesus would pursue? Be honest: is there a person or kind of person whose salvation you would quietly find hard to celebrate?
Prayer
Lord, I confess that I have stood outside the window more often than I want to admit. I have whispered questions about Your mercy instead of marveling at it. Break down the walls I have built to keep certain people out. Remind me that I am only at Your table because You called me a friend when I was still a sinner. Make me glad to be in that category, and glad to welcome others into it. Amen.
