Matthew 9:10-13 records the story of Jesus being invited to the home of a Jewish tax collector. This man was what was called a publicani, a man who served occupying Rome against his own people. He collected money from the Jews and was responsible for the collection of toll taxes, import duties, business license fees, boat docking fees, and a variety of other fees imposed on them. Because of his job as a tax collector, he was despised. Part of the reason was that Jews could buy franchises that entitled them to levy taxes; many were extortioners, others could be bribed easily, and many of them became wealthy in this way—and as a result, were hated by the people.

According to the rabbis, there was no hope for tax collectors, and they were considered unclean. Their money was tainted and defiled any who accepted it; they were declared to be outcasts, classed with harlots, gamblers, thieves, and one-percenters!

Is this so? Was there really no hope for people like this? Well, the fact is that the tax collector mentioned in the story is none other than Matthew himself, one of Jesus’ chosen apostles.

After Jesus had called Matthew to follow him, as a response Matthew opened up his home and invited Jesus over for dinner—an invitation that Jesus accepted. He went to Matthew’s home, and Matthew records that Jesus sat at the table in the house as many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.

This outraged the pharisees, and Matthew records that when the pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Master eat with publicans and sinners?” But when Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are whole do not need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

This incident reminds me of something that occurred early in my Christian life. I had just discharged from the Army and was living at my parents’ home. As I was seated in the kitchen, I had heard a knock on the front door and went to open it. Standing directly in front of me was an old friend, a friend I hadn’t seen since I was 15 years old. We had attended elementary school, junior high, and up to the second year of high school together. We went through our early and rebellious teen years together and had experimented with drinking and taking drugs together. We lost touch when he was a sophomore, and it had been eight years since I had seen him last. Now, I had been saved for three years, and he was back in my life, standing right in front of me.

I remember him saying “How’s it goin’, man? What’s been happening in your life?” By the way that he spoke to me, I could see that he was under the influence of some drug, or alcohol, or perhaps a combination of both. It turns out he was under the influence of a combination of alcohol and a barbiturate known as Seconal (or “reds” as we used to call them).

He said “I’m going to walk to the corner, to the liquor store. I’m going to buy some beer. Would you like to come with me? We can rap about old times, and you can tell me what’s new in your life.”

Immediately I thought about my reputation in the neighborhood. For several years, my neighbors knew me as a crazy and out-of-control kid. I was known for drinking, taking drugs, and basically just running wild. Since becoming a Christian, I had done my best to erase that memory from their minds and really wanted to keep my new reputation for being a Christian untainted. How could I be seen walking down the street with an old friend, who was staggering drunk? Those who saw me might think that I had gone back to my old way of life.

At first, I was tempted to just let him walk to the store alone. I thought that I could have him go buy his beer, and then have him come into the house when he was through drinking it. But something inside me prompted me to walk to the store with him. The Holy Spirit clearly reminded me of how Jesus was called “a friend of sinners”. I obviously was no better than Jesus, so I did what I felt He would have me to do at that time—I took a walk with my friend.

When we returned, I shared the love of Jesus with him. As I shared with him, he looked at me and asked a simple question: “Does Jesus forgive every sin?” I looked at him and said “Yes, He forgives every sin. He has forgiven me all my sins, and He will forgive you of yours, too.” I told him that I had lied, stolen, been drunk, did drugs, and so many other sins, but He forgave me of all of them. He then asked, “Does He forgive murder?” When he asked me that question I said, “Murder is not always an action but is recognized as a desire of the heart.” He then said something that made me stop in my tracks: “David, you don’t understand. I murdered a man.”

As I looked into his face, I couldn’t help but think that this simply was not possible. I had known him since we were young boys—how could that be possible? He then began to share with me what he thought was murder. He had been serving in the Army and was responsible for carrying classified documents. While carrying documents someone had taken his briefcase and tried to steal it. He called out for the thief to stop and when he wouldn’t, shouted a warning, and then proceeded to fire his weapon, taking the man’s life.

After sharing with him a few things about what murder actually is, and taking into consideration how he viewed his actions, we returned to the subject of forgiveness. I shared with him, “Yes, God forgives every sin, and this is what you need today. Forgiveness.”

That day, my friend bowed his head in prayer and received Jesus as his Lord and Savior. As I had the joy of praying with him, I could not help but thank God, because indeed, He still is the friend of sinners.

Today, you will have many opportunities to minister the gracious love of Jesus to those who are quite obviously sinners and others who hide their sin well. As ministers of the Gospel, we are not to be afraid of loving those who obviously are not aware of the gracious love of God, in Jesus. When possible, we can use the opportunities granted to us to introduce our loving Savior to those who have yet come to understand God’s gracious love towards them and His immeasurable grace towards us.

It is always good for us to remember, as Paul said, “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us!”

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