A FRIEND OF SINNERS

The religious leaders of Jesus' day criticized Him for spending time with society's outcasts. The Lord's response revealed their hypocrisy ...

John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon'. The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners'. (Matthew 11:18-19)

He unashamedly associated with those who were not 'good enough' to keep company with the Pharisees. 

Jesus came to unite himself with people who knew they could do nothing to earn God's forgiveness. The words Christ used to describe His mission were a subtle rebuke of the 'self-righteous' keepers of the law ...  

I came not to call the 'righteous', but sinners to repentance. (Mark 2:17)

He was so devoted to the prostitutes, cheats, and drunkards that he was accused of their very sins. When His enemies called Him a 'friend of sinners', they meant it as a vulgar insult. The Lord endured those aspersions and was ... 

A friend who sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24)

Jared C. Wilson - There is no friend closer than Jesus. As we follow him, he never strides too far ahead. If we are weary, he slows. If we pull up lame, he stops. If we wander, he circles back. He won’t let us be lost.

His promise ... Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)

When you are close to Him you cannot help but see His wounds. This intimacy is what convicts of sin ... so you can repent, be forgiven, and continue your walk of faith. 

You need this Friend.