Jesus Among Sinners

Jesus is forming a movement of people who will join him in announcing and enacting the Kingdom of God. An important understanding about Jesus is the way in which he selects his followers. Jesus does not seem to be very concerned about our categories of "good people" and "bad people". Instead, he divides people into the proud and the humble. The shocking thing is who joins Jesus' new movement. It's not the insiders, but the outsiders. It's not the righteous, but sinners. The moment Simon self-identified as a sinner, he qualified to become a disciple. Jesus spent very little time condemning moral transgressions. The emphasis of Jesus' ministry was to be with people, to share a table with them. Teaching people how to encounter Jesus Christ and live in his presence will do far more to produce real transformation than trying to apply the law. Christianity is not a Bible study or a moral code, it's an encounter with Jesus Christ!