Aaron
Erhardt
minister & author
Aaron
Erhardt
minister & author
by Aaron
A prostitute in Chicago was at the end of her rope. She was sick, homeless, unable to buy food for her young daughter, and struggled with drug addiction. When someone suggested that she go to church, with absolute shock and dismay on her face, she replied, “Church! Why would I ever go there? I already feel terrible about myself. They’d just make me feel worse.”
That story pierced me to the soul. Women like that prostitute fled toward Jesus, not away from Him. They saw Him as a place of refuge, not ridicule. He was a source of hope and healing. This is not to say that Jesus overlooked their sins, but He first extended compassion. He knew that you had to love them before you could lead them. Why then does the church seem to reek of “sinner repellent?” Why do people like that prostitute see the church as a closed fist rather than an open hand?
The church is a hospital for sinners. We are here to help those who are hurting. We do that by being gentle and merciful to them, and by pointing them toward the “Great Physician.” That will open the door for any correction that needs to be made.
Jesus was a friend of sinners and a lifeline for the down-and-out. This is clearly seen in the Gospel of Luke:
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(1) Synagogue of Nazareth. While reading from Isaiah, Jesus said that He was the One who had come to “proclaim the good news to the poor…liberty to the captives…recovering of sight to the blind…to set at liberty those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:18).
(2) House of Levi. While Jesus was eating with Levi and other tax collectors, the religious leaders grumbled at His disciples and asked why they ate with sinners. To which Jesus replied, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:31-32).
(3) House of Simon. While Jesus was eating with Simon the Pharisee, a notoriously sinful woman approached and began wiping, kissing, and anointing His feet with ointment. Simon was disgusted and doubted that Jesus were really a prophet since He did not seem to know that this woman was a sinner. Jesus rebuked Simon and said, “Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much” (Luke 7:47).
(4) House of Zacchaeus. While Jesus was passing through Jericho, He encountered a chief tax collector and went into his home while others grumbled that He would associate with such a sinner. Zacchaeus was repentant and the Lord declared, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:9-10).
From these accounts, it is obvious that Jesus reached out to sinners. He treated them with love and tenderness, which are the very things that prompted Him to come here in the first place. His attitude was much different than that of the high-minded Pharisee who prayed, “I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else” (Luke 18:11, NLT). This does not mean, however, that Jesus was lax morally or winked at sin. He was still quick to say, “Go, and from now on sin no more” (John 8:11).
The church is to be the true “healing place.” This is where the sad, sick, sinful, and struggling come to find Jesus. They need to know that we genuinely care about them and want to help. Instruction will come; correction may be necessary; but love comes first!