By Amitabh Singh

Jesus befriended people regardless of their class, gender, or religion. He didn’t differentiate between those esteemed or those despised by society. One of his closest disciples had worked as a detested tax collector. Another was a former supporter of the radical Zealot movement. While devout Jewish men began their day thanking God they had not been born “a slave, a Gentile, or a woman” (Menahoth 43b-44a), Jesus valued all three and incorporated them into his wide circle of friends and followers.

On one embarrassing occasion, a woman of low reputation entered uninvited into a dinner party and washed Jesus’ feet with costly perfume intermingled with her tears. When the men reclining at the table watched her, they rebuked the woman harshly (Matthew 26:6-13). Here and elsewhere, Jesus welcomed grace to the lowly.

The Jewish leaders of the day believed God showed partiality to His “holy people,” at the exclusion of anyone outside of the Jewish faith. Those leaders often robbed women, tax collectors, and lepers of their inherent dignity as human beings. Jesus entered the Jewish culture of the day and spoke against its harsh treatment of outsiders. He demonstrated to us an example of how we should provide life-changing direction to a culture stripped of grace.

Jesus did not ignore people’s sins and weaknesses. Instead, He offered a way for everyone to be free of sin’s weight and condemnation. He took the hands of those suffering with guilt and shame and pulled them from the mire. Jesus differentiated but never excluded. He expanded the understanding of God’s kingdom. He initiated a new covenant.

Upon hearing Jesus’ words of forgiveness, Zacchaeus left his crooked tax collecting business and declared: “Behold Lord, the half of my goodness I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold. (Luke 19:8). Jesus’ compassion likewise freed Mary Magdalene from demons. He cleansed lepers from their diseases. He restored sight to the blind. And, in the story of Martha and Mary, He beckoned Mary to rest in the midst of her busy schedule and listen at his feet. Even if extreme cases of condemnation, as with the woman caught in an adulterous affair, Jesus’ words to her were, “Your sins are forgiven” (Luke 7:48).