A Controversial Friendship

Jesus. The man who knew and understood love more than anyone else. The man who was love. The man who was God.

Jesus. The man who caused controversy. The man who was unconventional. The man who challenged the core of what people believed and how they behaved.

Jesus was God walking around interacting with men and women, just like you and me. And just like us, the people of Jesus’ day had all kinds of ideas about who God was and how He was supposed to behave. Especially the really religious people. Most of them connected God to rules and regulations. They thought you could reach God through perfection – by obeying the law, by doing the right things, and by not doing the wrong things or associating with the wrong people.

But then Jesus came on the scene. Yes, He was God in the flesh. But this image of God did not match the image of God they had worked up in their heads. In fact, Jesus shattered their ideals and confronted their beliefs. Now they had a choice, would they believe the one true God or would they continue to worship the “god” they had made in their own image?

One of the greatest points of contention for the religious crowd was over who Jesus spent His time with. It was hard for them to understand. How could God spend time with the lowest of the low? Wasn’t He too good for “those type of people”? Didn’t His holiness demand He stay away?

They insulted Jesus calling Him, “a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” (Luke 7:34 ESV) But the words they thought were an insult, actually are the very definition of who God is. Jesus’ love is not limited to the people who have their life together. His friendship is not set apart for the people who follow all the right protocol. No, Jesus came to bring us to God. He came to help us, to heal us, and introduce us to His Father.

One of the most beautiful illustrations of these controversial friends of Jesus is a woman referred to only as “a sinner.” This so-called sinful lady really caused a stir. One night Jesus was at the home of a Pharisee, a well known religious leader. This woman walked straight up to where Jesus was sitting and broke a box of perfume and washed Jesus’ feet with it. As she was washing His feet, her eyes overflowed with tears. As the smell filled the room, no doubt everyone turned their heads toward Jesus. And as they looked they saw this sinful woman covering Jesus with perfume and tears and then wiping His feet with her hair.

God, as the religious leaders had constructed Him in their minds, would never let a woman like this near them, much less let her touch Him in such a personal way. But this God, the real God, the God who was walking among them, loved this woman. He knew her personally. So personally that He knew why she was here, bent down at His feet.

This woman knew God in a way the accusing religious leaders did not. She knew the power of God’s forgiveness. She knew that she was a sinner. She knew she needed a Savior. And she knew Jesus was that Savior. Her love for God and appreciation for His forgiveness compelled her to worship.

Jesus’ mission on this earth was to bring sinners to God. And the truth is, we are all sinners. Too often we don’t realize how much we need God. Like the religious leaders, we see God through our own perspective. We think we can earn His favor or friendship. But as long as we think we are good and we can please God on our own, we don’t really know God.

We need to learn from this woman who was a true friend of Jesus. It is only when we understand we are never good enough and when we realize we need Jesus, that everything changes. That is when our friendship with God becomes real. When we recognize Jesus is the only way to God. He is the path to salvation. He loves us despite what we have done. He accepts us. He embraces us. And we can freely embrace Him.