Christ, The Friend of Sinners

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.”  I Peter 3:18

I am not real crazy about buying something without seeing it first.  If I am going to buy a car, I certainly want to test drive it, check out the interior and the features, feel how it sits and how it handles.  The same with shoes–how well do they fit? Do they pinch or flop up and down on my heel? What about the soles?  Are they slippery?  At my age I don’t need to be falling down because of my shoes.  It’s hard enough to stay balanced without wearing shoes that double as roller skates!  I don’t usually try on clothes because most of my clothes come from the thrift store, and I want to wash them before wearing them.  They are so cheap that if it doesn’t fit, it’s no great loss.  I have learned to judge if something will fit or not just by looking at it.  When buying groceries or eating out, I usually get the same things because I am a creature of habit, and I don’t like to try new things because I don’t know if I will like it or not.

Three months ago, I needed a new lawnmower, and because of the pandemic, I decided to order one on line.  It is a great lawnmower, starts easily, and does the job.  However, it is so heavy, that by the time I have cut the front and the back yards, I am worn out.  Also, I have to change the height from front yard (Bermuda) to back yard (Fescue), and the height adjustment lever is very difficult for me to change positions.  I read the reviews on line, but, of course, they don’t always tell you what you need to know.  I am sure that I am not the only person who likes to know what I am paying for before I whip out cash or a credit card to buy it.  If the item doesn’t meet my needs, expectations, or desires, then I don’t buy it.  So, what has all this got to do with Jesus, as the Friend of sinners?

Unlike me and countless others, Jesus knew exactly what He was getting when He made the ultimate sacrifice on the cross for all of us sinners and made the sacrifice anyway.  He didn’t stop to consider if we were worthy, if we would meet His expectations, or even be thankful for His rescue from a life bound up by sin.  He paid the penalty for our sin with His life.  Jesus knew that many would reject Him and the gospel, but obeyed His Father, going to the cross voluntarily, and giving up His life for the grateful and ungrateful masses.  If I was going to help someone in some form or fashion, and I knew that they wouldn’t even express any gratitude or thank me, would I still help them?  If I want to be like Jesus, I would help them even if they didn’t seem to appreciate my help.  Jesus didn’t die on the cross so that we could give him a “high five”.  He made the ultimate sacrifice to give us a new life in Him.  The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 5:6-8 that in our weakness, when the right time came, Christ died for the ungodly.  He went on to say that perhaps someone would die for a righteous man, but just barely, and that for a good man, someone might die, but because God loved us so much, even though we were sinners and apart from Him because of our sins, Christ died for us.  Jesus died so that all those who have sinned, or will sin against His Father (and that is everyone) could be made righteous before Him.  I just wish all people could grasp that fact.  It would change their lives forever.