Jesus associated with social outcasts

One of the most distinctive aspects of Jesus’ ministry concerns how he regularly associated with social outcasts. He associated with women who had lived a sinful life (Luke 7:36-50), with tax collectors who were hated for unjustly taking money from the people (Matthew 9:10, Luke 19:1-10), with lepers who were considered unclean and who lived on the margins of society (Luke 17:11-19, Matthew 8:1-4), and with Samaritans who were hated by the Jews (John 4:1-26). In many of these relationships he was judged to be acting inappropriately by those with cultural power during his day (Luke 7:39, Matthew 9:11), or else he was viewed with skepticism by those he interacted with because of his neglect of social taboos (John 4:9). In fact, Jesus summarizes his own reputation as follows: “The Son of man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and ‘sinners’” (Luke 7:34). Yet none of this marginalization led to his wavering from his insistence that the kingdom of heaven was good news to the poor, the meek, the outcast, and the leper.

Jesus associated with social outcasts. He was also God in the flesh, Lord, and savior.