God has a special heart for the outcast. He has more commands on dealing with the lowly, the outcast, the poor, and the needy than any other demographic. Many psalms describe God as being the protector, the shield, and the provider for the afflicted, but also the avenger of those who oppress such people. In Jesus’ ministry, I want to focus on three particular outcasts: the woman caught in adultery, Matthew, and Zacchaeus.
The woman caught in adultery was a social outcast because of her promiscuity. Due to the societal stigma upon her, she was unable to make a living for anything other than continuing her sinful relationships. While upholding moral standards is absolutely vital, Jesus’ dealing with her showcases the problem when the system provides no escape from the pit. Jesus never rebuked the Pharisees for their moral standards. He rebuked them for not helping anyone live up to them and making a system that, once in the pit, there would be no escape to get out. The Pharisees never did anything to help people get out of a sinful lifestyle.
In this account, a crowd dragged a woman who was caught in the very act of adultery. Clearly, there are many problems with this setup, but Jesus was doing what He was doing. The one question every sermon asks about this account is: “Where’s the guy?” And if a second question is asked: “How did this crowd know she was doing this unless they were Peeping Toms?” It is not out of the realm of possibilities that the guy was in the crowd himself, and it was all a setup to try to trap Jesus. They asked Jesus if they should stone her according to the Law, and Jesus basically said, “Yes,” however, that the first person to carry it out should be without sin himself, especially that sin. And each person was cut by that from the oldest down. They dropped their stones and walked away. Jesus refused to condemn her; however, He sent a very stern warning to sin no more, or her fate would be even worse.
Matthew and Zacchaeus were Jews who chose to make a living by working for Rome as tax collectors. It was a rather lucrative position because all it took was playing a few of the books to make the taxes more than they actually were and pocketing the rest. It was easy to steal money because Rome never did audits on the tax collectors who charged above what they needed to collect. They only did audits when money was short. And for a Jew to work for Rome was an additional stigma. They were outright hated, and I imagine turnover rates were rather high because it wouldn’t take much for them to be caught in the open and get pummeled to death. The Romans didn’t care who collected the taxes as long as someone did.
With Matthew, Jesus called him out from his booth while he was working. Matthew left immediately. We don’t know what caused Matthew to drop everything so suddenly, but he clearly must have learned about Jesus, hearing about His teachings and miracles. Matthew very likely may have seen some himself, and so for Jesus to call him was something special. He was wanted for the first time in his life. In those days, the goal of many Jewish boys was to be selected by a Rabbi to learn under him and would be given a position of influence. If not, he would most likely take on the job of the father in some trade. Matthew didn’t even have that option. When he went for the Roman position, chances are his own family turned on him, and here, Jesus calls him and wants him.
Zacchaeus was another tax collector, a chief tax collector in fact, who heard about Jesus, and he had the same problems as Matthew. Zacchaeus had another issue: he was short. Very short. He couldn’t see through a crowd, and Jesus was coming. So he climbed a sycamore tree just to see Jesus and call out to Him. But Jesus actually called out to Zacchaeus and invited Himself to his house. Zacchaeus was so moved by Jesus that he surrendered his lifestyle and offered to repay all that which was stolen 4 times over, the requirement by the law when a thief was caught. Now that is repayment with interest.
All three of these people were unwanted, appeared to have no friends, and the only recourse they had was to continue a lifestyle of sin. They had no other direction. The woman was stuck in promiscuity, and tax collectors had to make their living through theft. The general society didn’t want them other than for their own pleasure, either sexually or to humiliate them. The religious leaders considered them even lower than the Romans, which was quite a feat to do. But Jesus had compassion on them. Jesus wanted them to be part of what He was doing. Jesus shared God’s heart for the lowly, the weak, and the outcast, and little drove Him mad more than the very religious system that was designed to help people out of their sin and instead sought to keep sinners in their sin. It is people like this woman and Matthew that drove Jesus to unleash His woes upon the Pharisees, who do all the little religious things but prevent sinners who want help out of their sin from getting out. The Pharisees saw the sinners as “less than” and never recognized their own sins and their own need for a Savior. Jesus didn’t come to make the self-righteous feel good. He came to find His sheep and get them out of the pits they had wandered into, chose to go into, or were led into.
Notice that all three of these people felt compelled to take on the careers they had. I don’t believe any of these three actually wanted such jobs. The woman definitely did not want to be a prostitute but had little choice. Matthew and Zacchaeus knew the social stigmas of being a tax collector, but they had the skill and talent for the job, and it paid well. They didn’t have skill, talent, or training in any other field. And so, the system drove them to those careers, and none of these three had an out. Then Jesus showed up. Jesus is the “out.” Jesus is the escape. But the escape is designed so that you don’t return to the very thing that imprisoned you. Jesus is the escape from an entrapped lifestyle. Jesus is the escape from a societal dungeon that was placed upon you by no fault of your own. Not all who live sinful lifestyles do so because they love their sin; some do so because they were told that is what they were supposed to do, and that was who they were.
Imagine how things would change if society stopped forcing these racial, economic, and social barriers on certain people, and instead, if we were like Jesus, where there is freedom for each person to do what they were meant to do. I was one that society tried to force through the cracks, and my parents would not let that happen. I cannot be grateful enough to them and especially to Jesus because I would have ended up like the woman, or Matthew, or Zacchaeus, someone society discarded and put to use in some sinful activity for the pleasure or benefit of others.
As I write this, I feel a great compassion for the trafficked, especially the sex trafficked, who are forced into promiscuity and are not given an out. They did not necessarily sin willfully, but sin was forced upon them. And Jesus is the escape. I am also thinking about the many people who were forced into false teachings by the world and prevented from hearing the truth. They didn’t choose to believe it. It was shoved down their throats, and they really don’t know any better. Jesus is the answer. Jesus is the out. Jesus is the one who can lift the fog off their heads so they can be free in the mind, too. Jesus saved us, and He can save those trapped by such evil teachings and deeds. Let Jesus continue saving us, and let Him use us to save others.
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