· Howard Young · blog · 2 min read
Jesus Eats With Sinners — And That Should Make Us Uncomfortable
When Jesus eats with sinners in Matthew 9, the religious crowd complains. Sissy Gifford asked us to sit with that discomfort — and then turned it around.
The moment Jesus sits down to eat with tax collectors and sinners, the Pharisees start talking. They don’t confront Jesus directly — they pull aside his disciples and ask, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” It’s the kind of complaint that gets whispered, not shouted. Last Sunday, Sissy Gifford preached on Matthew 9:9-26 and invited us to sit with that dynamic — and then she turned it around in a way that stuck.
What Jesus Actually Said
In Matthew 9:9-13, Jesus calls Matthew — a tax collector, a collaborator with Rome, someone no self-respecting religious person would have touched — and then eats with him. Not just Matthew, but “many tax collectors and sinners.” The Pharisees are appalled. Jesus’ response is direct: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
He quotes Hosea 6:6: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” The religious establishment had built a system around who was in and who was out. Jesus sat down at the wrong table on purpose.
Backlash as a Sign You’re Doing Something Right
Gifford’s key observation was this: if your congregation is getting pushback for who it welcomes, that might mean you’re following Jesus more closely than you realize.
At Triumphant Cross, our mission statement is “All God’s Children are Welcome” — and we mean it. That includes people of every race, background, and sexual identity. We are an affirming congregation, and we welcome and support our LGBT+ neighbors. Events are hosted here for our LGBT+ community. That welcome has not come without criticism from parts of the broader Christian community.
But so did Jesus eating with tax collectors.
The really great thing is that he sits down with us, sinners and all and invites us to his table.
The Table Is Still Open
The Pharisees in Matthew 9 were not wrong about the rules as they understood them. They were wrong about who Jesus came for. The passage doesn’t end with Jesus apologizing or explaining himself — it ends with him healing two more people who had no business approaching him by the standards of the day.
Triumphant Cross Lutheran Church is an ELCA congregation in Dothan, AL. If you’ve been told by another church that you don’t belong at the table, we want you to know: you do. Come find out why Jesus eats with sinners — and why that’s the whole point.
