Narrative. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Behold I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me (Revelation 3:17-18, 20).
Jesus was a friend of sinners in that he came to save sinners and was very pleased to welcome sinners who were open to the gospel, sorry for their sins, and on their way to putting their faith in Him.
In fact, Jesus himself was known as one who sat with sinners. Mark 2:15-16 says, “Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus' followers.)
In Matthew 11:19 Jesus is called “a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” He wasn't afraid to be known for keeping company with heathens and turncoats, because it was heathens and turncoats He came to save.
God's forgiveness and love are unconditional. He loved us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8) and we cannot earn His love by our good works. We are forgiven based on the perfect work of Jesus Christ. God does, however, require repentance in order to grant forgiveness.
John the Apostle
Polycrates believed that John was the one "who reclined upon the bosom of the Lord", suggesting an identification with the beloved disciple: John, who was both a witness and a teacher, "who reclined upon the bosom of the Lord", and, being a priest, wore the sacerdotal plate. He fell asleep at Ephesus.
But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?
1 Corinthians 5:11 NIV
But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
Christian tradition holds that Gestas was on the cross to the left of Jesus and Dismas was on the cross to the right of Jesus. In Jacobus de Voragine's Golden Legend, the name of the impenitent thief is given as Gesmas. The impenitent thief is sometimes referred to as the "bad thief" in contrast to the good thief.
The Lord has promised, “He who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more” (D&C 58:42). Repentance is a personal experience with Jesus. Some sins may take longer to repent of than others.
God has pronounced that the penalty of sin is spiritual death and separation from God in a place of judgment called hell: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Jesus clearly taught that sinners were condemned in sin and would perish and go to hell if they didn't believe in Him as their Savior (John 3:16-18).
In John 9:31, the Bible says, “Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.” Many have latched onto this statement as though it was an absolute truth – i.e., that God will NEVER hear a sinner's prayer.
It is at this point that the Pharisees complain to Jesus' disciples. “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus answers that he does so on purpose—because he has come to help those who need help, and to call them to repentance.
In Luke 15 Jesus is eating with tax-gatherers and sinners. Pharisees and scribes are grumbling about it. What is he doing eating with the outcasts?
Gluttony (Latin: gula, derived from the Latin gluttire meaning "to gulp down or swallow") means over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, alcohol and other recreational drugs, or wealth items, particularly as status symbols.
Proverb for the Day 25:21-22 — Kill 'Em!!
If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.
The Pharisee prayed about how good he was, but the tax collector asked for God's mercy as he was a sinner. Jesus said that it was the tax collector who went home justified before God. He concluded, “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
'You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ' Jesus was rooted in and lived this tradition. Just as he shared food with all sorts and conditions of people as a sign of the inclusivity of God's kingdom, so too did the early church.
This narrative is told in Matthew 9:10-17, Mark 2:15-22, and Luke 5:29-39. The Pharisee rebuke Jesus for eating with sinners, to which Jesus responds, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick."
There is no forgiveness without repentance. God does not forgive unrepentant sinners. He loves them, and that is what He calls us to do, “Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you.”
The blind man states in John 9:31 – “We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him” (all Scripture ESV).
One of these texts, known as the Gospel of Philip, referred to Mary Magdalene as Jesus's companion and claimed that Jesus loved her more than the other disciples.
Each of Jesus' friends—Peter, John, Matthew, Judas, Mary Magdalene, and Lazarus—traveled with Jesus and were part of His daily ministry, and each has a compelling story to tell.
John was a leading member of Jesus's original Twelve Apostles, one who had a close personal relationship with the Savior and served important roles as His witness, as a leader of the Church, and as a revelator.