Jesus: He Gets Us | Plan 1Sample

Day 2 - He Gets Us: Jesus made friends with his enemies

You can tell a lot about someone by their choice of friends.

If you invited Jesus over for dinner; he came. We read in the Bible about five times he accepted invites and twice when he invited himself--both times to eat with tax collectors and social outcasts.

People on the fringes felt comfortable with Jesus, and it made the pious folks feel totally uneasy. They hated how Jesus loved and defended the underdog. Why would he even associate with them?

It’s true; the average person just liked being with Jesus. His friends included the unlikely mix of Roman centurions, a few religious leaders, prostitutes, and people struggling with leprosy. Among his friends were those outside the “socially acceptable,” too--including children, women and people of other races. Those considered “outsiders” were the first to call Jesus their friend.

Throughout his life, Jesus led the protest against the walls that divide us and the absurd qualifiers some say make people “worthy” of our attention, respect, or company and others not. Jesus didn’t just lead the dialogue in the defense of those different from us, he got angry, and stayed angry at every sign of injustice and discrimination. He then proposed a radical reversal.

How? He made friends with his “enemies,” those of all ethnicities, classes, genders, and nations. He made friends with people just as they are and let himself be known just as he was, too. Authentic. Trust-worthy. The kind of friend we all long for.