The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! – Luke 7:34

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise. Luke 23:43

What sorry company our Lord selected when He was here! He did not consort with the religious Pharisees or the philosophic Sadducees, but He was known as “the friend of publicans and sinners.” How I rejoice at this! It gives me assurance that He will not refuse to associate with me. When the Lord Jesus made a friend of me, He certainly did not make a choice which brought Him credit. Do you think He gained any honour when He made a friend of you? Has He ever gained anything by us? No, my brethren; if Jesus had not stooped very low, He would not have come to me; and if He did not seek the most unworthy, He might not have come to you. You feel it so, and you are thankful that He came “not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” As the great physician, our Lord was much with the sick: He went where there was room for Him to exercise His healing art. The whole have no need of a physician: they cannot appreciate him, nor afford scope for his skill; and therefore, He did not frequent their abodes. Yes, after all, our Lord did make a good choice when He saved you and me; for in us He has found abundant room for His mercy and grace. There has been elbow room for His love to work within the awful emptiness of our necessities and sins; and therein He has done great things for us, whereof we are glad. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

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