1 Chronicles 3
I am generally amused by one of the accusations leveled at Jesus: He is a friend of sinners. The Pharisees saw Jesus associating with people of "dubious" reputation (according to them), and they couldn’t stand it. They despised those people, so in their paradigm, their God should also despise those people.
But this—for me, at least—was an indication that the Pharisees had either not read or understood their Scriptures. God has always been a friend of sinners. He has always freely associated Himself with them. For instance, we see that in this chapter of 1 Chronicles. It begins with a list of the sons of David, including Amnon, Absalom, and Solomon.
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As I read through this list, I didn’t see a lot to be impressed with. There was strife, corruption, and greed among the sons of David. Even Solomon, who started well, ended up not being as committed to the Lord as his father was. He certainly fell far short of the "man after God’s own heart" commendation.
Yet, what was one of the titles given to Jesus while He walked the earth? Son of David. Why, except for the rare occasion, He wasn’t even called the Son of God! Instead, He identified Himself with sinful humanity, and He added His name to the list of David’s disreputable sons.
God loves sinners. And He loves associating with sinners. He always has been, and He always will be, the Friend of Sinners!
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