For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon. ’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘ Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners! ’ Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.
Jesus is basically saying “the proof is in the pudding.” Look at his life, look at his followers, is he offering judgment without love? One of the phrases you’ve probably heard a lot is that Jesus was a “friend of sinners” and Luke 7 is where it comes from. The only problem is, that’s actually the opposite of what this verse says. Yes, the opposite. Jesus is illustrating how no mater what the truth is, those who are opposed to God will always misunderstand. They said John the Baptist had a demon… did he? No! They said Jesus was a glutton and a drunkard… was he? No! In the same way, they said Jesus was a ‘friend of… sinners…’ was he? No! Jesus was a HUGE friend for repentant sinners, but that’s not who you are. I don’t like it when Christians describe themselves as ‘I’m just a sinner, saved by grace.’ No, actually, you’re not. If you’re saved by grace, you’re no longer a sinner. If Jesus is your friend, you’re not a sinner, you’re a saint. Sure, you’re a FORMER sinner, but if you’re saved, you’re clean, your forgiven, you are washed. Jesus, friend of saints.
