Did Jesus “Hang Out” with Sinners?

Scrolling through Facebook just the other day, I came across a meme that must have been circulating since the new year; it was a New Year’s Resolution meme. It read, “This year, I resolve to be more like Jesus,” which is great to hear. The list that followed had some good general goals such as, “Love people more,” along with some more whimsical ones like, “Take naps on boats.” But one stood out to me among all of the others; it read, “Hang out with sinners.” Of course, this got me thinking and asking some questions perhaps too deep to be wasted on a trifling thing like a meme, but important questions with real consequences nonetheless.

“Did Jesus really ‘hang out’ with sinners?”
“What exactly did the author of this meme mean by ‘hang out’?” “What is a good theological answer to this question?”
“What did the author of this meme mean by ‘sinners’?

I would like to explore these questions in this article, and explain why, if you ask different people, “did Jesus hang out with sinners?” you will likely not get the same answer twice. This question can be difficult for people, not because it is unclear in scripture, but because of the vague wording contained in the question itself. This is not so much an issue of theological, but of semantic difficulty. Let’s begin by looking at some chief examples of Jesus “hanging out” with sinners.

First, let’s read Luke 5:27-32:

“After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” (NET)

Here we see Levi (also known as Matthew) inviting Jesus to his house and throwing a feast with other tax collectors, and what seem like other people who were regarded in the same manner as tax collectors in terms of their moral reputation in the eyes of the Jewish people. Jesus dines with them, and reclines or relaxes with them in Matthew’s house, so in that sense he absolutely “hung out” with them. But in verses 31 and 32, we see the main reason why Jesus was hanging out with them. “And Jesus answered them,

“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

|Side Note: There is, in my opinion, another important element in this passage that might go unnoticed upon casual reading, and that element is the distinction Jesus makes when He says, “those who are well,” and “those who are sick,” as well as “righteous” and “sinners”. Jesus tells this to the pharisees, but no one really believes that Jesus was telling them, “You guys are fine, you’re righteous. It’s these tax collectors and sinners who need me.” We know that no one is righteous but God alone, so why does Jesus not tell them clearly, “You think you people aren’t sinners just like these people? You all need my grace and mercy!”

I believe the reason for this is found elsewhere in scripture when Jesus says, “And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:12) and also “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5 referring to Proverbs 3:34) If you think yourself a good person, or that you don’t need God’s mercy, then you will reject Christ’s sacrifice for you, because you don’t see your desperate need for it. If you wish to come to Christ, you must humble yourself and accept that you are a sinner, unable to save yourself from the justice God will display on judgement day, and that apart from the grace and mercy of God dying for your sins in the person of His Son, you will not see eternal life, but the just penalty for your transgressions. End, Side Note.|

Back to the hanging out with sinners topic: Let’s now turn to the well known story of Zacchaeus.(To keep the article short, I will merely cite Luke 19:1-10 if you wish to read the entire passage).

First, Zacchaeus was known as a wealthy chief tax collector, and may have been a bit of an extortionist, taking more than was necessary from the Jewish people he taxed. Jesus tells him the He will be a guest in his house, and Zacchaeus is overjoyed. The wee little man responds to Jesus’ message as he declares the measures he will take to demonstrate his inward repentance of his sins of greed and extortion by giving half of his possessions to the poor and compensating anyone who he had wronged through his tax collection practices. Here again we see the element of repentance in Jesus’ socialization with sinners.

Here are some other occasions of Jesus “hanging out” with sinners:

At Martha’s house, we see Jesus sitting with Mary, likely teaching her things as if she was one of His disciples (women did not study the word under rabbis as men did in the Jewish culture of those days).

At Simon the leper’s house in Matthew 26:13, after the perfume incident, Jesus says that wherever this gospel is preached, what the woman did will also be told in memory of her. Why “this” gospel? He could have said “the” gospel. This may be an insight into what Jesus was telling them when the woman came with the perfume. Although I admit, that may be a bit of a stretch, but again, we see Jesus preaching repentance and teaching people the things of God whenever he goes and “hangs out” with them, so it is safe to say that the message was preached at this gathering as well.

Jesus did not hang out with sinners in the sense that the phrase gets thrown around today. He didn’t get drunk or tell coarse jokes. He didn’t take part in the sin of the sinners He hung out with, and He certainly didn’t condone their sin. On the contrary! Jesus hung out with sinners to teach them about who He is and what He would do for them, and that they need to repent of their sins, and not take sin lightly. Jesus took their weak perspective of the gravity of sin and flipped it on its head. He said that the laws that they have aren’t about actions only, but about the issues of the heart. They knew that it was wrong to commit adultery. But Jesus revealed how watered down their view of adultery had become when He told them if they merely looked at someone with lust, they had already committed adultery in their heart!

When Jesus hung out with sinners, His goal was to change their hearts and minds, not to simply have a good time and turn a blind eye to their transgressions. Now, He may have had a good time with the people He hung out with; that’s a beautiful thing! But let’s not take that to mean that our definition of “hanging out with sinners,” is the same as His.

Recommended Resources:
What's Wrong With "Progressive" Christianity - YouTube by Mike Winger & Alisa Childers