If you think about it, the Pharisees asked a fair question as they observed Jesus feasting in the home of Matthew the tax collector: “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” (Luke 5:30). Tax collectors were first-century villains, sellouts who lived in big houses while driving their Jewish neighbors into grinding poverty.

What would be the equivalent today? Imagine scrolling though Jesus’ Facebook page and seeing pictures of him with the guy who turned your little sister into a drug addict. Or with the woman who cheated on your best friend, lied to the judge, and got full custody of their kids. Or with the registered sex offender who left someone you love with deep trauma that will not be easily cured. What would you type into the comment section after seeing Jesus with such sinners? You wouldn’t be crazy to ask the question that the Pharisees asked: “Jesus, if you are the Messiah, if you love God and hate sin, why are you with them? Don’t you care about what they did to us?”

Christ back then and Christians today constantly live with this tension. How do we love the sinner while hating the sin? How do we send a clear message that sin is evil while, at the same time, preach the gospel message that every sin is forgivable?

Meditating on Jesus’ brilliant reply is a great place to start: “Jesus answered them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance’” (Luke 5:31,32).