Jesus Came For You: God’s Love Doesn’t Leave Anyone Out…
Jesus came for all, but have you stopped to think of what that actually means? He didn’t come for the religious elite, the ones who “had it all together.” He came for those who were mired in sin and bondage. Many of the religious leaders had an idea of what the Messiah would look like and what he would do. He would be a conquering warrior, someone who would dispel the Romans and set up a kingdom after the reign of King David.
But God the Father had a different idea. The Jews were looking for someone who would free them from bondage, but they had no idea that this was not an earthly but bondage, but an enslavement of the spirit and soul.
The Cross is for the Despised and Rejected
Zacchaeus
Luke 19:6-7
Tax collectors were despised because they were Jews who collected for the Roman oppressors, worse than traitors. They usually extorted funds from their fellow Jews above and beyond what the Romans demanded, keeping the extra for themselves.
Matthew
Matthew 9:9
Matthew was also a tax collector. Despite his position, Jesus stopped and called him to follow Him. Matthew’s life was forever changed. He was far from perfect when Jesus called him, but he became what God had created him for all along.
The Cross was for the Shunned and the Scandalized
The Woman at the Well
John 4:29
Jesus broke at least three social taboos during his encounter with the woman at the well.
As a rabbi, he spoke to a woman in public
To speak to a Samaritan (Jesus didn’t care about being politically correct.)
He engaged with someone with questionable moral standards
Her past had made her an outcast. But he went there just to reach her because he cared about her soul. She was the first person he declared himself to as the Messiah.
The Woman with the Perfume
Luke 7:39; 44-47
The cross is for people who don’t fit in, like this woman. Jesus told a parable about two debtors and then asked who would love more? His answer was the one who had been forgiven much.
The Cross is for The Untouchable
The Leper
Matthew 8:1-4
There was little else that was more isolating than being a leper. They were required to dress a certain way to distinguish themselves and yell “unclean!” whenever someone came near.
Jesus could have healed him with a word, but he chose to touch this man to heal him. This man probably hadn’t felt a human touch in years, maybe even decades. How powerful must that moment have been? He was not beyond Jesus’ touch of mercy and love.
The Blind
Mark 7:31
It was Law that no one of holy origin could touch an unclean person, such as a blind man or someone who was paralyzed or diseased. The religious leaders made it impossible for people to reach God, piling on “heavy loads but doing nothing to help them carry it.” The traditions of man kept people away, while Jesus came to bring everyone who would accept Him near. He broke these social and cultural boundaries to reach us.
The cross is for people who feel isolated, deal with mental health challenges, and the ones who feel unworthy.
Matthew 9:12-13
The Cross is for the Doubters and the Skeptics
He came for the ones who were struggling with their faith. The most infamous “doubters” was the apostle Thomas.
Doubting Thomas
John 20:25
I think it’s beautiful how Jesus responds to Thomas, just one week after his famous words, “I’ll will not believe until I put my finger in his side and in the holes where his hands and feet were pierced.”
After Jesus appeared to Him, he said “My Lord and my God!”
The cross is for the ones who wrestle with doubts and unbelief even as they strive for faith. Weak faith does not mean it is not genuine. He sees each one of our hearts and is right there for the people who need to be reassured of His love.
God’s love for us is unconditional. He doesn’t love us because we have our lives together. He loves us because we are His.
Jesus came for the last and the broken. He came for the hurting, despised and rejected. He came for those who are outcasts.
Jesus came for you.