Sometimes people are outcast from society because of the nature of their work, or because they are known to be untrustworthy and dishonest. Luke 19:1-10 tells of a tax collector called Zacchaeus, who was shunned by society because of the nature of his work for the Romans. Anyone who worked for the Romans was considered a traitor to the Jews, and Zacchaeus had become wealthy by cheating people out of their money. But Jesus saw Zacchaeus, and asked if he could stay at his house. Zacchaeus welcomed him gladly, but the crowd started muttering, “He has gone to the house of a sinner.” Zacchaeus then said, “Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus enabled Zacchaeus to be accepted back into Jewish worship by saying, “This man, too, is a son of Abraham.” He showed love towards Zacchaeus although others mistrusted and shunned him. When people questioned Jesus’ attitude, as the crowd did, he told them, “The Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost,” Luke 19:10. He saw it as his mission to save sinners, as he says in Luke 5:31, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, only those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous to repent; but the sinners.” He was prepared to give his own time to the less fortunate and those excluded from the rest of society. In Luke 15:1 we see more of this in the Parable of the Lost Coin. He told this Parable, and the other Parables of the Lost, in response to criticism from the religious leaders of the time. They did not agree that Jesus should associate himself with “sinners.” Jesus says, “Suppose a woman has ten silver coins, and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she has finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbours together and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.” In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” This parable also demonstrates the forgiveness of God, who is like the father in the Parable of the Lost Son (Luke 15:8) who accepts his son back gladly, although the son has done wrong and hurt his father. However, the Parable also tells of the elder son’s cynical reaction to his brother’s return. He could not empathise with his younger brother, and begrudged his father’s forgiving attitude. Jesus was comparing this with the attitudes of many people, at that time and today, who are unwilling to forgive and accept others who have been rejected.
Jesus also rewarded those who showed true faith. For example, in Luke 8:42b-48, a woman with haemorrhages crept up behind Jesus in a crowd and reached out to touch his cloak. She had been bleeding for 12 years, but no doctor was able to help her. Women were shunned by Jewish society during their monthly period, as they believed that blood was “unclean”. The woman with haemorrhages would therefore have been shunned for 12 years. Her prolonged suffering was seen as a punishment for sin. But as soon as she touched the edge of Jesus’ cloak, she was healed.
Jesus felt that power had left him, so turned to ask who had touched him. The woman stepped forwards, explaining that she had been ashamed to come before all the people, why she had touched him and how she had been healed. Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” Jesus responded to her with love, not judgement, although she was outcast from society. Given the place of a woman in Jesus’ day it is remarkable and shocking to the crowd around him that he bothered with a permanently sick female.
In Luke 14:15, we see more of Jesus’ attitude to outcasts as he tells a parable about a great banquet: A man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet, he sent his servant to tell all who had been invited, “Come, for everything is now ready.” But they all alike began to make excuses and refused to come. The owner of the house then became angry and ordered his servant, “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.” The servant came back after doing his masters will, but there was still room. The master told his servant, “Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.”
Jesus told this parable to describe the Kingdom of God, which is indiscriminate; it is open to everyone. In God’s Kingdom, the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame will feast; therefore Christians should not reject these people, nor stereotype or show prejudice. Jesus emphasised this in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:25-30, where a Samaritan shows kindness to a Jew who was in need of help, but no one else stopped to help him. Samaritans were considered as inferior as Gentiles, and the Jews hated Samaritans, as the two communities were constantly at war. However, by using the Samaritan as the subject of his parable, Jesus shows that people should not be stereotypical or judge others. Jesus treated all people equally, and Christians are called to follow his example. Jesus’ directions to “Go and do likewise” require seeing need and responding whether or not you know or like the person in need. His attitude is summed up in the Sermon on the Plane, Luke 6:37-38, "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you.”
