Why did they call Jesus a drunk?

-
Jesus calls Levi. From book: The Life of Jesus...
Jesus calls Levi. From book: The Life of Jesus of Nazareth. Eighty Pictures. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon.” The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and ‘sinners’ ” (Matthew 11:18–19).

Jesus accuses His enemies of perversion and that there is no way to please them. John the Baptist was very strict and ascetic in his lifestyle, and that offended them, so they said John was demon possessed. Jesus, on the other hand, was relaxed and joyous in His lifestyle, and they charged Him with being a glutton and a drunkard.

Was Jesus a glutton? No. Was He a drunkard? Of course not. Then why did people accuse Him of this? Because Jesus scandalized those people who had reduced the things of God to superficial matters. Sadly we see this very thing all too often today. For too many Christians, religion is a matter of a list of dos and don’ts that are not found in the Bible.

Why did they call Jesus a glutton? Because He went to the feasts and ate. Why did they call Him a drunkard? Because He went to weddings, and even provided wine for one marriage feast (John 2:1–11). Imagine today if a minister went to a wedding and drank champagne. He would probably get into trouble. But what if he brought several cases of champagne to the wedding feast? He’d probably be crucified!

They were offended with Jesus because He went to taverns. He ate dinner with tax collectors, crooks, and prostitutes. If ever guilt by association could have destroyed a man. it would have been Jesus of Nazareth. We need to face this if we are going to have a biblical understanding of Jesus.

This does not mean Jesus wants us to go out and embrace worldliness and participate in sin. Not at all. Jesus was sinless, but He went to sinners and dealt with them where they were. He came to seek and to save the lost.

Jesus ran the risk of being seriously misunderstood in order to minister to people. Sometimes being faithful to Christ means risking our reputation, but Jesus tells us, “Blessed are you when people … falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me” (Matthew 5:11). Let us make sure, however, that if they are speaking evil of us, they are indeed doing so falsely. Be prepared for opposition, even from within the church.

Related articles

    Enhanced by Zemanta

    Popular posts from this blog

    Speaking in tongues for today - Charles Stanley

    -
    Image
    There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. … But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. … And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. … Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way - 1 Corinthians 12:4, 7, 28, 30—31 The Lord Jesus Christ had come and gone. The church—newly birthed—was in a transition time. The new covenant was seen as a threat to the Jewish leaders; therefore, there was persecution for those who had chosen to follow Christ. The new religion, in its infant stages, had no Bible, few leaders, and absolutely no support from the government. Astounding that it survived, isn’t it?  How in the world did it survive with so little going for it? Power. Not just a force, but mighty, visible power. Th...
    Read more

    What is the glory (kabod) of God?

    -
    Image
    2 CORINTHIANS 4:17 "This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison." Scripture places a high value on God 's glory, and it is not hard to figure out why. Since the inherent glory of the Lord is something that He will not share with others (Isa. 42:8), we know that His glory is something that He prizes highly; indeed, He prizes it more highly than anything else. We should, therefore, set the glory of God as the goal and overarching emphasis of our lives. Whatever we lose for the sake of making the Lord's glory known will be worth it when we see the dazzling light and beauty of; the divine glory (28:5; Rev. 21:23). Glory has to do with light and beauty, but those aspects do not sum up what the Bible means when it speaks of the glory of God. Interestingly, the Hebrew word kabod , which is translated into English as "glory," has the root meaning of "weight" or "heaviness....
    Read more

    The Holy Spirit causes us to cry out: Abba, Father

    -
    Image
    Pentecostés. Óleo sobre lienzo, 275 × 127 cm. Madrid, Museo del Prado. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) To bring out the same truth in another way, Paul says God sent Jesus (as a Man) to live under the Law in order “to redeem those under law, that we [Jews and Gentiles ] might receive the full rights [adoption] of sons” ( Galatians 4:5).  By “full rights” or “adoption” he means entering into the privileges and responsibilities of sonship. He uses it also of the sonship of Israel (Romans 9:4). Galatians 4:1, 2 indicate that the son and heir of a wealthy family in Paul’s day would be treated as a slave until he became of age.  Then he would receive the adoption, that is, all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities that belonged to an adult member of that family. Adoption was also used in the modern sense, so that Gentiles who were not sons of Abraham became true heirs, true sons of God , by faith.  Jesus died, not just to save us from the fires of hell, bu...
    Read more