Treating People As If They Were Jesus

By Craig Ashton Jr., August 19, 2023

I have often heard that Jesus loves the sinner but hates the sin. However, I think we often fail to see the depth of His love. He loved sinners so much that some religious people have accused Him of being a sinner because He ate with prostitutes and publicans (Luke 7:33–34). When Jesus hung out with sinners, I am sure He was delightful, warm, and welcoming.

Christians like to publicly crusade against the most popular sins, often treating people in a harsh and unfair manner. Must God treat sinners harshly because they’ve violated His holy standard? An angry God who condemns sinners does not reflect the good news of the kingdom that Jesus preached. Our biblical conservatism should not be at odds with the Jesus we see in the New Testament. Focusing on obedience cannot be more important than loving God wholeheartedly and our neighbor as ourselves.

We claim to love the sinner as we condescendingly rebuke sin. Jesus loved sinners but took a different position. The woman caught in adultery was condemned as a sinner by religious men, but she was forgiven and accepted by Jesus, which empowered her to forge a better life. Jesus’s costly love covers a multitude of sins. Do we emulate Jesus’s example of fully accepting the sinner, telling him about God’s marvelous grace to help us sin no more, or do we use Jesus’ words to condemn and cast stones? Whatever our brokenness, God calls us to conform to the loving image of Jesus.

Jesus told a story about a good Samaritan who helped a Jew in need, though Jews and Samaritans despised one another, but what if this Samaritan, who took pity on his enemy, had been a Muslim? Several years ago, I was urged to promote and invite an anti-Muslim activist to come speak at my church. When I declined, I was called anti-American. As a Christian, my allegiance is first to the kingdom of God, which behooves me to share the good news about God’s welcome to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people (Revelation 14:6). In the story of the good Samaritan Jesus shows us that the one we often label as a sinner is actually our neighbor.

Jesus loves sinners, of whom I am chief, so much that He died for them. Even when surrounded by sinners, Jesus said at the cross, “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34). God loves and forgives sinners despite their sin. He who had no sin became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Such radical love and grace! This love is the most powerful message of hope that could possibly be given. In a sense, when Jesus bore our sins by being made “sin for us”, He was willing to be numbered with transgressors. He became the sin of which I am guilty, for all have sinned and fallen from the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

Every time God has said “no” to a particular sin, it is so He can say “yes” to His love. God will always hate the sin that hurts us, as His love for us will not be compromised. Understanding what God hates about sin helps us understand the truth about His love for us. Jesus hates sin precisely because He is our friend and does not want to see us get hurt by sin. That we are called to love our neighbor and hate sin does not mean that we must shun sinners.

The Bible tells me that Jesus was crucified outside the gates of Jerusalem, the temple, the place of God’s Presence so no matter how far we walk from God, He will always be right there saying, “I forgive you.” However, in response to sin, there is always a divine “no” to that which separates us from His love.

The story of the prodigal son portrays a welcoming father who runs to meet his son, hugging and kissing him and then throwing a party to celebrate his return. Jesus presents a picture of a God who lavishes love on wayward people with the hope of drawing them back home and transforming their lives. How can we help the world experience this message of hope and love?

Matthew 25 tells about a future judgment time when everyone will know where they stand with God. This judgment will be based on how we treat people in privation—the poor, the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the sick, strangers, and those jailed (Matthew 25:35–40). The outcast, poor, and suffering—when I am treating the least of these, I am treating Jesus (Matthew 25:41–46).

I believe Jesus’s love will be reproduced in His people when they start treating others as if they were Jesus. If we did this—treating the adulterer, homosexual, difficult boss, the alcoholic and Muslim as if they were Jesus—I think the world would see Jesus. If we were serious about loving like Jesus, heaven would come down to earth, and we would encounter the presence of God in the world through the self-sacrificing, self-giving love of Christ. We need God’s help to figure out how to become like Jesus so the world can experience union with God in the hope, joy, reconciliation, forgiveness, grace, and change He offers.

Craig Ashton Jr.