Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

THE MISSION OF JESUS §13.5
'the sinner' (Luke 18.13). The point of Mark 2.17 is rather the implicit rejection
of the use of 'sinner' by the self-perceived 'righteous' as a term of dismissal. 204
Jesus' protest was evidently directed against a factionalism which drew too narrow
boundaries round what could be regarded as Torah-legitimate behaviour and
which judged those outside these boundaries to be 'sinners', law-breakers, disowned
by God. 205 He protested against a righteousness which could not recognize
covenant loyalty unless it accorded with its own terms and definitions. 206
So Jeremias was closer to the historical circumstances than Sanders allowed.
207 It was not that Jesus opened the door of the kingdom to criminals without
repentance, as Sanders maintained, 208 or denied that there were 'sinners'.
Rather Jesus objected against a boundary-drawing within Israel which treated
some Israelites as outside the covenant and beyond the grace of God. Such attempts
to erect internal boundaries within Israel, creating internal divisions within
Israel, were contrary to the will of God. Jesus, in other words, was more critical of
those who dismissively condemned 'sinners' than of the 'sinners' themselves. Just
as the place of the poor within the people had to be reaffirmed (§13.4), so too the
place of those regarded as 'sinners' by the narrow definitions and scruples of others
had to be reaffirmed. Just as the poor were God's special concern, so the excluded
and marginalized were of special concern for Jesus' mission.
b. Toll-Collectors
That Jesus was to be found in the company of toll-collectors (telönai) is a consistent
element in the criticism recalled against him. 209 Both Matthew and Luke re-
204. Cf. the elder brother's reference to his errant brother as 'this son of yours' rather
than 'my brother', and the father's gentle rebuke 'this your brother' (Luke 15.30, 32).
205. Hence the title of the equivalent chapter in my Jesus' Call to Discipleship — ch. 4
'The Boundary Breaker'.
206. 'It is surprising how often the sayings of Jesus recur to this theme, of the folly and
evil of self-righteousness and censoriousness' (Dodd, Founder 76). Surprisingly in view of his
overall theme, Holmen, following Sanders, also misses the point (Jesus 200-205) and draws the
questionable conclusion that Jesus 'was not trying to be faithful, but was, with purpose, unfaithful'
(220).
207. Wright stays close to Jeremias on this (Jesus 264-68), but, strangely for one who
focuses so much attention on the Israel dimension of Jesus' message, he ignores the factional
overtones in the term, perhaps because it hardly fits with his dominant 'return from exile' scenario.
208. It was no doubt to avoid any such inference that Luke added 'to repentance' in Luke
5.32, as well as underlining the point in Luke 15.7, 10.
209. Mark 2.15-16 pars.; Matt. 11.19/Luke 7.34; Luke 15.1; 19.2 (architelönes, 'chief
toll-collector').
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