The Scandalous Reputation of Jesus

"'He breaks all social etiquette in relating to people. He acknowledge no barriers or human divisions. There is no category of sinner he isolates himself from. Simply stated, Jesus is a miserable failure at meeting religious people's expectations of him. He connects with the kinds of people he should disregard. He attends the wrong dinner parties. He is rude to respected religious leaders and polite to whores. He reprimands his own followers and praises outsiders and riffraff.'

... He stirred things up wherever he went, and the Pharisees hated that fact he existed. He associated with adulterous and unclean women, lepers, and tax collectors. Though he was without sin, there were sill those who questioned his reputation. Knowing there were people who disagreed, even hated him, didn't cause him to change one thing he did. He wasn't working to maintain a good reputation. He was walking in dependence on his Father. Jesus didn't value what people thought; he valued people, period."

-Emily P. Freeman, Grace for the Good Girl
(Part of this quote os quoted by Emily from Breaking the Rules, Fil Anderson)