In the rigid social landscape of 1st-century Judea, certain groups were explicitly ostracized. Tax collectors (publicans) were despised for collaborating with Roman occupiers and often extorting their own people. Prostitutes were condemned for their lifestyle, deemed morally and ritually impure. The broader category of “sinners” often encompassed anyone who didn’t strictly adhere to the religious … Continue reading Welcome at His Table: Why Jesus Associated with Society’s Outcasts