The Scandal of Grace

With the calling of Levi the tax collector followed by a banquet at his house - where Jesus was the main guest - we see again how shockingly different the Kingdom of God was compared to Judaism.

In reaching out to despised tax collectors and 'sinners' before any evidence of genuine faith or repentance Jesus seemed to be treating sin lightly and undermining God's holiness. Such grace scandalized those who signaled to others their devotion to the law by their separation from those they considered 'sinners'.

All forms of virtue signalling whether religious or secular may give us the appearance of being righteous but in reality is a form of self-justification. What a surprise to discover that the grace of God actually justifies the ungodly and what joy to discover that we all qualify for such scandalous grace.