A central focus of his ministry is also that of reconciliation. For a variety of reasons, a number of people find themselves separated from the people of God and Jesus acts to restore them to community. The tax collector is separated by his profession and so Jesus eats with him and restores him to table fellowship with God. The leper is separated by physical disease and Jesus risks making himself unclean by reaching out and touching him and making him clean. The woman who is caught in the act of adultery is brought before him. He does not condemn her and therefore she is able to continue on as one restored to community.
Central to all of Jesus’ ministry is both the demonstration and proclamation of the incredible grace of God who through Jesus is reconciling the world to Godself and not counting their sins against them. In these acts of ministry, as recorded in the Gospels, the church receives clues of where to look for that same saving grace which they will expect to see in “this earthly historical form of the existence of Jesus ‘Christ’ of which Christ is the head.” (Church Dogmatics, Karl Barth, Vol 4.1; p. 661) Those acts of reconciliation are experienced in some very basic acts of reaching out and making others feel included.
