Remember Jesus, who is not ashamed to call us brothers

For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call us brothers* Hebrews 2:12 

Jesus is a great uniter. He makes us like Him so we can be with Him. He is the friend of sinners. His entire ministry was devoted to serving people who were shamed in their culture. I'd like to look at two examples today.

John chapter 4 highlights the well-known woman at the well.

There was a Samarian woman at the well in the middle of the day, an atypical thing to do. She was avoiding the crowds of people ready to condemn and judge her. Jesus, a Jew, asks her for a drink. Jesus didn't just talk to Samarians - they were bad! And this was Jesus. What was He doing talking to her? The woman was surprised, and even more so when Jesus tells her He has living water but nothing with which to draw. The woman asks for that eternal life, and Jesus tells her to go call her husband. He knows her. He knows she has had five husbands, and was currently living with a man who was not her husband. She is amazed and begins to see Jesus as the Messiah. She goes off to tell everyone that the Christ has come, proclaiming,

"Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did" John 4:28a 

You see, when Jesus offered this woman eternal life, it wasn't a mistake. He knew the depth of her sin. But He also knew the depth of His power to save.

As our brother, Jesus knows us best. He's been with us since before we were born, and He's not ashamed to call us family. Because He died the death we deserve for everything wrong thing we've ever done and every right thing we did for the wrong reason, He can present us to our Father and gladly associate with us.

Let's look at another place where Jesus associates with the unworthy. For background, let's check in with Leviticus 13. These are the prescribed standards for lepers, and the people of Jesus' time would have known and lived by them.

The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, 'unclean, unclean'. He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.
Leviticus 13:45-46

In Matthew 8, we meet such a leper. He knew he was unclean. His society had told him he was unworthy. He was ostracized. Untouched. Forgotten.

And what did Jesus do?

And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, "Lord if you will, you can make me clean. And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Matthew 8:2-3 

I can't imagine the joy that leper felt just having someone near him, listening to him. And the Messiah no less. The Holy One incarnate. Christ in His holiness walked the earth in humility, preaching salvation and healing the sick. He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).

Jesus is not bound by human standards. If a sinner comes to Him, earnestly seeking healing that brings eternal life, He will not step back in disgrace. He always gives more grace. He calls us His brothers.

*As I discussed earlier in this series, brothers does indeed include females. Since in Christ there is no male or female (Galatians 3:28), the term is used as a legal standing. We have full rights as God's [adopted] children.