The friend of sinners
Jesus and the Broken
Jesus had a way of gravitating toward broken people, the grieving, the guilty, the sick, the outcast, the ones the world had written off, as though they were not a problem to be managed but the very reason He had come. He announced His mission in words that named them directly: he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted. He did not wait for people to pull themselves together before drawing near; He came close while they were still in pieces. The Scriptures say the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and Jesus is that nearness in person. If your heart is broken tonight, you are not far from Him. You are exactly where He tends to show up.
“The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”Psalm 34:18
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;”Isaiah 61:1
“A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.”Matthew 12:20
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,”Luke 4:18
What the Gospels actually show
When Jesus stood in the synagogue and read the words that defined His work, they were all about the broken: the Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives. Of His care for the fragile it was said, a bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench; He does not finish off what is already nearly broken. And the Psalm He lived out promises, the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Brokenness did not repel Him. It drew Him.
Why this drew people to Him
Most of the world moves away from broken people, out of discomfort, fear, or self-protection. Jesus moved toward them, and that reversal is the whole reason the broken loved Him. He did not treat their pain as a weakness to hide or a mess to avoid; He treated it as the door He came through. He bound up wounds, He wept with mourners, He forgave the guilty, He touched the untouchable. Around Him, brokenness was not a source of shame but the very place mercy went to work. People who felt like damaged goods discovered that in His eyes they were not too far gone; they were precisely who He had come for.
Come to this Jesus
The good news is that Jesus has not changed, and His pull toward the broken still runs straight to you. He was anointed to bind up the brokenhearted, and that includes whatever is broken in you right now, the grief, the guilt, the failure, the wound that will not close. You do not have to heal yourself before you come; the healing is what He offers. He is near to the brokenhearted, near to you, and He will not break the bruised reed. Bring Him the pieces. He came for exactly this, and He is very, very good at it.
Who is Jesus? · Begin with Jesus · Ask someone to pray with you
Questions people ask
Does Jesus really want to be near broken people?
Yes; He said He was sent to heal the brokenhearted and free the captives. Far from avoiding the broken, He was drawn to them, and Scripture says God is near to those with a broken heart. Your brokenness does not push Him away; it is precisely the kind of need He came to meet.
I feel too far gone to be helped. Is that true?
It is not. Jesus specialized in the situations everyone else had given up on, and He does not break the bruised reed or quench the smoking flax. However nearly extinguished you feel, He tends the barely-burning rather than snuffing it out. The feeling of being too far gone is exactly the lie He came to overturn.
How do I bring my brokenness to Jesus?
Honestly and simply. You do not have to fix or explain it first; you turn to Him in prayer and tell Him the truth about your pain, and you can ask someone to pray with you as well. He is near to the brokenhearted, which means the turning itself brings you into His presence. Bring the pieces as they are.