Originally Posted by Birdwatcher
� maybe Jesus hung out with who he did in part because he preferred the company.

In Jesus's day, there was a disparate community of ordinary people � the am ha'aretz (עם הארץ), "people of the land" � who could be characterized only by what they weren't. They weren't Pharisees � they weren't Sadducees � they weren't Herodians � etc. When all the identifiable categories were sorted-out and filled-up, what was left � unsorted and unsortable � was a passel of people who weren't like any other � or like each other. I call 'em "the et ceteras."

Jesus most often hob-nobbed with 'em, and some authorities believe that He was an am ha'aretz Himself. (Which wouldn't surprise me in the slightest.)

"Good enough" isn't.

Always take your responsibilities seriously but never yourself.