I raised an eyebrow, though, at a line in the penultimate paragraph: “Jesus’ ministry involved an outreach to “sinners,” prostitutes, lepers and other outcast persons; Paul extended the good news to Gentiles.”

Why is it that whenever Jesus’ ministry is mentioned, the word “prostitute” is invariably deployed? Isn’t it just sentimentality, based more on movies than the gospels, to say that prostitutes played a prominent role in his outreach? And it seems to me that the root of the sentiment is the desire to (a) shock “polite opinion” and (b) assert that Jesus was somehow lenient or sympathetic towards prostituTION–the act, and by extension (I suppose) sexual conduct generally. The first position is uncharitable, and the second is demonstrably false.

I guess I’m wondering that with all the outcast people Jesus ministered to, why do prostitutes get such priority in contemporary commentary?