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Read Mark 2:13-22
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13 He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. 14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him. 15 And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." 18 Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" 19 And Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. 21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins."
Imagine a group of people complaining that doctors shouldn't treat sick people. After all, the doctors might get sick themselves. Their learning is too valuable to risk illness. Better that they should advise from a distance and give insights into illness and disease, rather than apply the healing arts they have studied. It sounds ludicrous, doesn't it?
The idea that Jesus should not be with “sinners” (a word used to pass judgment on others) is just as ludicrous. Jesus points out that His very purpose is to save sinners. If you are not sick you do not need a doctor. If you are not a sinner of the worst kind then you don’t need Jesus and Jesus did not come for you. Of course Jesus would also point out that not seeing ourselves as the worst of sinners is living in denial. The apostle Paul understood this as he wrote, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (1 Timothy 1:15). Those are the words we need to remember when we are ready to write others off as not deserving Jesus’ love and mercy, or when our pride would minimize in our minds the gravity of our sin.
Prayer
Jesus, thank you for coming into the world to save sinners, to save me. Help me to see those who are broken, lost, and written off by others as unworthy. Give me opportunity and words to point them to your mercy and healing. Amen.