On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:17 NIV
Jesus made this statement because the religious community of his day did not understand why he would want to eat with “sinners.” If we are honest with ourselves, don’t we wrestle with that same question from time to time, if not toward others, most definitely toward ourselves? We know ourselves better than anyone and are well aware of our shortcomings and sins. We can hide them from the world, but we can’t hide them from God. So we too ask, why would Jesus want to eat with me? After all the times I’ve blown it, why would He still love me? And making matters worse, Satan is always nearby to encourage that kind of thinking. But here’s the beauty of Christianity, we never deserve the love and mercy of Jesus. Never! Even on our good days, our best attempt at righteousness comes up short. If our salvation depended on our goodness, we’d all be condemned, but it doesn’t! God loves us because that’s His nature, not because we are good.
Let’s back up and look at the context in which Jesus made this statement.
Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:13-17 NIV
It was probably a day like any other day; Levi got up for work and headed out to the office, for Levi, that was the tax collector’s booth. He made a living collecting taxes for the Roman government. Needless to say, his job didn’t win him any friends. The Jews resented paying taxes, and no doubt saw him as a traitor. And since Rome didn’t really regulate how much extra he collected for his salary, if he was like most tax collectors, he gouged the people and was guilty of extortion. The last thing Levi expected was an invitation from this man of God, who healed the sick and drew large crowds when he stopped to teach them the ways of God! But Jesus was not put off by Levi’s sin, He simply wanted Levi, as he does you and I, to follow Him. I challenge you to find a Biblical example of a time God wrote someone off because they had sinned one too many times. It’s just not there. He always reaches out and offers us a chance to forsake our sin and follow Him.
Why did Jesus say he didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners? Because, none of us are righteous, none!
Notice what Jesus said after rebuking the Pharisees for all their sinful ways:
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” Matthew 23:37 NIV
God’s heart is always to gather us under His wings and bring us back to a place of safety. God desires that no one fall short, that all come to repentance. He doesn’t want any man to be bound by the chains of sin and shame. No matter how many times you have sinned against God, even if you’ve promised to change 1000 times, God still loves you. He wants to pick you up and brush you off, to heal your wounds and restore your hope. He wants to dine at your house, with you and your friends. His invitation to you is the same as it was to Levi, “Follow Me.” How will you respond?