By Christopher Dryden
Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?”
When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
Mark 2:15-17 ESVUK
We live in a world that tells us when we’re alright. If you have bought the latest product, you’re alright. If you have this qualification, you’re alright. If you support this cause, team, party, religion, celebrity or whatever else is the flavour of the day, you’re alright. If you earn this amount of money, have a mortgage, and drive, you’re alright. After all, everyone wants to be alright.
What all of these things do, however, is cover that lurking feeling that we’re not alright. God’s story highlights why we have that feeling – mainly because the feeling is right. As long as we’re not reconnected with our Creator we can never be alright, however many trappings of the world we attain. We were created by a loving Father to enjoy the right relationship with Him, enabling us to have the right relationship with each other and our environment.
There are religious systems that suggest that adhering to their intricate rules grants the right relationship and gives those who adhere a sense of being alright. What comes with that feeling, however, is a sense of superiority over those who are not like you. That sense of superiority can act as a block to reaching others who are not alright.
Jesus was alright. The Son of God. The One who made all things and for whom all things were made. If anyone could walk around with a superiority complex, it would be Him. He made it His point and duty to identify those who were not alright. Not to rub it in their face. Not to gloat with His superiority. He identified them to be among them, to understand them, to engage with them and then to offer them that which they really needed. What they really needed was healing. What they really needed was hope. What they really needed was a home. Jesus offered a return home to the Father to find healing in Him and hope for brighter days ahead.
His actions also exposed the futile position of those who think they’re alright. The mercy of God allows us to understand that no outside goods and services can make us alright. The grace of God extends to us to know that our condition need not be fatal and final; there is hope as we humble ourselves. There is hope as we acknowledge our need for healing. There is hope as we return home to the Father. This is the glory and wonder of the good news – it’s not for those who think they’re alright but for all who recognise they need help and can receive that in Jesus.
Ask: What does Jesus mean when He says He’s here for those who know they are sinners?
Seek: How did you recognise that you’re a sinner? Why is that recognition important in your relationship with God?
Knock: Identify four things you can do today to reflect gratitude to God for reaching out to sinners and how you can join Him in offering home, healing and hope to others.
