Not the healthy, but the sick

SCRIPTURE:

¹³ Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. ¹⁴ 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.

¹⁵ 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. ¹⁶ 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?”

¹⁷ 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

OBSERVATION:

In this passage, we see the incident of the calling of Levi (better known as Matthew), the tax collector turned disciple who became the author of the beautiful gospel of Matthew, which is placed first among the four gospels, and is in fact the first book of the New Testament.

As Jesus walked along teaching the crowd, he came across Matthew as he was tax collecting, and promptly called “follow me”. Matthew got up and followed him, later hosting the Lord and His disciples to a grand dinner along with other friends who were deemed sinners. The teachers of the law and Pharisees immediately looked with disdain and asked how Jesus could associate with tax collectors and sinners.

On hearing this, Jesus made a very powerful statement “It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. Using the analogy of only the sick needing a doctor, the Lord shows us His role as the Savior not of the righteous, but of sinners. Does it then mean that only the really bad sinners like the prostitutes and tax collectors needed saving while the highly religious echelon like the Pharisees and teachers of the law did not? Certainly not! For Jesus explained elsewhere that a person’s righteousness had to exceed that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Also, Jesus was clear that no one would come to the Father except through Him and that only he who has the Son has life. Later, the Apostle Paul explained at length in his letters how salvation is by grace alone, through faith and not by works. The Scripture has declared that there is no one righteous, not even one. God’s standard is so high that men’s righteousness are like filthy rags before Him.

In the story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, it was the latter that went home justified before God. If we think we are righteous, and don’t need saving, we only blind ourselves, and if we persist in pride and self-righteousness, we only deceive ourselves and store up wrath for ourselves in the Day of Judgment.

In contrast, if we see ourselves as we truly are, poor and spiritually deficient in ourselves, then only can be begin to reach out to God to save us, and find the salvation that He has provided for us in Christ Jesus! This all comes back to the first Beatitude. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.

The Lord delights in those who are contrite in heart, who humble themselves before Him, and recognize their immense need for His grace and salvation.

On a side note, the statement also shows that Jesus approved of doctors. There is a teaching going round that all sicknesses can be cured by faith alone, and to visit any doctor shows a lack of faith. This would make all doctors and modern medicine redundant for Christians, Jesus however stated simply that the sick need a doctor, and later the beloved physician Luke was the one who wrote the third gospel! The Lord does work miracles of healing apart from doctors, but by and large, doctors perform a noble role in helping the sick. Discernment is needed then on whether it is right to avoid medication and treatment by faith, or to engage with doctors and treatment to speed healing while praying constantly alongside.

APPLICATION:

We need to beware of having a self-righteous spirit. We may have begun humble but become proud over the years. We need to keep that spirit of repentance and humility before God, knowing that it is His grace that sustain us. Remember the first Beatitude, blessed are the poor in Spirit for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven and always keep that humble and contrite heart before God!

PRAYER:

Blessed Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your grace and Your love, that You cared for us while we were sinners and provided the way of Salvation for us through Your precious Son, Jesus Christ. Let us always have that strong awareness that apart from You, we have nothing good, and it is only in You, that we are able to live and move and do anything of value. Forgive our pride we pray, and keep us humble and contrite in Your presence. We thank You, and love You, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.