OCTOBER 10, 2024
“And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Matthew9:10-13)
After being officially added to Jesus’ disciples, Matthew hosted dinner for Jesus and the disciples at his house, along with his other friends. Describing the same event, both Mark and Luke make clear this was Matthew’s house. They also describe Matthew’s friends as being tax collectors and sinners. Everyone was reclining with Jesus and the other disciples around Matthew’s table.
Sharing meals, often summarized as “breaking bread,” implied a level of trust and acceptance, and the Jewish religious leaders were cautious about whom they shared a meal with for that reason. They hoped to avoid even the appearance of associating with disreputable people. The law did not forbid this, but they had established rules beyond the law to protect their reputations as righteous men. Discretion about a person’s companions is not necessarily unwise in and of itself. However, the Pharisees were brutally arrogant, and their rules of conduct came to carry nearly the weight of the law itself.
Jesus simply ignored rules and standards that went beyond the requirements of the law, and He is doing so again in this passage. The Pharisees didn’t get it. Jesus was a famous rabbi who spoke passionately about God and righteousness. Why would He sully His reputation by associating with these people? That’s what they asked Jesus’ disciples, and Christ’s answer reveals His mission and the true motives of His critics’ hearts.
As Jesus says, healthy people don’t need a doctor, while the sick do. He was not declaring the Pharisees to be healthy, of course, but pointing out that they saw themselves that way. Jesus told them He was there to help people who knew they were sick. Spiritually speaking, they understood they needed help. They were open to the truth: that they needed saving.
Christians are not called on to barricade themselves away from anyone they see as a “sinner.” Of course, Jesus did not condone the wrong choices of the people He spent time with. Showing love and kindness does not require nor imply endorsing everything the other person does or believes. Christ introduced them to Himself as the only way to be forgiven and redeemed. He was showing them the true face of God, full of love and compassion for them.
Christ tells the Pharisees that He did not come to call the righteous. He came to call sinners. The Pharisees assumed themselves to be righteous already. They did not think they needed saving. Jesus came to call those who understood themselves to be sinful and need forgiveness. When given a glimpse of the loving face of God in Jesus, seeking people flocked to Him and still do.
Sometime after his call (in Vs. 9), Matthew sought to bring his old associates to hear Christ. He knew by experience what the grace of Christ could do and would not despair concerning them. Those who are effectually brought to Christ cannot help but desire that others also may be brought to Him. Those who suppose their souls to be without disease will not welcome the spiritual Physician, as was the case with the Pharisees, who despised Christ because they thought themselves whole. The poor publicans and sinners felt that they needed instruction and aid.
It may justly be suspected that those who aren’t pleased with others obtaining the grace of God don’t have it themselves. The greatest act of mercy is Christ’s conversing with sinners to promote the conversion of souls. The gospel call is a call to repentance. It’s a call to us to change our minds and our ways. If the children of men had not been sinners, Christ would not need to come among them. Let us examine whether we have found out our sickness and have learned to follow the directions of our great Physician.
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