With Publicans and Sinners

"And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Mark 2:15-17

The last part always rubbed me the wrong way. The Pharisees weren't righteous; maybe self-righteous. And aren't we all sinners? So why, then, would Christ phrase it this way? Tonight, I realized, it's because of who He was talking to. The Pharisees believed they were righteous, and they saw publicans as the worst of the worst Jews.

What is significant is the question of how He can eat with them. Because they chose to eat with Him! They knew they were sinners, and their hearts recognized who He was. Christ turns no one away who truly seeks repentance. He doesn't care who others say you are or what you've done. He cares about your heart and what you want to do.

There is no sense in calling those who think they are righteous to repentance because they think they're doing alright! Only those who recognize their sins can be healed of them.

We are ALL sinners. We ALL have need of Christ. No one makes it to salvation on their own merit except for Him. The sooner you can look inside of yourself and see the problem areas, the sooner we can accept His grace and allow Him to heal and guide us.

Many Christians have heard this verse weaponized against us for being self-righteous or choosing to avoid certain crowds. While it may be accurate in some cases, I don't claim that all Christians are perfectly loving, it is often misunderstood. Christ wasn't hanging out with the wrong crowd. He was looking at individuals and seeing their hearts. They chose to follow Him. The people He spent most of His time with wanted to be good, otherwise they wouldn't have followed Him. He wasn't hanging out with the Roman soldiers regularly, but He recognized the centurion's faith. He wasn't spending time with the Pharisees, but He found a connection with Nicodemus. Christ sees the individual and the intent of their heart.

That is the example that we, as Christians, should follow. We should be open to opportunities to bring others into light, but we do not need to immerse ourselves in darkness to find those opportunities. We bring the light of Christ with us into every situation, and those who are looking for light will be drawn to it.