Mark 2:17 - When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Just prior to the words above, Jesus had seen Matthew in the crowd and called him to follow Him. He was then invited to dinner with Matthew and his tax collector friends. He chose to sit with them. They, by all accounts, did not have very good reputations! The Pharisees, who just happened to be hanging out, probably looking for a reason to pin something on Jesus, noticed all this. The Pharisees were religious leaders of the time. They believed they held all the answers to righteous living. When Jesus came along and poked holes in their teachings, they were not too happy and sought to undo His ministry. Jesus heard them question, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?" His answer is above.
Righteous, according to Strong's Concordance, in this context means of those who seem to themselves to be righteous, who pride themselves to be righteous, who pride themselves in their virtues, whether real or imagined.
So, I heard something that prompted me to consider what I had written yesterday, August 16. It has to do with those who receive Christ as Lord and Savior.
As I mentioned there are many who don't feel a need for a Savior. Their lives are doing well, there are no problems to speak of. They are on top of the world with only little annoyances here and there. Their goals may be accomplished, businesses stable or they are climbing ladders to success and believe they have what it takes to get there.
The words I heard from Perry Stone were discussing another subject, which I am not going to address. It was one thing he said that stopped my thinking and the recording dead in its tracks: At the turn of the century or the 1800's there was a manifestation of the Spirit among people...common people, uneducated people and poor people...because in the ministry of Jesus it was the poor people who accepted Him immediately. And it was the aristocrats who didn't...they looked down on people.
That's all I needed to hear. Although he's talking about certain beliefs and manifestations in some churches at that time, I believe Stone hit upon the idea I wanted to convey yesterday. A common belief is we only need a Savior when things get too overwhelming in our lives. NOT. Jesus is there to enhance every part of our lives, in good times and bad. We are all sinners in need of a Savior and He considers all of us lost sheep. He is the Shepherd. But so often we don't view ourselves as lost. We consider ourselves as having "the right stuff." We tend to need to get to the end of ourselves before we feel a need to receive Him.
This is sad. That's the way it was for me; I knew who Jesus was so what more did I need to do? Stop buggin' me! Pharisaical? Prideful? Aristocratic? That's the way it is for many. Those who are not needy, not common, but educated...today's aristocrats, if you will. Their intelligence might be in question if they made a choice for the Lord. The Pharisees were not common but educated and so full of themselves for the vast knowledge of what they believed to be accurate religious practices. They might have been up there with aristocrats. Where do we fit here?
Like I said, it usually takes a disaster for God to get our attention. He allows us to take life on in our own strength and own intelligence until something occurs that knocks us off our feet or pushes us into a pit where the only way out is up. The only thing left is to look up to the Lord, stretch out our hands, plead for help, and receive it from Him.
However, this is not the only way it works. Some are just humble enough to realize their need for One whose wisdom is greater. (Wish that had been me!) We are generally not humble people. So full of ourselves, even when we think we are humble! Our pride. Oh, that pride will trip us up or bite us where the sun don't shine.
If we are doing well in the world, aren't we all a bit aristocratic? We are not poor, common or uneducated. And can't we think a bit more highly of ourselves than we truly are? Jesus came to seek and save the lost. That's all of us. None of us are righteous on our own. Our righteousness comes when we acknowledge and receive Jesus. We all have need, spiritually, of a Physician. We are no better or worse than those Pharisees or tax collectors. We all need a Savior and He's just waiting to be received.
As the disciples began to follow Jesus, their Master, they learned that humility was His trademark. He took on the role of a Servant (Mark 10:45). Look at those who followed Him. They were, apart from Luke, a physician, from humble backgrounds, or like, Nicodemus, a Pharisee, willing to humble themselves to believe Jesus had something better to offer. As His ministry grew and also His followers, the people were those whose physical or emotional illnesses were healed by this great Man or those who heard His words and believed them. Even today He still heals hearts, turns them from stone ones against Him to fleshly ones who accept Him.
There is none righteous. Not one person, even of those saved, who can say they are better than another. They may be better in that their lives have improved for acknowledging and receiving Christ. The disciples tell us this if we take the time to hear their accounts. Comfort and peace abounds in the midst of trials. A hope looms large in the distance of our lives. We know in our healed hearts that this world, given to us by God, is nice and has a lot to offer, but the greater things will be seen someday when we spend our lives with the Lord.
1Timothy 1:15 - This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
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