I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.

Mark 2:13-3:6 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

And He went out again by the seashore; and all the people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them.

¹⁴ As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax office, and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.

¹⁵ And it happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him. ¹⁶ When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, “Why is He eating with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹⁷ And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

¹⁸ John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and they came and said to Him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” ¹⁹ And Jesus said to them, “While the groom is with them, the attendants of the groom cannot fast, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they cannot fast. ²⁰ But the days will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast, on that day.

²¹ “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results. ²² And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”

²³ And it happened that He was passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain. ²⁴ The Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” ²⁵ And He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry; ²⁶ how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?” ²⁷ Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. ²⁸ So the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath.”

3 He entered a synagogue again; and a man was there whose hand was withered. ² And they were watching Him closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. ³ He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” ⁴ And He said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent. ⁵ After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. ⁶ The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might put Him to death.

In today’s text it says: It happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him. When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, “Why is He eating with tax collectors and sinners?” And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”  Many people, either mistakenly or intentionally, misunderstand or misrepresent what Jesus said and meant here. They say that Jesus preferred the company of sinners over that of righteous people. They conclude that if Jesus were here today, He would prefer the company of sinners over religious people. That assumption or assertion is wrong in so many ways. First, as we saw yesterday, in Mark 1:38-39 it says:  “Let’s go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may also preach there; for this is why I came.” And He went into their synagogues preaching throughout Galilee, and casting out the demons.  Jesus came to preach the gospel of the kingdom. The message was: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17) Jesus didn’t come so that He could call them to hang out. He came to call them to repent. It is true that He did associate with sinners and outcasts, but He also regularly taught in the synagogues and in the homes of religious Jews. The truth is, as Romans 3:10-12 says: As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”  Whether in the synagogues or the streets, Jesus came to call sinners to repentance. If He were here today, He surely would not embrace the very things He died to redeem us from. His message still would be: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

The real difference is this. When He was here two thousand years ago, the kingdom that was at hand was the kingdom of heaven on earth. It was the kingdom He spoke of in John 10:10 saying: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”  There was and is an abundance and blessing for those who repent and abide in the righteousness of Christ, in the kingdom of heaven on earth. When Jesus does in fact come back, it will not be to reaffirm the kingdom of heaven on earth. Revelation 21:1-8   says: Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”  Revelation 22:12-21 says:  “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”  And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely…  He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.  Repent for the new kingdom of heaven and earth is at hand. Amen.