At Jesus’ call, Matthew had left his tax collectors’ booth to follow Jesus. Then, he threw a dinner party at his home, inviting Jesus and His disciples, along with a number of tax collectors and “disreputable sinners.” Seeing this, the Pharisees took some of Jesus’ disciples aside; “Why,” they demanded, “does your teacher eat with such scum?”
When Jesus heard this, He said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor– sick people do…Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture; ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call, not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” (from Matthew 9:10-13 NLT)
In this passage is found both the greatest hope of mankind, and the greatest stumbling block to receiving the Gospel. Jesus came to heal the sick; He came to save the sinners. And so long as anyone maintains that he is a good person, that he’s better than others, that he can please God on his own, he puts himself out of reach of the Saviour. Those who knew they needed Jesus crowded around Him to beg for His healing and to listen eagerly to His words of life; while the religious leaders hung back and criticized Jesus for healing on the wrong day and for being so accessible to such low-life people.
“‘Twas grace,” wrote John Newton, “that taught my heart to fear.” The first step of the Grace of God is always that He reveals to us our need of a Saviour– our need of Jesus, Who heals both body and soul. All of us, from the most devoutly religious to the most disreputable sinner need the salvation of Jesus. So long as anyone thinks he is righteous, he puts himself outside the company of those Jesus came for. But those who know their need find it met completely by Jesus.
“How blessed are those who know their need for God,” Jesus once told His disciples. “The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them.” For these are the ones for whom Jesus came; and a place in the Kingdom of Heaven is His gift to every one who puts his faith in Jesus.
The View from my Window 