Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Mark 2:17 1/21/2020*8/12*

“On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners”

This was Jesus’ response when the religious leaders asked why he was eating with “tax collectors and sinners”.

His comment “the healthy don’t need a doctor” indicates He realized the Pharisees thought their righteousness eliminated their need for deliverance.

His answer was not implying that some people don’t need Him…He was simply pointing out that some people don’t know it.

The Pharisees thought the sinners were sick - but believed their own good deeds and religion had made them immune …Ironically, that attitude is a symptom of the disease.   

The Pharisee’s religion had blinded them to their chronic sinfulness allowing it to progress untreated. But the sinners were aware of their need for healing and were drawn to Christ for help.

Jesus came to call sinners because that is all there is to call. None of us are righteous…not one. We are all infected and the prognosis is terminal.

The Pharisees ignorance of their own sin shows that pride had produced a blind spot…. and allowed arrogance to infect their hearts with an attitude of superiority.

What about you… Has your religion blinded you? Do you find it hard to value people you disagree with?…Does your piousness and good deeds make you more important than others?  If so, you a have a problem… If you are unable to love and find worth in others, you have a lethal virus called arrogance.

Examine your spiritual health carefully so you will not be fooled as the pharisees were, into believing you are spiritually well enough not to need Christ. 

Jesus came to call sinners…which means all of us.  Sin is a condition we are born with… it is universal and aggressive. There is a cure, but it requires a substantial surgery to remove self-centeredness, and then a prescription of daily doses of Christ to keep us well.

Don’t let your church attendance blind you to your disease…Humbly accept the free gift of healing and stay on the prescribed treatment.

… then spend the rest of your life trying to get that treatment to others.

“None are more unjust in their judgments of others than those who have a high opinion of themselves.” - Charles Spurgeon

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