Matthew 9:12-13
On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Reflection
Jesus knew that those who thought they were righteous and that they had no spiritual need would not be open to his message. He simply by-passed them. He didn’t waste his time on those who wouldn’t hear his message of love and forgiveness to begin with.
Jesus said that the healthy did not need a doctor but it was the sick who needed a doctor. The righteous do not need the message of Jesus. The sinner is the one who finds good news in the reality that Jesus came to give his life to pay the penalty for our sin, give us forgiveness and enable us to be reconciled to God the Father.
We need to be careful that we don’t become blinded by a sense of self-righteousness and we always remember that we will never reach perfection and that we will always need Jesus’ grace and forgiveness.
