A Year in Luke/ActsNäide

Jesus approaches the booth of a tax collector, someone who was quite prepared to betray their own people to the Romans in order to make a profit, and calls him to follow Him as a disciple. Immediately he follows and throws a banquet, which of course the Pharisees and Scribes didn’t like. How can Jesus associate with so many “poor” people (remember Luke’s usage of this term we discussed last week)?

It is here we get a line from Jesus that gives us an insight into His Mission: “Those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick; I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Jesus was not coming for those who thought they had it all together, He was after those who knew if He was willing He could heal them, who were prepared to come through a roof to meet Him, who left everything in a moment to follow Him. He was prepared to reach out and make the unclean, clean and He was looking for people who wanted to be cleansed.