DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- WHO NEEDS JESUS?

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – WHO NEEDS JESUS?

"Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, 'Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?' When Jesus heard that, He said to them, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.....I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.' " (Matthew 9:9-13)

The setting of this incident is the house of Matthew. Jesus had just called Matthew, a tax collector, to follow Him. Matthew's life was changed by the call and his testimony impacted other tax collector who came to his house to hear this Jesus of Nazareth. This is a wonderful example of the power of the witness of a person whose life has been transformed.

This incensed the Pharisees, who could not stand that Jesus would associate with the scum of the earth. " 'Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?' " Tax collectors were not accepted in the religious establishment because they were known to be swindlers and cheats who inflated the tax rate to pad their own pockets.

Jesus heard about the Pharisees question, and responded to them. It is a classic Jesus response. " 'The sick need a physician, not those who are well.' " He was sticking it to the Pharisees, who thought they were so righteous. The truth was that they were sick and needed a Savior, but they did not know it.

We meet people every day who do not think that they need Jesus. They think that they are pretty good people. They are righteous in their own eyes, just like the Pharisees, when in fact, they are sinners just like those they look down on.

In the Beatitudes, Jesus said, " 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven' " (Matthew 5:3). One translation says, "How blessed are they who know their need of God." Those who does not know they are sick feel no need for a doctor. Jesus meets with those who know their need of a Savior.

Love, Dad