The Call for Sinners

The Jewish leaders were disturbed when they saw Jesus with tax collectors and sinners. Why, they wondered, would He interact with such disreputable people rather than “the righteous”? But Jesus wanted them to know that He had come to be a spiritual physician. He demonstrated that the Gospel is for sinners. It offers hope for people who feel rejected and hopeless…who need help and deliverance…who need to be freed from sin.

The Gospel is like medicine to a sick person. Those who are ill turn to physicians in their time of need, but “it is not those who are healthy who need a physician.” However, many reject or ignore the Gospel message, because it seems unnecessary to them. Feeling like they are already doing okay, they see the Gospel as a distraction or hindrance to the kind of life they want to live. This was the perspective of the Jewish leaders, who already seemed to have everything they needed.

Although we easily can live in denial and deceive ourselves, “all of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6). No matter how good we might think we are, none of us is righteous, “not even one” (Romans 3:10). The heart is “more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick” (Jeremiah 17:9).

Yes, the Gospel is for everyone! The rich and the poor. The struggling and the successful. The famous and the unknown. The old and the young. We all need a Savior!