Continuing a study in the second chapter of the Gospel of Mark, here’s another account of an event in Jesus’ life.
Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
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.”
Mark 2:13-17 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.2.13-17.NIV
Like the fishermen mentioned in Mark 1:15-20, Levi (i.e., Matthew) was called by Jesus, from his station as a tax collector, and he obeyed Jesus’ command.
Here, though, I’d like to focus on what is mentioned next, where Jesus shared a meal with some of the real outcasts of the day. As we consider this passage, let’s pause and think about who the corresponding outcast people might be today. Is there someone who you wouldn’t want to be seen with? Are there people who you’d be embarrassed to have your picture taken with, whether shaking their hand or just sitting across from them at a restaurant? Do you have someone in mind? Is it difficult to think of anyone? Or, is it difficult to choose just one example?
Let’s answer a couple of quick questions:
- Compared to God’s perfect, holy standard, were the Pharisees truly righteous? (No.)
- Were these so-called “sinners” – as described by the Pharisees – further from God’s perfect holiness than the religious leaders who didn’t accept Jesus? (No.)
Given those answers, was Jesus being a little ironic here in verse 17? While Jesus didn’t technically need to save anyone who was perfectly righteous, there aren’t any of us who meet that criteria. So, maybe the first part of His statement was meant to be a hypothetical situation. Or, maybe Jesus was pointing out that He wasn’t interested in wasting time on preaching the gospel to those who were “self-righteous” and wouldn’t listen, but rather in reaching out to those who knew that they had fallen short.
So, let’s consider the following: Do you think that most people who are looked down on by society as sinful know it? Yes, there are some who have talked themselves into believing that they are good. (1 Timothy 4:1-5 talks about those whose consciences have been seared.) Still, I think that a lot of people who are caught in the chains of sin know it, and many of them probably hate that they are stuck – trapped by sins that they can’t atone for and can’t seem to get out of.
How many trapped by drugs, alcohol, or other vices don’t want to be slaves to addiction? How many of those living in a cycle of poverty want to be there? Do we really need to point out the state of those who just go through the motions of life day after day, with no direction, purpose, or hope? I’m pretty sure that they know, and I expect that it hurts them when others point out their situation, especially when they don’t know how to escape.
Now, a key part of the gospel is explaining how sin separated us from God in the first place, and some people do need to understand that accurately: how God loves us but must still enforce justice on the cosmic scale. However, many people who sin have been told that they are sinners (or failures) more times than they can count. They don’t need to hear more of that from Christians, especially when these “reminders” bleed over into lies, like telling someone that they are worthless or unloved.
In the light of Jesus’ words and actions, who is more ready for the good news of forgiveness and life change that Jesus offers, than those who know that they need help? Given Jesus’ message – and His example – who do we invest the most time in? For instance, do we battle against those who are already hardened against God, who don’t want anything to do with Him, or who have talked themselves into believing that they are already good people? I’m not saying that those people shouldn’t have the chance to learn the truth about God and about salvation through Jesus Christ. After all, in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:1-15), the word of God was sown on multiple kinds of soil. However, based on passages like Matthew 7:6 (and maybe Ephesians 5:15-17), there may be times when the best use of our valuable time sharing the precious word of God is to invest it where it is most likely to grow.
What if we spent more time, shared more of God’s blessings, and spread more of the gospel among those who are caught in sin and who know it: those who are absolutely frustrated – at their wit’s end – that they can’t escape its grip on them? I think that many of them would rejoice to learn about a way out, and as followers of Jesus Christ, we have the cure!
From Sunday School lesson prepared for September 14, 2025
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Mark, by Allen Black. © 1995 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 