December 13, 2022 – Tuesday
Why Jesus Came – 4
Luke 5:31-32 NIV
31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Luke 5:31-32 AMP
31 And Jesus replied to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but [only] those who are sick.
32 I did not come to call the [self-proclaimed] righteous [who see no need to repent], but sinners to repentance [to change their old way of thinking, to turn from sin and to seek God and His righteousness].”
Comments
Earlier Jesus had forgiven a man his sins due the faith of his friends who had placed him in front of Jesus (verses 17-21) and He healed the man a few verses later as well. The Pharisees were unhappy and considered it blasphemy for Him to forgive the man’s sins. Jesus replied to them asking, 22 “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 25 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. That miracle healing was enough to shut them up for a short while.
Afterwards Jesus called the tax collector Levi to follow Him. Levi held a feast for Jesus at his house with more tax collectors and others in attendance. Again, the Pharisees were unhappy with Jesus and asked this question in v30, Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? Our verses for today provide Jesus’ answer which also tells us today why He came in the first place.
Jesus identifies Himself as a doctor, a spiritual doctor who can help those who are infected with any and all sorts of sin. To make His point, He talks about physical sickness and compares sinners to the people who are physically ill and in need of a doctor. We all know that sickness, in many forms, like cancer, doesn’t just go away if we ignore it. If you have a treatable, yet lethal disease, and you don’t see a doctor for the treatment, you will die. The doctor can only save you if you go to him. In a very like manner, as we are all sinners; we are all in great need of forgiveness, of grace, of salvation and this only comes through repentance and faith in Jesus. Jesus made this clear when addressing the Jewish leadership in John 8:24 (NASB) where we read, 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I AM, you will die in your sins. Only Jesus has the solution as He is the solution for our sin sickness.
Take a look at the AMP version of this verse above and discover there were those who believed they had no sin problem and no need for grace, for salvation. Those were the self-righteous who would not repent. Those were made up of the Sadducees and the Pharisees then, today they are sadly everywhere. After Jesus’ resurrection a number of Pharisees did come to see their need for forgiveness.
Bottom Line: Everyone needs God’s Grace and Jesus came so that it would be offered to everyone if only they would repent (change from their sinful ways) and receive Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Jesus spoke in His own words that we are all called by Him to repentance, to forsake a life of sin by repenting and taking Jesus as Lord and Savior. Only Jesus can take care of our sin problem, so we must turn to Him. Thank You for providing a solution to take care of our sin. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor
Calvary Chapel of Dayton
in Beavercreek