Luke 5:27-32: a reflection

When Jesus calls a tax collector and then sits and eats with tax collectors and sinners, and the religious leaders murmur, he answers that he came for exactly such people: not to call the righteous, but sinners. Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, Jesus says, but those who are sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. Jesus had called Levi, a tax collector despised as a sinner, to follow him, and then reclined at table with a crowd of tax collectors and sinners. When the religious leaders murmured at his eating with such people, Jesus answered plainly: he came precisely for them, as a physician comes for the sick, to call sinners to repentance. Christ welcomes and calls the very people the religious despised. This shows that Christ came to call sinners, not the righteous. Christ came to call sinners, not the righteous. Christ welcomes and calls the very ones others despise. Do not think yourself too sinful for Christ's call; he came for sinners. The physician comes for the sick; Christ comes for sinners.

Notice whom Jesus came for, and how he answered the murmuring. He called Levi, a tax collector, one of the despised, to follow him; and then he sat and ate with a whole crowd of tax collectors and sinners, the very people the religious leaders looked down on. When they murmured, why does he eat with such people? Jesus answered with an image and a statement of his mission: those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick; and I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. Just as a physician goes not to the healthy but to the sick, so Christ came not for those who considered themselves righteous, but for sinners, to call them to repentance and to himself. This is good news of the widest reach. Christ did not come to call only the respectable, the religious, those who seemed righteous; he came for sinners, and welcomed and called the very people others despised. This means that no one is too sinful, too far gone, too despised, for Christ's call; indeed, it is precisely sinners he came to call. Those who know themselves sick, who know their need, are exactly the ones the physician has come for. We need not think ourselves too sinful for Christ; he came for sinners, and calls such to repentance and to himself. We do well to come to Christ as the sinners we are, knowing he came precisely to call such, not to imagine ourselves beyond his welcome. Come to Christ as the sinner you are; he came to call sinners, not the righteous. Do not think yourself too sinful or despised for Christ's welcome. The physician comes for the sick; Christ came for sinners like you. Those who know their need are exactly the ones Christ came to call.

That is worth taking to heart, for Christ came to call sinners, not the righteous, welcoming the very ones others despised, and we need not think ourselves beyond his call, as Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners. We can imagine ourselves too sinful for Christ, or that he came only for the respectable; but he came for sinners, as a physician for the sick. Come as you are. Do not think yourself too sinful or despised for Christ's welcome; come to him as the sinner you are, for he came precisely to call such to repentance and to himself. Come to Christ as the sinner you are, not thinking yourself too sinful or despised for his welcome, for he came to call sinners and not the righteous, as when Jesus called a tax collector and then ate with tax collectors and sinners and the religious leaders murmured, he answered that he came for exactly such people, that those who are healthy have no need of a physician but the sick, and that he had not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance; for Jesus had called Levi, a tax collector despised as a sinner, and reclined at table with a crowd of tax collectors and sinners, and when the religious leaders murmured he answered plainly that he came precisely for them as a physician for the sick, to call sinners to repentance, so that Christ welcomes and calls the very people the religious despised, which is good news of the widest reach, since Christ did not come to call only the respectable and religious who seemed righteous but came for sinners and welcomed the very people others despised, so that no one is too sinful, too far gone, or too despised for his call, since it is precisely sinners he came to call and those who know themselves sick and know their need are exactly the ones the physician has come for, so that we need not think ourselves too sinful for Christ but can come to him as the sinners we are, and we do well to do so.