Why did Jesus make this statement? It says this in the previous verses 14-16, “As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of
Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ So he
arose and followed Him.
Now it happened, as He
was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat
together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed
Him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and
sinners, they said to His disciples, ‘How is it that He eats and drinks with
tax collectors and sinners?’”
This is what comes to my mind when I think about most of the
scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ day; they thought they were righteous, but what
they really were, was self-righteous sinners themselves, so the words that
Jesus said was for their benefit also. But,
they let His words go in one ear and out the other, giving them very little
thought, being mindful only that Jesus sat with terrible sinners. From what I’ve read about the days of Jesus’ appearance
on earth, there doesn’t seem to be too many righteous people around until after
he started His ministry along with His cousin, John the Baptist. The Spirit hadn’t
been poured out yet and the church hadn’t officially started yet.
The scribes and Pharisees were the big shots at the time and
the people looked up to them, but Jesus saw through their hypocrisy into their
sinful hearts, but they were so proud and arrogant they couldn’t see these
things in themselves. There were not
many righteous there at the time. And, He
was fulfilling the purpose that He came for, which He spoke of in Luke 4:18-19 when
He said this, “The Spirit of the Lord is
upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent
Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery
of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim
the acceptable year of the Lord.” When
Jesus spoke these words He was quoting from Isaiah 61:1-2. Jesus also said this in verse 21, “And He began to say to them, ‘Today this
Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’”
He also came to give His life a ransom for all who would
believe in Him, praise His holy name. Jesus
had many things to say to these self-righteous Pharisees and scribes, as well
as about them. The Lord loves the sinner
but hates sin, so He came to do something about it and, praise His name, He did
just that. The good news is that the
Lord came to seek and to save all who were lost, which included the self-righteous
also.
There are many today that have the form of religion but lack
the power therein. They go through the
motions, acting like a believer in certain situations, but in all reality their
lives have not changed. The Bible says
this of a true believer in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things
have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
You may have learned to talk the talk and even look like a
believer, but if your confession of faith hasn’t affected your way of living to
the point that people can’t see any difference from your former life and the
life you live now then you may want to do what Paul said, “examine yourself to
see if you are in the faith.” When a
person has been born again, there will be a noticeable difference in that person’s
life, which will play out in their actions. Think about this, just because you find a
mouse in a cookie jar, it doesn’t make him a cookie, any more than you being in
a church makes you a child of God.
If this is you, ask the Lord to forgive you of your sins and
to be your Lord and Savior, He loves you, and if you are serious I believe He
will do just that and you will truly experience a changed life. Then pray and ask the Lord where you should
attend a church, get a Bible and start reading and growing in the Lord. Something to think about! Have a super day and may the good Lord bless
you and yours.
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