Who Needs Repentance?
“And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:31-32
The occasion when Jesus made this statement was a feast at Levi’s house. Levi, also known as Matthew, had just been called by Jesus to leave his profession and follow Him. Levi’s profession was that of a publican or tax collector for Rome, thus making him an enemy of the self-righteous religious leaders. At this feast were other publicans and ordinary folks, but there were also some Pharisees and scribes either in attendance or perhaps they were party crashers or just plain nosy. When they saw that Jesus and His disciples were there, they had to ask a snarky question to the disciples as to what in the world were they doing eating and drinking with such lowlifes? Publicans likely ranked just below Gentiles in people that should be avoided at all costs. Why did these religious leaders care? They didn’t like Jesus nor His disciples, but apparently used any opportunity that they could to disparage God’s Son and those with whom He associated.
Their question was posed to the disciples, but Jesus answered them. He said that healthy people do not need a physician, but only those who are sick. He then said that He had come to call sinners to repentance and not the righteous. When I was younger, that statement puzzled me because scripture teaches that none of us are righteous, “no not one” (Romans 3:10). So why did Jesus say He didn’t call the righteous to repentance when there are no righteous people? This is one of those Biblical truths in which we have to understand the context. This is also another example of the use of hyperbole by the Lord. Jesus wasn’t implying that there were folks who were so perfect that they didn’t need to repent of sin. However, that is how the religious leaders saw themselves. They believed that their observance of the law and all the traditions that they had enforced upon the “little” people, the regular, common, everyday Joes and Janes, made themselves pleasing unto God, the Father. They did not see themselves as sinners. That was the definition of publicans and Gentiles. No way were the Pharisees and scribes anything at all like those hoodlums. As far as I can find, scripture only records two of the religious leaders who came to the knowledge that they were sinners in need of a Savior prior to Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. They were Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus, both believed to be members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling body.
Jesus was telling them that since they all believed they were perfectly good and fine, without even a hint of sin, then He was giving His attention to those who weren’t good and fine, that is, those who were “sick” with sin. Sin is a sickness with which we all come into this world, and there is nothing that we can do on our own to cure it. Matthew Henry wrote, “Sin is the sickness of the soul; sinners are spiritually sick. Original corruptions are the diseases of the soul, actual transgressions are its wounds, or the eruptions of the disease. It is deforming, weakening, disquieting, wasting, killing, but bless be God, not incurable”. The religious leaders were sicker than the publicans because they refused to recognize the sin in their lives. If one ignores cancer, then chances are greater that he or she will eventually succumb to it unless they accept it and follow the protocol to fight it.
We’re all suffering because of sin. Even if we have truly repented and are trying to live a Christlike life, the sin that permeates the land affects us. We can’t escape it because sin is everywhere. In these days of “everyone doing what is right in their own eyes” (Judges 17:6), there is no real concern on the part of folks about sin. Everything has become acceptable in society. If someone tries to stand for righteousness, he or she is called a “racist” or some other derogatory name. It astonishes me at how lax people have become about sin. God hasn’t become lax about it. What was a sin thousands of years ago is still a sin today. Folks live as if they will not be held accountable for how they lived their lives. Wouldn’t it be great if all those who are suffering the debilitating sickness of sin made an appointment with Dr. Jesus and received His cure?