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- Oct 26, 2007
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Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them. And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, "Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. "I have not come to call [the] righteous, but sinners, to repentance." Luke 5:29-32
As a tax collector, Levi was a despised collaborator with the Romans. His only friends were other tax collectors and the outcasts of society, "sinners." Jesus association with them outraged the religious elite. That He called Levi to follow Him (vv.27-28) was simply beyond their belief.
But in the eyes of Jesus, all people are sick with the disease of sin, and therefore all are in need of healing. Imagine a doctor in a town where everyone has the same disease but only a handful come to his clinic--the rest claim to be healthy because they deny the symptoms. That doctor can only wait till they acknowledge their situation and seek his help.
Hypocrisy blinds many, but the good news is: there's a Doctor in the house.
Prayer: Great Physician, I give myself to Your care. Heal me completely that I may bring the sick and dying into Your care as well.
As a tax collector, Levi was a despised collaborator with the Romans. His only friends were other tax collectors and the outcasts of society, "sinners." Jesus association with them outraged the religious elite. That He called Levi to follow Him (vv.27-28) was simply beyond their belief.
But in the eyes of Jesus, all people are sick with the disease of sin, and therefore all are in need of healing. Imagine a doctor in a town where everyone has the same disease but only a handful come to his clinic--the rest claim to be healthy because they deny the symptoms. That doctor can only wait till they acknowledge their situation and seek his help.
Hypocrisy blinds many, but the good news is: there's a Doctor in the house.
Prayer: Great Physician, I give myself to Your care. Heal me completely that I may bring the sick and dying into Your care as well.
