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1/30 Reading Portions: Genesis 31; Mark 2; Esther 7; Romans 2
Mark 2:17
“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
BREAD
When the Lord Jesus reclined at the table to eat with tax collectors and sinners, the scribal Pharisees objected. Jesus also ate with scribes and lawyers, yet generally, they saw their fellowship with Jesus as condescending. “We let you eat with us,” was their attitude by and large. With His statement Jesus wasn’t saying that they were righteous enough to have no need of Him. His statement was a condemnation of their conduct— they were self-righteous. The scribes were surely unrighteous sinners since the fall of Adam, and the Man Christ Jesus was the only exception (Rom 3:10-12). A man can never be saved if he (1) cannot see his need for salvation; and (2) he cannot see Christ as the great Savior who alone can save.
We desperately needed Dr. Jesus to heal our sinful souls. He is the Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings (Mal 4:2). Once we’ve been saved by grace, however, we must be aware that self-idolatry (pride) and its faux-righteousness may still arise from the corruptions which remain in our mortal flesh. At times, we can be just as haughty as the scribes, Pharisees, and teachers of the law in our disregard, even dishonor, of the Lord Jesus. Jesus is supreme King and eternal Creator. Jesus should never be dismissed in our hearts or minds as common or ordinary. When is the Lord Jesus Christ not worthy of exaltation?
NEVER
Jesus is the only Hope for sinners, the only Help for sinners, and the only Health for sinners. The only Remedy for an ill individual is Jesus Christ, the great Physician. We need to check in for a checkup with Dr. Jesus. How often? Daily, as He has commanded us to pray as such:
“Give us this day our daily bread,” Matthew 6:11
For Jesus is our daily Bread (John 6:35). Hallelujah! What a Savior!
The Lord, our Doctor, heals our ills,
Yet we must come each day
To Him for help, and not for pills,
To walk the good and holy way.
