Why Jesus came

Why Jesus came

In this portion of Scripture, we see clearly why Jesus Christ came

10 And he rose and followed him. And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples.
11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.””

After Jesus called Matthew, and Matthew followed him, we see clearly in the other gospels, that Matthew invited his friends for a meal. And his friends were other tax- collectors and sinners. The Pharisees, seeing this, became offended. If Jesus was such a great teacher, should he not desist from mingling with sinners and eating with them? Why, in other words, does Jesus, contaminate himself with such lowly and despicable characters, such vile sinners! Surely, He cannot be who He says He is, if He mingles with such notorious sinners?! You see the attitude of the Pharisees here,

“Why does your teacher eat with sinners? He should be like us and reject the company of sinners”

But Jesus, in giving an answer, shows the wisdom in what He is doing

12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”

You see, Jesus came to heal the sick, not just those who are physically sick, but those who are spiritually sick, primarily for those who are spiritually sick. Who are those who are spiritually sick? Yes, the greedy, thieves and liars, extortioners and sinners.

But are you spiritually sick? Do you sense your depravity?

Do you experience evil desires and thoughts welling up in you?

There is a virus more dangerous than the corona virus. A virus more deadly. A virus more lethal. The corona virus may kill your body, but it cannot kill your soul. The whole world took precautions against the corona virus. We often washed our hands and wore face masks wherever we went. We practised social distancing. But, you know, the sin virus is more deadly. Everyone has the sin virus. Everyone dies from that virus. We have all been infected. In fact, we are all permeated by this virus. We are sin-sick from the top of our heads to the bottom of our feet. There is only one remedy – the Person of Christ and the blood of Christ. Unless Christ the Physician deals with your sin and applies

His blood regularly to your soul, this sin-virus will take you to hell.

❖ To heal

Jesus came to show mercy, but only to those who know they are sick. If you don’t think this sin-virus is serious you cannot be cured, because you will not come to the Physician, Jesus Christ. The mercy of God is for those who recognize that this sin-virus is the most dangerous thing on the planet – it ever was and ever will be. Only those who know they are sick can be helped and cured. Our greatest problem is not communism, evil as that system is. It’s not nuclear power, even knowing how dangerous that is. It is not politics or having low self-esteem. All these can be bad, but our worst problem will always be our personal sin, because it is only unforgiven sin that can condemn you to hell. Your sin is your biggest problem. If you don’t recognize that habitually, you are like the Scribes.

Jesus said,

13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.””

Jesus did not come for the self-righteous, but to show mercy to sinners, to call sinners to Himself. When you recognize that your sin is a greater danger to you than the coronavirus or any other kind of virus, you will run to Jesus for forgiveness and healing. He is the only one who can deal with your sin in a decisive way. He has dealt with sin already on a cross 2000 years ago! So, don’t disqualify yourself by saying you don’t need Jesus or that you are too sinful. Jesus came to save sinners, He came to call us out of our sins to repentance.