Meeting with Sinners

After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, "Follow me." And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" And Jesus answered 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." (Luk 5:27-32 ESV)

Notice the humility of Christ in contrast to the self-importance of the Pharisees and scribes. Though Christ is the Son of God, yet He humbled Himself even to the point of eating with sinners. Though the Pharisees were sinners, they would not associate with those whom they considered beneath them. What a stark contrast!

Jesus does not eat with sinners for mere fellowship, but rather because they are sick and in need of the Great Physician’s healing touch. It’s important to keep in mind that He doesn’t fellowship with sinners to make them content in their state, but rather to lift them up out of their bondage to sin and into a lively and loving relationship with Him as their Lord.

As Christians we must be careful not to fall into two errors: 1. The error of the self-important Pharisees in not associating with sinners; 2. The error of associating with sinners without the purpose of bringing them to Christ for salvation.

There is a tendency to consider our personal sins in one category, and the sins of others in another. We might excuse our own sin of gluttony, and at the same time be very unsympathetic to those who are struggling with the sin of adultery. It’s important to remember that the only reason we don’t fall headlong into every sin is because of the grace of God, not because of anything in us.

Keep in mind the wise words of Tozer on this subject:
“A Pharisee is hard on others and easy on himself, but a spiritual man is easy on others and hard on himself.”