Walk to Easter: Luke 5:31-32, Why Christ Came

Luke 5:31-32 "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.'"

Why did Christ come to the earth? Surely there could be a few different answers to this question, but today we are going to look at the one found in Luke 5:31-32, that is, that Jesus came to call sinners to repentance.

The story goes like this: Jesus is walking to his prefered farmer's market to get his selection of this morning's fresh papayas. On his way, he sees Levi (also known as Matthew), a tax collector. He yells out to him "follow me," and Levi drops everything he owns and follows Jesus. However, Levi isn't stopping there. He gets all of his tax collector buddies (who were basically the thieves of the day) and throws a dinner party. After Jesus starts digging into his Mediterranean nachos, the Pharisees see Jesus eating with sinners (that is, the tax collectors) and were astounded. They ask Jesus' disciples why Jesus is doing such an unclean thing, and Jesus overhears their whispers and replies 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."

This is truly one of my favorite little stories in all of scripture because it pierces our hearts. The Pharisees in this story are the self-righteous, legalistic lawkeepers who attempt to gain salvation on their own. They are wondering why Jesus is eating with sinners, that is, those who have not attained salvation in their own efforts. Although through our sinful eyes we would definitely be asking the same questions as the Pharisees, Jesus flips the story on its head. He says that these sinners were the very ones whom he came to save, because they are the ones who know that they are sick. The Pharisees thought that they could heal themselves, but the sinners were running to God asking for Jesus to heal them. In Jesus' economy, its not the self-righteous who obtain the kingdom of God, but those who are poor in spirit.

So, the question before us this morning is this: do you know that you're sick? Jesus came not to save those who thought they could heal themselves, but those who would run to him for healing because they knew of their great need. But if you don't realize your great need, you will never run to the physician for healing. I encourage you, brother and sister, realize your great need, and run to the Savior. For it is the only way to salvation.