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April 11, 2022

The Sick in Need of a Physician (1)

Mark 2:15 And as He reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining together with Jesus and His disciples, for there were many, and they were following Him. 16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, seeing that He ate with sinners and tax collectors, said to His disciples, Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners? 17 And when Jesus heard this, He said to them, Those who are strong have no need of a physician, but those who are ill; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.

[Part 1 of 2] Matthew invited many tax collectors and sinners to this feast. If we had been invited to such a feast, we probably would have declined the invitation, not wanting to feast with such people. However, the Lord Jesus attended that feast. If we read the Gospel of Mark carefully, we shall realize that the scribes followed the Lord like spies wherever He went. We have seen that these scribes, as the proponents of the old and dead religion, were motivated and used by Satan, the enemy of God, to oppose, resist, and frustrate the gospel service of the Slave of God throughout all His ministry (2:16, 24; 3:22; 7:5; 8:11; 9:14; 10:2; 11:27; 12:13, 28). In verse 16 the scribes were self-righteous in condemning the Slave-Savior for His feasting with tax collectors and sinners. The scribes' word to the Lord's disciples indicates that, in their self- righteousness, they did not know the grace of God. They assumed that God deals with man only according to righteousness. Hearing what the scribes said to His disciples, the Lord said to the scribes, "Those who are strong have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (v. 17). This word indicates that the Slave-Savior considered Himself a Physician to the people who were sick with sins. [To be continued] (c) Living Stream Ministry.

Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Mark, pp. 73. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].

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Life-study of Mark