But Pharisees, men educated in the law, when they saw Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples,
“Why does your master eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus heard them, and answered, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do.
I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
REFLECTION:
Categorical classification of people into good or bad, holy or unholy manifests a judgmental attitude.
This attitude is corrected by Jesus when he associated with tax collectors and sinners.
Jesus himself does not condemn sinners. Jesus likens sinners to a sick person who needs a doctor.
He even invites them to be his disciples. This is beyond the Pharisees’ standard,
so they question him why he eats and drinks with them. Having been educated in the law,
the Pharisees consider themselves to have the sole authority to interpret the law. But Jesus’
authority comes from God. God’s ways are not our ways. Discrimination and prejudices make it difficult for us to conform to God’s ways.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2020