Jesus did not come to call the righteous

In the Mark 2:17, Jesus makes an interesting statement. He says that he did not come to call the righteous but to call the sinners. What did he mean by this?

Does this mean it is better to be a sinner than to be righteous? Not likely.

He seems to be separating the Pharisees out from the sinners he was hanging with. However, was he inferring that the Pharisees were righteous and did not need him? Certainly he considered the Pharisees as much sinners as as anyone as he continually confronts their hypocrisy and even calls them sons of the devil or sinners. In any case, aren't we all sinners? So what did Jesus mean?

Did he mean that he came to call on those who knew they were sinners and not for those that think they are righteous? Aren't we all righteous in our own eyes until called by Christ to him?

The answer to what Jesus had in mind might be clearer in Matthew 9:9-13 where Matthew expounds on what Jesus told the Pharisees.

In Matthew's recalling of this story, Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6, "For I desire mercy and not sacrifice." In Hosea, God is telling Israel that he desires steadfast love rather than just their ritual religious ceremony. Jesus is reminding the Pharisees that God is not impressed with their piousness but wants their hearts for him and others.

Those of us that know Jesus have all come to a place at some point where we realize we are sinners and not worthy of anything but the judgment of a holy God. The good news is that Jesus died for those sins, he defeated death and sin and by believing that good news, we are covered in his righteousness, and rescued from God's judgment.

However, the message for us in Mark, Matthew, and Hosea is that once we start to think that the righteousness is our own, and not that of Christ that covers us, we put the Christian religion above our steadfast love for God. We become Pharisees.

The gospel is for the lost to come to know Jesus. However, the gospel is also for the saved so that we don't forget Jesus, who he is, and who we are in him. I can read my Bible, pray, worship, teach, and preach but if I do not love then I am just a loud gong (1 Corinthians 13:1-13).