Monday, April 16, 2018

Do You Think You are Righteous or Know You are a Sinner?


Then Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to him. As he walked along, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at his tax collector's booth. "Follow me and be my disciple," Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him. Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus' followers.) But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, "Why does he eat with such scum?" When Jesus heard this, he told them, "Healthy people don't need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners." Mark 2:13-17

Sick or Healthy? Jesus was speaking to both…or was He? Are the Pharisees just as “sick” as those scum whom they were criticizing? I think Jesus was telling them that they were. He was likening Himself to a doctor—and as a phenomenal healer—He was one. But see what He said…Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” Those Pharisees needed Jesus as much as the tax collectors and disreputable sinners gathered around the table with Him. They needed to see Jesus as their Messiah—but they refused to acknowledge Him—to recognize that He had come to provide salvation. Spiritual salvation. The Jews as a whole were seeking a political king to save them from Roman oppression. Jesus was a spiritual King sent to rescue and save the Jews…and all of mankind from spiritual oppression—better known as sin—but the Pharisees couldn’t see that in Jesus. Their holiness blinded them to forming a relationship with a nonconformist teacher they saw as rebellious and dangerous to the traditions of their religion.

How is Jesus viewed today? Is He considered the Messiah to the Jews or the Gentiles? Is He your Savior? The interim pastor of our church, Bob Luhn, recently said that 60% of the people in the Tri-Cities where we live don’t identify with any religion. That is a lot of unchurched people. Are you “unchurched” or do you seek Jesus on your own time and space? I used to think that my relationship with Jesus was very private—just between Him and me, although I know well the scripture about the necessity of not forsaking fellowship.
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together (fellowship), as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:23-25

What good fellowship we once enjoyed as we walked together to the house of God. Psalm 55:14
Fellowship, meeting together for study, social events, meals, and encouragement, is essential for Christian growth—but just as important is fellowship with God. Spending time with God. Jesus was a good example of that. Consider all the times that He went off by Himself to pray. God has a special respect for those who seek Him and walk in fellowship with Him.
Daybreak...or Sunset? Seek God First.
Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Mark 1:35

Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God. Genesis 6:9.
Do you think you are righteous or do you see yourself as a sinner? Do you seek God first in your life…and have you found Jesus as your Messiah?

Prayer ~ Trinity…Father, Son and Holy Spirit—awaken in me a deeper desire to know You more completely and to find opportunities to share You with others around me. We all need You as our spiritual doctor—for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Thank You for forgiveness of our sins and for being our Lord, Savior, Creator, Redeemer, Friend, Father, Counselor, King of Kings…and Almighty God.

Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 56, 120, 140-142

© 2018 Text and photos by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted
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