Written by Darren Hewer
Do you struggle with guilt and want to talk to someone about it? Contact an online mentor today.While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:10-13)
When I first became a Christian at age 22, I thought church was only for perfect people. Or at least people who could act perfectly on Sunday mornings. I didn’t understand that the purpose of the church is to give a hand to the sick, not pat the healthy on the back.
Jesus often ate at the same table with “sinners”, and when he did, the Pharisees questioned why He did so. Jesus responded by saying “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” (Matthew 9:12) Author Brennan Manning puts it this way: “The church is not a museum for saints but a hospital for sinners”. That’s encouraging, because I often don’t feel much like a saint. Do saints lose patience with their brothers and sisters in Christ? Lose their temper? Sometimes even lose that passionate fire for the gospel?
