RE Verse reading–Mark 2:13-17 (day four)
One of the themes of Mark is ‘Why did Jesus come?’ Mark 2:17 gives us a portion of Jesus’ mission…”I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Jesus came to call sinners. Now let’s set the record straight…the Pharisees were not righteous, they only thought they were righteous. Theirs was a self-righteousness. The tax collectors and sinners knew they were not righteous. A recognition of the need in our life for a Savior is required before coming to salvation. It is a deception from Satan that we see our lives as righteous and do not acknowledge the need for forgiveness. We have a tendency to compare our lives with the lives of others, and judge our righteousness against their standard. God, though, uses the standard of His Son, Jesus. We fall far short if we don’t use the correct standard. Jesus readily came to those who recognized their need. He was willing to forgive their sin.
