The Pharisee in the Peter Millar Blazer

And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Mark 2:16–17 (ESV)

My wife and I and three to four friends started the homeless ministry M2540 (an acronym for Matthew 25:40) in Columbus, GA, in 2015. Every Monday night, we share Jesus with the homeless community, serving nearly 200 hot meals, tents, sleeping bags, clothes, hygiene items, access to drug rehab, etc. More than forty churches are currently part of this ministry. It is a cool ministry that is making a difference for the Kingdom.

One night on the street, I was talking to a gentleman named Mike (not his real name). At the time, Mike was living with 20-25 other unsheltered homeless guys on the loading dock of a long-vacant 30,000 sq. ft. building on 3rd Ave in downtown Columbus, GA. As you can probably imagine, Mike was usually not too clean; typically smelled like a mixture of alcohol, antiquated sweat, and grime. However, he is an extremely nice guy who is trying to survive. He’s also been trying for 25 years to fill the emptiness inside with everything except the One who can completely satisfy the vacancy.

On this particular night, Mike began telling me a story that happened to him two or three Sundays prior. He woke up hungover on the hard concrete loading dock he called home and felt a gigantic nudge to attend church. I bet there are 25+ churches to choose from within walking distance of where he woke up. So, he got up and started walking.

On the way, he stopped at a gas station and washed himself up, the best that he could, in the sink—no soap, just water. Most gas stations in poverty-stricken areas do not ever have soap. It took about fifteen minutes to get to the church’s front door, but it took Mike another fifteen minutes to muster up the nerve to walk through it.

You see, Mike had spent the last twelve years on the street hustling for everything . . . cutting grass when “the man” would pick him up on the corner, washing dishes when he could get a temp job, and simply doing whatever he could do to make a few Benjamins. But he was getting old, eyesight was fading big time, hands and wrists were almost always stiff and swollen from arthritis, and twelve years on the street had taken a cataclysmic toll on him physically and emotionally. To even use the word self-esteem, as in “Mike’s self-esteem was low,” is a laughable understatement of all understatements.

This is the “Mike” that courageously but meekly walked through the door of that big church with all the “good church people” inside. Several groups of people were in the foyer—all in their little “holy huddles” chit-chatting. No one even made eye contact with him, but they were all clutching their leather-bound Bibles. Whew, thank goodness they remembered to grab those Bibles as they scurried out of their McMansions to get to church on time.

Mike opened the double door to the sanctuary and took a couple of lonely steps in, eyes #confidencelessly looking down, of course. The sanctuary had a center aisle with row after row of ornate pews on each side. Where in the world would he sit? He looked up and started down the aisle. A man in a $1,300 Peter Millar windowpane plaid blazer was heading up the aisle opposite Mike. Mike’s heart was racing because they locked eyes as the middle-aged man got closer. Just as he was about to walk by, he threw his arm around Mike, spun him around 180˚, and walked him right out of the church's front door to “find a more comfortable place to attend.”

I get spittin’ mad every time I tell that story!

The “scribes” were the legal experts of the day. Many of them were Pharisees as well. They were the expert witnesses one would call in a dispute over the Sabbath law being broken or if a gnat needed to be strained 😊 (Matthew 23:24). And here comes Jesus. He seems to disregard the law, seems to ignore (maybe even condone) sin, breaking bread with the sinners, and it made their blood boil. They could not fathom how Jesus could hang out with “those” people. No self-respecting scribe or Pharisee would EVER allow themselves to be anywhere near the Mikes of the world.

So they ask, “Why does He do it? Why does He eat with ‘those’ people?” His answer, “The well don’t need a doc. The sick do!” Have you ever gone to your doctor’s office only to find the waiting room crammed full of perfectly healthy people? Of course not. Jesus goes on, “I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners” (Matthew 2:17, NLT).

The New Living Translation captures the nuance of Verse 17 by juxtaposing “THINK they are righteous” against “KNOW they are sinners.” Jesus did not hammer the religious leaders for their goal of purity. He hammered them for their delusional belief that they had “arrived” and were the very embodiment of purity and righteousness.

You and I must have a right view of self. We may indeed have all the externals under control. We may look clean, whitewashed, and pure to the casual observer, but on the inside, we’re rotting away (Matthew 23:27-28).

We need to recognize that we are sick with sin and need the Great Physician’s healing. If we do not acknowledge that we’re underwater and drowning, what do we need the Lifeguard for? Make no bones about it: Jesus came to save every single human being who recognizes their need for Him! His words reverberate through time and compel you to examine your own heart. Do you see yourself as self-sufficient, or do you recognize your need for Jesus’ healing and forgiveness?

In addition, there is a call to action inherent in His words. As a Christ-follower, you are called to Christlikeness—to mimic His many examples. In the context of Mark 2:16-17, this means reaching out to those who have been marginalized by society, showing love and compassion to the ones whom the culture has rejected. In other words, not only should you welcome “Mike” into your church . . . not only should you help him find a seat . . . but Jesus would want you to sit with him and take him to lunch after church and get to know him.

Father God, help me to fight off the temptation to only love the people who look and act and talk and drive large white SUVs like me. Help me to love the outcasts of society. Help me to love like You. Give me Your heart for the outsiders. Lord, humble me when I begin to think too much of myself. In the matchless name of Jesus, Amen.