Calling All Sinners
The Great Physician still calls the broken
SCRIPTURE:
Luke 5:31-32 NLT - Jesus answered 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 and need to repent."
OBSERVATION:
Luke chapter 5 explains how Jesus called Matthew—a tax collector—to become one of His disciples. At first glance, this might not seem very significant, but in that culture and era, tax collectors were despised. Especially those of Jewish heritage working for the Romans—oppressors and rulers of Jerusalem. They were viewed as traitors, and most of them, if not all, were corrupted by the opportunity to profit from collecting taxes for Rome. Rome set a required amount, but collectors could keep anything beyond that. This corruption sparked a lot of controversy.
When Jesus saw Matthew sitting at his tax booth, He said:
Luke 5:27-28 NLT - …"Follow me and be my disciple," Jesus said to him. So Levi [Matthew] got up, left everything, and followed him.
This was a pivotal moment for Matthew—he completely walked away from everything. What could motivate a man to abandon his livelihood, even if dishonest, and face serious consequences from Rome? Something miraculous, something that changed his life forever, all started with a simple conversation with Jesus.
Although we don’t know all the details, Matthew must have seen the change in others—the freedom and transformation—and his curiosity grew. Then one day, Jesus personally called him. The change was so quick and dramatic that Matthew gathered his friends and invited Jesus to dinner.
This call-and-response sparked outrage among religious leaders. Their reaction has stayed largely the same over the centuries. Even today, similar words and tones are often used against those who turn to Jesus—people who simply need a conversation and an invitation.
Luke 5:30 NLT - But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus' disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with such scum?"
From this, we see two warnings—two attitudes displayed by the Pharisees that Jesus never showed.
APPLICATION:
Have we ever adopted the same attitude? Are there people, groups, or “scum” in our eyes that we struggle to extend the same grace to as Jesus did?
Luke 5:31-32 NLT - Jesus answered 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 and need to repent."
OBSERVATION:
Luke chapter 5 explains how Jesus called Matthew—a tax collector—to become one of His disciples. At first glance, this might not seem very significant, but in that culture and era, tax collectors were despised. Especially those of Jewish heritage working for the Romans—oppressors and rulers of Jerusalem. They were viewed as traitors, and most of them, if not all, were corrupted by the opportunity to profit from collecting taxes for Rome. Rome set a required amount, but collectors could keep anything beyond that. This corruption sparked a lot of controversy.
When Jesus saw Matthew sitting at his tax booth, He said:
Luke 5:27-28 NLT - …"Follow me and be my disciple," Jesus said to him. So Levi [Matthew] got up, left everything, and followed him.
This was a pivotal moment for Matthew—he completely walked away from everything. What could motivate a man to abandon his livelihood, even if dishonest, and face serious consequences from Rome? Something miraculous, something that changed his life forever, all started with a simple conversation with Jesus.
Although we don’t know all the details, Matthew must have seen the change in others—the freedom and transformation—and his curiosity grew. Then one day, Jesus personally called him. The change was so quick and dramatic that Matthew gathered his friends and invited Jesus to dinner.
This call-and-response sparked outrage among religious leaders. Their reaction has stayed largely the same over the centuries. Even today, similar words and tones are often used against those who turn to Jesus—people who simply need a conversation and an invitation.
Luke 5:30 NLT - But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus' disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with such scum?"
From this, we see two warnings—two attitudes displayed by the Pharisees that Jesus never showed.
- They complained bitterly.
- They viewed people as “such scum.”
APPLICATION:
Have we ever adopted the same attitude? Are there people, groups, or “scum” in our eyes that we struggle to extend the same grace to as Jesus did?
Nothing puzzled the religionists of the Lord’s time more than His eating and drinking on terms of familiarity with publicans and sinners. Here He revealed the reason for doing so. He was among men as the great Physician. – G. Campbell Morgan.
Jesus explained it Himself:
Luke 5:31-32 NLT - …"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 and need to repent."
Calling ALL sinners – the doctor is in the house!
Never forget where you came from or how God saved you when you were at your lowest. “Scum”—that described me, and in some ways, it still does. But thank God for His incredible grace that saved sinners like you and me!
PRAYER:
Jesus, give me Your heart for the lost. Forgive me for the times I label people by their sin instead of seeing them as those who need a doctor. Forgive me for my self-righteous attitude that views certain people, sins, and lifestyles as “scum.” Help me to have conversations as You did and invite people to come to the Great Physician for healing and new life.
Luke 5:31-32 NLT - …"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 and need to repent."
Calling ALL sinners – the doctor is in the house!
Never forget where you came from or how God saved you when you were at your lowest. “Scum”—that described me, and in some ways, it still does. But thank God for His incredible grace that saved sinners like you and me!
PRAYER:
Jesus, give me Your heart for the lost. Forgive me for the times I label people by their sin instead of seeing them as those who need a doctor. Forgive me for my self-righteous attitude that views certain people, sins, and lifestyles as “scum.” Help me to have conversations as You did and invite people to come to the Great Physician for healing and new life.
Jesus came for sinners—don’t forget where you came from.
Posted in 03 - Luke
Recent
Archive
2026
January
Words Spoken at the Right TimeHe Will SaveShining as the StarSOAPRepentance: It’s a Good ThingDawning of a New LifePerfect Not PerfectionThe Cure for AnxietyThe Way We Think About and Treat OthersRight AwayTax Collectors and SinnersChoosing Christ Above AllThe Yoke of LearningHope In His NameWhere Did He Learn ThisImmediatelyFrom the HeartOn This RockMustard Seed FaithTrue HumilityMission ImpossibleMoved with Compassion
February
Change Your MindInvitationDrop the MaskGood News ProclaimedDid or Did NotYour Accent Gives You AwayEli, Eli, Lama SabachthaniThe EndIf You Are WillingSins Are ForgivenCrazy!Silence! Be Still!Saw and Heard – Jesus Something BlessedEphphathaRight PerspectiveSalt and PeaceServe Not ServedRemoving DifficultiesAbundance vs Poverty