02.18.2017 – New Testament: Mark 2.16

To read the Bible in a year, read Mark 2 on February 18, In the year of our Lord 2017

By Don Ruhl

Why does a physician exist? Is it not because people get sick and need help getting back to good health? Why does a preacher exist? Is it not because people get trapped in lives of sin, and they need help getting out of it?

Unfortunately the scribes and Pharisees thought a physician only existed for people who were already well,

And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?” (Mark 2.16). 

What would you think, if you saw your preacher eating with the most despicable people in town? To change them, he would have to spend time with them, just like a physician needs to be with sick people to help them.

Questions:

• Does being around sinners make you uncomfortable?
• What can you do to start feeling comfortable around them?