In Need of a Doctor

In Matthew 9 Jesus meets Matthew, a tax collector, and asks him to follow him. Tax collectors were hated by society, and pursued earning money over all else. But Matthew gave it all up after this encounter with Jesus; he got up and followed Jesus immediately without hesitation.

Jesus was later criticized by the Pharisees for dining with Matthew and other tax collectors and sinners.

Jesus tells the Pharisees, "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." Many people in the church think they don't need the doctor, but we all need the doctor.

God is a great healer, and through our relationship with him he heals and molds us into his image. Relationship with him leads us to have a heart for all people and see them through his eyes. Jesus sat at the table with sinners; Which table is God asking you to sit at in your life?