Devotional: No One is Righteous

“And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, ‘Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’

Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.’”

- Luke 5:30-32

Upon first reading this section, I thought, “Isn’t no one righteous without Jesus? Why does Jesus say that there are righteous people who don’t need help?”

Well, we know that no one is righteous. Romans 3:10 says, “...There is no one righteous, not even one” and Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Without Christ, we have already been condemned. John 3:18 tells us, “... whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

If this is true, then what did Jesus mean when He told that to the Pharisees?

The Pharisees were self-righteous Jews who strictly practiced the Jewish law and their own traditions, typically thinking they were better than everyone else. They were the “holier than thou” type of people. All throughout the gospels, Jesus was continually frustrated with their responses and hardness of hearts. These were the exact people who should have been looking for their Messiah, but they were completely blinded while He was performing miracles right in front of their faces! I can’t imagine how frustrating this must have been for Jesus to endure. Eventually, they were the ones who sent Jesus to His crucifixion. 

As additional background information in this scenario, the fact that Jesus and His disciples were eating with the tax-collectors and sinners was outrageous to the Pharisees. Sinners included Jews who did not follow the Law and their man-made traditions, and it included those who lived an immoral life. Tax-collectors were hated because they were seen as traitors-- Jewish people collecting money for the ruling authorities. These people were seen as outcasts, and eating with them implied a level of friendship. Because the Pharisees constantly scrutinized Jesus, they questioned why Jesus would do such a shameful thing. 

The point is these Pharisees didn’t have eyes to see that they were also sinners. They wrongly believed that they were righteous. They checked all the boxes according to their religion and were visible about it so that others could commend them. However, they lacked the most important part– the position of their hearts. In a different passage, Jesus tells the Pharisees, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” These Pharisees cared about following the rules so that they appeared good on the outside, but their inward intentions were selfish and prideful.

Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” This is true about humanity, which is why we are all in need of a Savior to transform us. The Pharisees lacked the humility to recognize their need. Jesus called the Pharisees “righteous” and “well” because that’s what they believed about themselves. Jesus is implying that He, like a doctor, cannot help people who deny that they are sick.

The sinners and tax-collectors, on the other hand, recognized their spiritual sickness. They had nothing to show to try to prove that they were righteous. Jesus came to save the lowly who admit they are sick and in need of help. James 4:6 says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” These are the people He is after, even now.

Lastly, I wanted to add that Jesus said He came to call sinners, not the righteous, to repentance. The Greek word for repentance is metanoia, meaning “a change of mind.” Clearly, the Pharisees’ state of mind was hardened. Like I mentioned earlier, they were blinded to the fact that they were spiritually sick. Their own righteousness blinded them from any opportunity to change their mind to recognize they were in need. On the other hand, it was the sinners and tax collectors who accepted Jesus and were willing to learn from Him. Their hearts and minds were open to being changed, which is, once again, what Jesus desires.

Take a moment: Do you sometimes believe you are righteous because of your good deeds?

The temptation to focus on our own self-righteousness is part of our human nature, but we must always remember that there is only one thing that makes us righteous– Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” We are nothing without Christ and any righteous deed apart from Him is “nothing but filthy rags” according to Isaiah 64:6.

Re-orient your mind today through prayer and meditation to remember these truths.

Trusting that you are saved by the grace of God alone and you can do nothing to earn it is what it means to live by faith.

-Alina