That brought Christ’s tremendous reply. He had come as a physician.
Only sinners need a Saviour. Christ has come to bring a salvation which is totally and utterly beyond human reach, and he has come to bring it for all. Are some more righteous than others? Certainly there are sins which are more abominable in God’s eyes and will be punished with greater severity, but all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, and all will perish in hell without a Saviour. For any therefore to say that they need saving less than others, or that they can afford to look down on others is itself further sin. It is the sin of self-righteousness, stemming from an attempt to establish a comparative righteousness. No sinner can afford to look down on another sinner. To judge another is to invite the judgment of God on oneself. If Christ ate with tax collectors and sinners, this should have had the effect of prompting the Pharisees to say, ‘Then there may be hope for us also. We too may find forgiveness.’ Anyone who compares himself with others is still dreaming that he may be acceptable to God without salvation.