17 And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:15-17.
We gain insight of this passage through Matthew 9:12-14 which expands on this subject. “But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. “But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
In my travels between a wide range of different denominations and churches, I see two types of Christians. There are those who seem very pious and holy, but you only see them in church and church events. There are others whom you see all around, you wonder what they are doing, they seem to be interacting quite a lot (making friends?) with unbelievers.
We are commanded to feed the hungry, host the strangers in our home, clothe the naked, and visit the prisoners. The problem is that in order to do so, we will dine with tax collectors and sinners. There will be alcohol drank (more than one glass) around us. We will have questionable characters in our home. There will be crude jokes and other bad language heard in our presence. We will be around shockingly dressed people. We will be seen in prison.
This command can be wrongly used as an excuse to indulge our own lusts. But, this command can be rightly used to show our compassion.
When we endure the raised eyebrows, the accusatory questions, and the rude insults to fully show compassion to others as we should …
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Matthew 25:34-36.
Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions 