Jesus’ selection of Matthew, who was identified as a tax collector (Matthew 10:3), as one of his twelve apostles drew criticism from the Jewish religious leaders because they considered Matthew to be a traitor. Mark 2:15-17 tells us:

And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Jesus used the Greek term iatros (ee-at-rosˊ) to describe the role he was playing when he ate with tax collectors and sinners. Iatros is derived from the verb iaomai (ee-ahˊ-om-ahee), which means “to cure” or “to heal” with regard to physical treatment, but is used figuratively, “of spiritual ‘healing’” (G2390). Jesus described spiritual sickness in Matthew 13:15 where he said, “’For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their eyes they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn and I would heal them.’”

Jesus associated the righteous with those who are well and said that they had no need for spiritual healing, but only sinners. The Greek word that is translated sinners, hamartolos (ham-ar-to-losˊ) is derived from the word harmartano (ham-ar-tanˊ-o), which means “to miss the mark, swerve from the way” (G264). Jesus told his disciple Thomas, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6, emphasis mine). When Jesus said that he was the way, he meant that he was the author and medium of access to God and eternal life (G3598). To miss the way or mark means that a person has not accepted Jesus as the propitiation for their sins (Romans 3:25). Paul explained in his letter to the Romans that there is no distinction between those who need redemption and those who do not because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith” (Romans 3:23-25).

Jesus’ statement, “Those who are well have no need of a physician” (Mark 2:17) was intended to trigger his listeners’ awareness of their lost condition. The Greek word ischoo (is-khooˊ-o) “denotes to be strong, to prevail and indicates a more forceful strength or ability than dunamai” (G2480). Dunamai was used in Matthew 19:25 in connection with entering the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 19:23-26 states:

And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can (dunamai) be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

The Greek word that is translated impossible, adunatos (ad-ooˊ-nat-os) is the negative of dunatos (doo-nat-osˊ), a derivative of dunamai. Literally, what Jesus was saying was that it could never happen. There was no possibility that a person could be saved through his own effort.

Jesus said that he came not to call the righteous, but sinners (Mark 2:17). It says in Romans Chapter 8 that believers are predestined to be conformed to the image of God’s Son, “in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29). Paul went on to say, “And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Romans 8:30). Being called by Jesus is one of the steps in the process of spiritual rebirth. “The new birth and regeneration do not represent successive stages in spiritual experience, they refer to the same event but view it in different aspects. The new birth stresses the communication of spiritual life in contrast to antecedent spiritual death; regeneration stresses the inception of a new state of things in contrast with the old” (G3824). When Jesus healed a paralytic, he linked the healing of the man’s body with the forgiveness of his sins. Mark’s gospel tells us:

And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (Mark 2:1-12)

Mark indicated that Jesus was preaching the word to them when four men opened up the roof of the house and let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. Mark also noted that Jesus saw the faith of the men who had brought the paralytic to him and perceived in his spirit that the scribes were questioning in their hearts his authority to forgive the paralytics sins. Jesus was perfectly in tune with what was going on in the spiritual realm and decided to demonstrate his authority so that people would understand how he was able to make the paralytic’s condition disappear. Jesus commanded the man to rise, pick up his bed, and go home (Mark 2:11).

Jesus’ ability to heal spiritual sickness is based on the authority that has been given to him by God. Jesus told his disciples before he ascended to heaven, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18). Paul elaborated on this fact when he said that God had seated Jesus at his right hand in the heavenly places, “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:20-23). Jesus’ all-encompassing authority makes it possible for him to exercise God’s power in whatever way he wants or needs to. Jesus told his disciples, “With God, all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). The only thing that hindered the people of Israel from being made well by Jesus during his ministry on earth was the people’s unwillingness to admit they were sinners who needed God’s forgiveness.