Mark 2:17

Jesus heard them, and said to them, “Listen, sick people need a doctor, but healthy people don’t need a doctor. I’m telling you, I’m like a doctor. You mob reckon these people do bad things, so I’m here to help them turn around and do good things. But you mob think you never do anything wrong yourselves, so I can’t help you.”

Plain English Version

In The King James Version

When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

In Context

16Some of the Jewish law teachers saw Jesus eating with all those people. Those law teachers also belonged to the Pharisee mob. They were really strong for the law, so they asked Jesus’s followers, “Why does Jesus eat with those people that don’t live God’s way?”

18The mob called Pharisees, that were strong for the Jewish law, they sometimes stopped eating food for a while to show God that they respected him. The followers of John the Baptiser did the same. Some people went to Jesus and asked him, “How come your followers don’t stop eating food to show God that you respect him, you know, just like the Pharisee mob and John’s followers do?”

Read all of Mark 2

Cross References

Luke 15:7Well, just like that, whenever somebody turns back to God, everyone in heaven is really happy too. Whenever one bad person stops doing bad things, and lives God’s way, everyone in heaven is really happy. They are even more happy about that person, than they are about the big mob of other people that never went wrong.”

Luke 15:29But the oldest son said, ‘No. It’s not fair. Look, I worked for you for years and years, and I always did everything you told me to do. But you never gave me a party. You didn’t even give me a young goat for me to kill and cook its meat, and have a good time with my friends.

Luke 19:10I am God’s special man from heaven, and I came to earth to look for people that went wrong and got lost, so that I can save them.”

John 9:40Some of the Pharisee mob there heard him say that, and they got angry, and they said, “Are you saying that we are that blind mob?”

Matthew Henry on Mark 2:14-18

Christ among Publicans and Sinners. 13 And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them. 14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphæus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him. 15 And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him. 16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw… Read the whole commentary →

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