Jesus seemed to always butt heads with the religious leaders of his day. One of the biggest issue came down to the idea of righteousness. The leaders felt that they were righteous and Jesus should approve of them but Jesus seemed to associate with the unrighteous, even hanging out with tax collectors and sinners! How dare he. If he really was from God, he would hang out with the Pharisees and teachers of the law. Instead, Jesus was constantly condemning them; my favorite is when Jesus called them white washed tombs, they looked good on the outside but smelly, icky, nasty on the inside.
Jesus explains his actions simply, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but those who are ill. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” The Pharisees were not righteous but they believed that they were, that they didn’t need Jesus and they would never ever receive the righteousness they so craved. The tax collectors, the prostitutes, the poor and needy, sinners who knew they needed salvation were the ones who gained salvation when they believe in Jesus. They were the ones who became righteous.
We have to be real with ourselves, with others, and most importantly, with God. We can’t measure up to God’s standards. We can try and try and try, follow every rule and still never quite reach the righteousness needed. But if we come to Jesus, acknowledge our failure, he will forgive and impart to us a righteousness that can only come from God.
Authenticity doesn’t come easy. Let’s start by standing before God confessing our sins, then accept the healing that comes from our Savior.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” -Psalms 51:7 NIV
