GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 2:17
The Car Wouldn’t Run
I had a car that developed a “miss.” In today’s mechanical terminology, it would be a “skip.” Being accustomed to doing my own mechanical work, I began looking for the ignition problem. This car, as with most cars today, had electronic ignition, much different from the previous generation of cars with a distributor, points, condenser, etc. I described the car’s problem to a parts store clerk, and he recommended changing the fuel filter, which I did. Someone else suggested another problem, which I addressed. I changed enough parts that the automobile would no longer run. The car was “sick,” and I had to have it towed to a repair shop. At the shop, a technician came out with an electronic device, hooked it to the car’s OBD port, and pointed to a component, saying that was the trouble, a simple fix.
St. Mark said that some scribes and Pharisees saw Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners at Levi’s house and quizzed his disciples about why he would associate with such people. They would never defile themselves by associating with such common people. “And when Jesus heard this, he said to them, ‘The healthy do not need a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.’” (2:17)
This is a highly concentrated statement that needs some unpacking. It can be read to imply that Jesus had no use for good people. However, the one person for whom Jesus can do nothing is the righteous person, the person who believes himself righteous and thus has no need. In this instance, Jesus was referring to the critics, the scribes, and Pharisees. He could do nothing with or for them, for they were so good, or righteous, or orthodox, that they had no need, or at least saw no need. But the sinners, those who saw their need—for them, he could be a physician.
My car went to the shop because it had a problem. My heart went to Jesus, the physician, because it had a problem. He is still the Great Physician.
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