His Mission To Save

This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. —1 Timothy 1: 15

One day, while Jesus was dining with tax collectors and other sinners, He overheard the scribes and Pharisees questioning His choice of dinner companions. “When Jesus heard it, He said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Mark 2: 17).

**No man is beyond the reach of God’s love.

If you are well, you avoid the doctor. But when you are sick, you know you need help. Man was sick. He had chosen a deadly path, a path that led to sickness, misery, and destruction. God saw man’s plight and had mercy on him by sending His Son, the Great Physician. He didn’t send Jesus to condemn the world. That wasn’t necessary, for the world was already condemned. He sent Jesus “that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3: 17). Note that Paul calls himself the chief of sinners. He knew who he was. Paul made no excuses for his past life. The point he was making was that if Jesus could save him—after he blasphemed Jesus, approved of crimes against Christians, and even hunted and killed them—then the rest of us have no worries. Jesus will forgive and save us too. He who reached down to the lowest depths and saved the worst of the violators can reach you in the pit of your sin and bring you into His light.

**No man is beyond the reach of God’s love.

Father, thank You for sending Your Son into the world to forgive and save those sickened by sin. In Jesus’ name, amen.