Meet and Eat with Jesus | Mark 2:15-17

The Daily Devotional by Vince Miller

Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every single day.

We are in the Gospel of Mark. Visit the website and purchase the Scripture Journal for this study so that you can follow along with us.

I am giving a shout-out today to Rock Woods from Roseburg, OR. Thank you for being a monthly partner in Project23 and helping us share the Gospel with millions as we work our way through the entire Bible.

Today, we’re looking at Mark 2:15-17:

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.” — Mark 2:15-17

Jesus didn’t come for the perfect. He came for the broken.

While the religious elite judged from a distance, Jesus pulled up a chair—shared a meal with people everyone else wrote off.

He didn’t dodge messy lives. He walked straight into them.

When the Pharisees complained, Jesus shut it down with one bold line:

“Those who are well don’t need a physician—only the sick do. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

He wasn’t excusing a sinner's sin. He was calling them out of it. But first, he met them where they were—over a table, in real conversation, starting with grace and leading to a challenge.

Jesus’ table was—and still is—a place of invitation and transformation. And it’s wide open for you. Will you come to the table and eat?

And if you know Jesus, act like him. Carefully consider with whom you are meeting with and eating with today. Who needs to see Jesus’ love through the way you live and love?

#graceatthetable, #dailydevotional, #callofsinners

ASK THIS:

1. Who in your life feels unwelcome at your table?
2. When have you judged rather than joined someone in their struggle?
3. How can you extend grace before pointing out faults today?
4. What’s one small way you can meet someone “where they are”?

DO THIS:

Invite someone you’d normally avoid to lunch or coffee this week and offer them compassion and direction, not only correction.

PRAY THIS:

Lord Jesus, thank you for meeting me in my mess and offering to heal before I ever had it together. Give me the courage to pull up a chair for others and love them with your grace. Amen

PLAY THIS:

Come As You Are.