Main news for 4 May 2026

Jesus' aphoristic phrases always have several meanings. So it is with these words: first, with them He reproaches the Pharisees because in their condemnation of tax collectors and sinners they are merciless; they do not understand other people's troubles or feel another person's pain. "The well-fed do not understand the hungry." Second, by condemning Jesus for associating with sinners, the Pharisees reveal their blindness, failing to see that Jesus comes not as a sinner to sinners, but as a physician to a patient. And third, Jesus invites everyone around Him to think: if sin is a sickness, then who is the physician able to heal this sickness? And if I exalt myself above others, considering myself healthy, then what physician am I rejecting in my own life?

Is Jesus saying that one must necessarily become "sick" in order to call the physician ("if you do not sin, you will not repent")? Of course not, but it is vitally necessary to recognize one's already real sickness.