16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:16-17

I’m certain the leaders left Jesus feeling falsely smug and vindicated. They thought they had pulled a fast one. In reality, though, Jesus was exposing their bigoted and self-righteous ideas. He knew what their reaction would be but didn’t care.

But Jesus also revealed who He was in the process. He was the One called to heal the sinners, the Messiah, the Chosen One.

It’s unfortunate the Pharisees didn’t recognize or appreciate Jesus for who He was. They knew the Scriptures. They knew the prophecies and predictions, but they couldn’t come to terms with this Nazarine being the Messiah. I mean, they couldn’t imagine that they would be leading everything when the Messiah was in their midst.

But they were, and He was.

They didn’t accept the truth.

And that’s the bottom line for many people, isn’t it? When the truth is staring them in the face, they say, “That’s your truth.” Truth is truth no matter who declares it.

Unfortunately, because of the speed of the internet, truth nowadays needs to be fact checked, source-verified, and run through a litany of tests before it can be accepted and verified. That’s not a bad thing necessarily, because you don’t want to go around spreading falsehoods knowingly.

If only the Pharisees had accepted Jesus for who He was and who He said He was.

Then again, the Bible foretold His rejection, treatment, and ultimate demise.