<p>5:32 <i>I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance</i>- He was implying, &lsquo;I came not to call those who believe they are righteous&rsquo;. But Jesus spoke to them on their own terms, even though, technically, He was using language which was untrue. See on Lk. 19:23.&nbsp;The Lord is referring to the wicked Pharisees here as &ldquo;the righteous&hellip; they that are whole&rdquo;. Yet they were not righteous. He was speaking of them according to how they saw themselves.</p><p>It was the disciples who had only recently been 'called'- because they considered themselves sinners, the sick who needed a doctor.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Consider how the Lord asks Zacchaeus to eat with Him- a public sign of religious fellowship in first century Palestine. This acceptance of the man for who and where he was, inspired Zacchaeus to then start changing his life in practice- he then offered to give back what he had stolen. When quizzed as to why He ate / fellowshipped with sinners, the Lord replied that He had come to call sinners to repentance. Think through the implications of this. He fellowshipped with those who were so weak within the ecclesia of Israel so as to bring them to repentance; His eating with them was like a doctor making a home visit. The religious attitude of the Pharisees was that one only fellowshipped someone who was repentant; whereas the Lord said that He fellowshipped with people to bring them to repentance. Note how in Lk. 19:1-10, the Lord offered salvation to sinners <i>before</i> they had repented. It&rsquo;s the same idea.</p><p>The fellowship of the Lord Jesus was a call towards repentance, not a reward for it. See on Mt. 3:11; John baptized people&nbsp;<i>unto</i>&nbsp;repentance. The methods of the Lord should be ours, for having spent His ministry doing this, He transferred it to us in bidding us likewise go worldwide and call others to repentance (Lk. 24:47).</p>