In Mark 3 and in other places, Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees when he is eating with "sinners." In their culture, you ate with friends, family, and equals, not with those beneath you. Jesus responds to their question by saying that he came to call sinners, not the righteous, that he came to doctor the sick, not the well.
Those of us who go to church and read the Bible know the above answer fairly well. But I was thinking, surely Jesus didn't consider himself an equal or a friend of the Pharisees. But he would sit at their tables also.
I am coming to the conclusion that Jesus didn't hate each and every Pharisee as a person, but rather that he stood strongly against what they represented, the pride of knowledge, the pride of heritage, the pride of social status, and pride in general.
When he says he comes to call the sick, I think he is thinking of the Pharisees too. I think he is thinking of their greed, rudeness, arrogance, superior attitude, and narrow mindedness as the greatest sickness of all. I think that Jesus, with his harsh words to the Pharisees, is actually calling them to follow him too. And some did. But others were so stuck in their pride that they just couldn't get past it. And I think that is the saddest thing of all.
At least those who were physically ill or in difficult straits knew they were in trouble. The Pharisees, with their high positions, nice clothes, and the respect of the people (before Jesus came) didn't see how much trouble they were in. So they just couldn't ask for help. Because they thought they were already in the right. They couldn't see how wrong they were. I think that is sad.
O God, please help me to always be ready to learn from you and not to get to the point where I think I know it all and need no help. For I've been there before and, in retrospect, those were the saddest parts of my life. Help me be poor, and so to know my need for you.
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