Mercy At The Table, Not A Gavel In His Hand
Mercy sits with the undeserving, the Healer at the table
Devotional Credit: eManna, Witness Lee
Photo Credit: Unsplash
The heart of today’s reading is simple and beautiful. Jesus sits with people who know they are not well, and He calls Himself a physician. He does not arrive to condemn, He comes to heal. Matthew tells us that the ones gathered around Him were the kinds of people most of us try to hide, the hurting, the stained, the stuck. If He had come as a judge, no one would have been fit to stand. Since He came as a healer, many became whole.
I am grateful for how Witness Lee puts it, because it redirects our eyes from our performance to the Person at the table. The Pharisees stood confident in their own goodness, yet they were as sick as anyone. Jesus’ words uncover what is true for every generation. The “selfers” certain often miss their need. The weary and honest are ready to be made new.
Seen through the lens of the abiding life, this is not about individuals trying to earn a private verdict. It is about Jesus gathering a people, a new community in Him, citizens of a heavenly kingdom on a broken earth. He calls, He cleanses, He reconstitutes, then He indwells. Our life together is not driven by rules that we manage, it is sustained by His life within that we trust.
So, friend, take your seat. You are not asked to scrub yourself spotless before you come. You are invited because the Healer delights to make you whole. He is gentle. He is near. And He is able to live His life in you and through you today.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I draw near as the Physician, not to condemn you, but to make you whole. I seek and save the lost. I call not the self assured, but those who know their need. My mercy triumphs over your attempts to perform. I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I came that you might have life, and this life is in My Son.
I have loved you with great love. While you were weak and ungodly, the Son gave Himself for you. Through His cross you have peace. By His wounds you are healed. There is now no condemnation for you in Him, for the law of the Spirit of life has set you free. I take your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My ways.
You are not who you were. If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation. You were buried with Him and raised with Him to walk in newness of life. You have been brought out of darkness into the kingdom of the Son I love. I began a good work in you, and I will complete it. Draw near with confidence. The One who comes to Me I will never cast out. I am able to save to the uttermost, and I intercede for you.
Abide in Me. Apart from Me, you can do nothing. With Me in you, you bear much fruit. Live today from My indwelling presence. Receive mercy, then let mercy flow. As I have forgiven you, forgive. As I have comforted you, comfort. As I have carried you, carry one another. I am your life, and I am with you always.
Real-Life Analogy
Think of a favorite shirt with a stubborn stain. You can scrub until the fabric thins, or you can apply a trusted stain remover that seeps in and lifts what you could not. The Holy Spirit is not asking you to grind away at yourself. He applies the finished work of Jesus deep within, changing you from the inside out, then the outward stain gives way.
A simple practice for later today. If you speak sharply to someone at work, do not spiral into self punishment. Pause. Then say, Lord, I trust You to express Your patience through me right now, cleanse my words at the source. Turn back to the person with honesty and kindness, and let Jesus, who lives in you, set the tone of the next sentence.
Prayer of Confidence
Lord, thank You that You came near as my Physician. Thank You that mercy, not sacrifice, rests at the center of Your heart toward me. In Jesus I am cleansed, I am made new, and I am brought into Your kingdom people. Thank You for placing Your Spirit within me. I rejoice that today is not about my effort to become worthy, it is about Your life in me. I welcome Your gentle rule in every conversation and task. I rest in Your finished work, and I thank You that Your grace is enough for all that meets me today.
Scripture References for the Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture Section
Matthew 9:12 to 13; Hosea 6:6; Luke 5:31 to 32; Luke 19:10; John 3:17; James 2:13; John 10:10; Romans 5:6 to 8; Colossians 1:20; 1 Peter 2:24; Romans 8:1 to 2; Ezekiel 36:26 to 27; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 6:4; Colossians 1:13; 1 Peter 2:9 to 10; Philippians 1:6; John 6:37; Hebrews 7:25; Matthew 11:28 to 30; John 15:4 to 5; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 2:4 to 9; Titus 3:4 to 7; Psalm 103:3; Isaiah 61:1