The Meaning of Mark 2:17 Explained

Mark 2:17

KJV: When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

YLT: And Jesus, having heard, saith to them, 'They who are strong have no need of a physician, but they who are ill; I came not to call righteous men, but sinners to reformation.'

Darby: And Jesus having heard it says to them, They that are strong have not need of a physician, but those who are ill. I have not come to call righteous men, but sinners.

ASV: And when Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.

What is the context of Mark 2:17?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

When  Jesus  heard  [it], he saith  unto them,  They that are whole  have  no  need  of the physician,  but  they that are  sick:  I came  not  to call  the righteous,  but  sinners  to  repentance. 

What does Mark 2:17 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Self-righteous people such as these Pharisees saw no need for true righteousness because they viewed themselves as righteous. However the people the Pharisees labeled "sinners" represented real sinners, those lacking righteousness. Jesus said He spent time with sinners because they were the people who felt a need for what He had to offer, namely, spiritual healing. He was evidently modifying a well-known proverb. Jesus was using the terms "righteous" and "sinners" ironically here.
"It would be true to say that this word of Jesus strikes the keynote of the Gospel. The new thing in Christianity is not the doctrine that God saves sinners. No Jew would have denied that. It is the assertion "that God loves and saves them as sinners." ... This is the authentic and glorious doctrine of true Christianity in any age." [1]
"The specific reference in Mark 2:17 to Jesus" call of sinners to the Kingdom suggests that the basis of table-fellowship was messianic forgiveness, and the meal itself was an anticipation of the messianic banquet." [2]
This verse is a fine summary statement of Jesus" mission during His earthly ministry. It is one of only two sayings in Mark in which Jesus expressed His purpose in coming (cf. Mark 10:45). Here He presented Himself as the Healer, a divine title in the Old Testament ( Exodus 15:26).

Context Summary

Mark 2:1-22 - The Friend Of Sinners
The leper, Mark 1:40-45. The news of Christ spread fast and far until it reached the outcasts from Jewish society, the very dregs of humanity. As the story of the wonderful miracles wrought by our Lord was pondered deeply by this man, He concluded that the only question which remained was that of Christ's willingness to hear. As to His power there could be no doubt. But no one of all the religious world of that time had ever thought of extending a helping hand to such as he. Note the instantaneousness of our Lord's response to this appeal. His love and power are commensurate; when you gauge the one, you have measured the other.
The paralytic, Mark 2:1-12. The disease had resulted from sin. It was necessary to deal with the soul before the body could be emancipated. As soon as we sin, God's pardon awaits our asking for it, and of this fact our Lord gave the paralytic man definite assurance. Jesus' right to speak was evidenced by His power to heal. If the latter was effectual, so was the former.
The sinner's friend, Mark 2:13-22. They thought to coin a term of reproach, but they added a crown of glory. In eternity the Friend of sinners will surround His table with saved sinners who have become His guests. [source]

Chapter Summary: Mark 2

1  Jesus followed by multitudes,
3  heals a paralytic;
13  calls Matthew;
15  eats with tax collectors and sinners;
18  excuses his disciples for not fasting;
23  and for picking the heads of grain on the Sabbath day

Greek Commentary for Mark 2:17

The righteous [δικαιους]
Jesus for the sake of argument accepts the claim of the Pharisees to be righteous, though, as a matter of fact, they fell very far short of it. Elsewhere (Matthew 23) Jesus shows that the Pharisees were extortionate and devoured widows‘ houses and wore a cloak of pride and hypocritical respectability. The words “unto repentance” (εις μετανοιαν — eis metanoian) are not genuine in Mark, but are in Luke 5:32. Jesus called men to new spiritual life and away from sin and so to repentance. But this claim stopped their mouths against what Jesus was doing. The well or the strong (ισχυοντες — ischuontes) are not those who need the physician in an epidemic. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Mark 2:17

Luke 5:31 They that are whole [οι υγιαινοντες]
Old Greek word for good health from υγιης — hugiēs sound in body. So also in Luke 7:10; Luke 15:27; 3 John 1:2. This is the usual word for good health used by Greek medical writers. Mark 2:17; Matthew 9:12 have οι ισχυοντες — hoi ischuontes (those who have strength). [source]
Luke 5:32 To repentance [εις μετανοιαν]
Alone in Luke not genuine in Mark 2:17; Matthew 9:12. Only sinners would need a call to repentance, a change of mind and life. For the moment Jesus accepts the Pharisaic division between “righteous” and “sinners” to score them and to answer their criticism. At the other times he will show that they only pretend to be “righteous” and are “hypocrites” in reality. But Jesus has here blazed the path for all soul-winners. The self-satisfied are the hard ones to win and they often resent efforts to win them to Christ. [source]
Luke 7:2 Dear to him [αρχης]
Held in honour, prized, precious, dear (Luke 14:8; 1 Peter 2:4; Philemon 2:29), common Greek word. Even though a slave he was dear to him.Was sick (αυτωι εντιμος — kakōs echōn). Having it bad. Common idiom. See note on Matthew 4:24; Matthew 8:16; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:31, etc. Matthew 8:6 notes that the slave was a paralytic.And at the point of death Imperfect active of ημελλεν τελευταιν — mellō (note double augment μελλω — ē) which is used either with the present infinitive as here, the aorist (Revelation 3:16), or even the future because of the future idea in η — mellō (Acts 11:28; Acts 24:15). He was about to die. [source]
Luke 7:2 Was sick [αυτωι εντιμος]
Having it bad. Common idiom. See note on Matthew 4:24; Matthew 8:16; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:31, etc. Matthew 8:6 notes that the slave was a paralytic. [source]

What do the individual words in Mark 2:17 mean?

And having heard - Jesus says to them - No need have those being strong of a physician but sick being Not I came to call [the] righteous but sinners
Καὶ ἀκούσας Ἰησοῦς λέγει αὐτοῖς ‹ὅτι› Οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσιν οἱ ἰσχύοντες ἰατροῦ ἀλλ’ κακῶς ἔχοντες οὐκ ἦλθον καλέσαι δικαίους ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτωλούς

ἀκούσας  having  heard 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἀκουστός 
Sense: to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf.
  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Ἰησοῦς  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
λέγει  says 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
αὐτοῖς  to  them 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
‹ὅτι›  - 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ὅτι  
Sense: that, because, since.
Οὐ  No 
Parse: Adverb
Root: οὐ  
Sense: no, not; in direct questions expecting an affirmative answer.
χρείαν  need 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: χρεία  
Sense: necessity, need.
οἱ  those 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ἰσχύοντες  being  strong 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: ἰσχύω  
Sense: to be strong.
ἰατροῦ  of  a  physician 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: ἰατρός  
Sense: a physician.
κακῶς  sick 
Parse: Adverb
Root: κακῶς  
Sense: miserable, to be ill.
ἔχοντες  being 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: ἔχω  
Sense: to have, i.e. to hold.
ἦλθον  I  came 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: ἔρχομαι  
Sense: to come.
καλέσαι  to  call 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active
Root: καλέω  
Sense: to call.
δικαίους  [the]  righteous 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: δίκαιος  
Sense: righteous, observing divine laws.
ἁμαρτωλούς  sinners 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: ἁμαρτωλός  
Sense: devoted to sin, a sinner.