³ People made fun of him, and even his friends left him. He was a man who suffered a lot of pain and sickness. We treated him like someone of no importance, like someone people will not even look at but turn away from in disgust.

¹⁰ Jesus ate dinner at Matthew’s house. Many tax collectors and others with bad reputations came and ate with him and his followers. ¹¹ The Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with these people. They asked his followers, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and other sinners?”

¹² Jesus heard them say this. So he said to them, “It is the sick people who need a doctor, not those who are healthy. ¹³ You need to go and learn what this Scripture means: ‘I don’t want animal sacrifices; I want you to show kindness to people.’^[a] I did not come to invite good people. I came to invite sinners.”

⁷ The Spirit God gave us does not make us afraid. His Spirit is a source of power and love and self-control.