¹³ Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.”^(A)

¹⁷ When Jesus heard this, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick; I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.”^(A)

¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”

³² I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”^(A)

⁷ But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.^(A)

¹³ even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,^{(A) 14} and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me^[a] with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.^{(B) 15} The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost.^{(C) 16} But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience as an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life.

⁹ The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you,^[a] not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.^(A)

What God Requires