What did Jesus mean when he said what he said in Mark 2?

Disease is caused by sin. Proverbs 26:2 basically says that a curse without a cause does not come. Sin is disobedience to God and it causes curses, diseases and problems.

If you are trying to obey God and not sin, then you have the help of God to accomplish this.

After Jesus went to the Cross He gave us the Holy Spirit to help us. The Holy Spirit purifies and refines and gets us ready to meet the Lord.

Without God we are nothing, so we all need the Lord. The bible says "there are none righteous, no not one." The only righteousness in any of us is Christ Jesus.

This is pretty basic.

Jesus directed this to those who are self-righteous. Lots of people say that the only way to know Jesus is to be "saved" or "born again" - as if those who aren't are somehow not "christian" or are not even allowed to call on Jesus for help or guidance. Jesus wasn't just there to minister to those who were already "righteous" or "well". The whole point of asking for repentence is that you are a sinner who has something to repent in the first place.

Jesus knew that people who felt like they were better than everyone else, the "righteous" would not repent and admit they needed a savior.

There were the experts in religion.

The Bible does say that the righteous don't need to be saved.

The Bible also says something else about the righteous.

Romans 3:9

What shall we conclude then? Are we any better ? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin.

Romans 3:10

As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one;

Romans 3:20

Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

Galatians 3:11

Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith."

No, because as the 16th vs shows what he heard. The Pharisses were condemning him for having anything to do with the "low life". They saw no need to come to Jesus to seek and learn, because they were self-righteous and KNEW they had no sins.

. 16 But the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw he was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, began saying to his disciples: “Does he eat with the tax collectors and sinners?”

Jesus' words were not that there were righteous that didn't need to be healed of their sin, but rather his healing was for those who recognize their "illness".

The Pharisees' contempt for the people can been seen in what they called the people the "people of the land".

The religious leaders of Judah began to use the term to designate those persons, Jewish or non-Jewish, who were unlearned in the Law and more particularly those who were ignorant of or who failed to observe in detail the great body of rabbinic traditions that now developed. (Mt 15:1, 2) The term expressed the contemptuous attitude exemplified in the statement of the Pharisees at John 7:49: “This crowd that does not know the Law are accursed people.” Rabbi Joshua said that an ‛am ha·’a′rets is: “Anyone who does not put on tefillin [phylacteries].” Other rabbinic statements applying to such nonobservers of Jewish traditions were: “Even if one has learnt Scripture and Mishnah, if he has not ministered to the disciples of the wise, he is an ‛am ha-arez.” (Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 47b, translated by M. Simon) “Neither is an ignorant person [‛am ha·’a′rets] pious.” (Babylonian Talmud, Avot 2:5, translated by J. Israelstam) “The illiterate will not be resurrected.” (Babylonian Talmud, Ketubbot 111b, translated by S. Daiches) (Compare Mt 9:11; Lu 15:2; 18:11.) Jesus, however, said that he “came to call . . . sinners,” and he showed affection for the people who were “thrown about like sheep without a shepherd.”—Mt 9:13, 36.

Thus the sense of ‛am ha·’a′rets changed from one of general respect to one of religious opprobrium, much as the Latin term paganus, from which the English word “pagan” is derived. Pagan originally meant simply a dweller in a rural community, but since those country people were often the last to be converted, it came to be used by city dwellers as applying to all who did not adopt their professed Christian beliefs. In a similar way the term “heathen” at first meant simply one who lived out on the “heath” or field.

No, the righteous already knew the way. Jesus came to speak with the sinners and show them the way as well. Like the story goes, if a shepard has his flock of sheep and one strays, he will leave the flock to find the lost one. Same with Jesus finding those with the want to serve Jehovah God.

Christ was being criticized for the kind of people He hung out with in this instance. This was His answer. He means that healthy people don't go to doctors and righteous people don't need Him. Later on He says that none are righteous, though, so we still all need Him. The point is that Christ was being very politically incorrect about who He associated with and had to set straight the judgers. The moral of the story: don't ever let anyone tell you who your friends need to be. There is no one that you can't help if you try.

The verse goes: No need have the strong of a physician, but those having an illness. I did not come to call the just, but sinners. [the words 'to repentance' are not in the original text]

Jesus has a general call for all to repent as the kingdom of God has drawn near.

He also had a specific call towards sinners [those who were sinning more than being just] for them to follow Him in His specific ministry as a man sent to Israel... Jesus gave faith and forgiveness to these sinners to transform them into His elite followers His special friends - those who have been forgiven more love more...

So in general Jesus calls all to repent but especially He calls chosen sinners to become His closest friends. While those who are already just [walking in faith and forgiving those who sin against them] can learn from Jesus 'at a distance'... they are not so in need of Him as a healer of sinfulness...

The Old Testament witnesses that all have sinned but also that some are characterised as just or righteous and holy because their sins have become few and they are being forgiven. If their were any completely just in Jesus time they would be learning much from God already and in no need of healing from a sinful condition - of course none are completely just in this mortal life so we all need some of Jesus' healing work to save us from our remaining sins...

Jesus had an ongoing conflict with the religious hypocrites of His day. Jesus gave a parable to them to show that their outward forms of religion were not enough to make them righteous in God's sight.

Luke 18:9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' 13 "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' 14 "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

The Bible is clear:

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 10:9... if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

First, please think of Jesus' time on earth as a period of transition from the Old Covenant (Testament) to the New Covenent.

Yes, there were many Jews who faithfully believed in God in that transition time. Because they were declared righteous (Gr. "dikaios") under the OT Law, they were "saved" and are now in Paradise with Jesus.

However, now that Jesus has finished the work of salvation through repentance of sin and acceptance of God's Grace through Jesus' sacrifice, there is only one way to be saved NOW (John 8:24).

The word sinners here refers to common folk who in their religious practices were less scrupulous than the Pharisees, and often more responsive to Jesus than cultivated religious people. For Jesus, as will as for the Old Testament, no man is righteous in Gods sight because of his own goodness. The point is that Jesus seeks out those who, being in need, sense it and own up to it.