Even worse at dinner that evening more tax collectors and sinners came to be with Jesus and his disciples. The Pharisees asked why he would do such a thing because the Torah forbade Jews from eating with, even associating with, people who were recognized as sinners. Jesus replied critics that people who are well don t need a doctor, but those who are sick do. He showed mercy. But mercy may not be the best word to convey the meaning of the Hebrew word it translates.
Compassion comes closer to the original.
There is one other expectation for us in the Gospel. In some respects it is the simplest, but it is also the most difficult. That says it all. Men and women have been following him ever since. On the basis of what the Scriptures tell us today, God expects a lot more than goodness.