The law saw sin as something that needed to be punished. Jesus saw it as a disease that needed to be healed. For the woman caught in adultery, He rejected the law’s remedy of stoning. It takes a healthy soul to live righteously (i.e., compassionately, mercifully, justly, etc.). He came to heal sinners and make them healthy persons. We are still sadly stuck with pronouncements of condemnation and punishment for sinners, when our Lord sees them as sick folks that need healing. Jesus sent His disciples out on a mission of healing the sick. When Christians are stuck in condemnation and punishment attitudes, it may show that we ourselves need a deeper healing. The Great Physician is out to produce soul health.
And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:17 (NASB)
