Mark 2:17

And there is no one righteous, no not one! Christ in us is the hope of glory.

We are all lost without Jesus and only in His righteousness, not ours, do we have any hope at all!

righteous

adjective

1 righteous living: good, virtuous, upright, upstanding, decent; ethical, principled, moral, high-minded, law-abiding, honest, honorable, blameless, irreproachable, noble; saintly, angelic, pure. ANTONYMS sinful.

2 righteous anger: justifiable, justified, legitimate, defensible, supportable, rightful; admissible, allowable, understandable, excusable, acceptable, reasonable. ANTONYMS unjustifiable.

In this instance Jesus was speaking tongue-in-cheek when He used the word righteous. None are righteous, though some, such as the Pharisees, fancied themselves as such. Instead, Christ came to call sinners to repentance. Jesus did not condone the activities of sinners, but required repentance—a change of mind that recognizes the need of a Savior and recognizes Jesus Christ as the only Savior.

Mark 2:17

¹⁷ When Jesus heard it, He said to them,  “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” 

Matthew 9:13

¹⁰ for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” 

Luke 19:10