Jesus and the Tax Collector

Mark 2:13–17 ESV

13 He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. 14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. 15 And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Introduction

As we enter the New year we are going to go back to the gospel of Mark and pickup were we stopped before the Christmas Series. This series will be done expository style and so I will do my best to let the text be the place that we derive our topics and meaning from. I believe that this method as I shared in the sermon about it last summer is the best way to grow ourselves, our families, and our church. We are going to look at the ideas the writer is trying to convey lead us to our conclusions. I believe that God has chosen every word and thought for our edification and spiritual growth. I'm trusting God to use his word to change us and to not leave us where we are. In this season I'm asking our church to pray that God will reveal himself to us so that we are impacted by his word in this New Year and that God changes us to reflect his son. My goal while preaching through this series is that we all are impacted by it in great spiritual ways.

We will be in Mark on and off throughout this year, taking a break for an Easter series, a special summer series, and again at Christmas. Mark will take us some time and I am trusting God to use his word. So as we pick up this journey lets trust our God.

Re-Introduction to the book

Author

All four Gospels are thought to be anonymous, and together they provide the church an authorized, collective witness to Jesus’ person and work. Although the apostles were the primary witnesses, there is nothing inconsistent about their using fellow workers such as John Mark to put their collective and individual witness into writing. The Jerusalem church gathered for prayer in the home of John Mark’s mother (Acts 12:12). He assisted his cousin Barnabas, as well as Saul (Paul), in ministry (Acts 12:25; 13:5) but abandoned them in Pamphylia (Acts 13:13). Mark’s reasons for this abandonment are not specified, but Paul judged them unacceptable (Acts 15:37–39), although the apostle later expressed appreciation for Mark (Col. 4:10; 2 Tim. 4:11; Philem. 24).

Mark’s authorship is established by certain external considerations. In addition to the title attached to this document in ancient manuscripts and canonical lists, early church fathers such as Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Clement of Alexandria all affirmed in the second century that Mark wrote the second gospel. Papias refers to Mark as Peter’s “interpreter” or “translator.” Mark’s presence with Peter in Rome is implied in the greetings conveyed in 1 Pet. 5:13 from “Mark, my son” and from “she who is in Babylon” (probably the church in Rome, capital of the empire that oppressed the apostolic church, as Babylon did Judah). Another reason to accept the authenticity of Markan authorship is that in the second and third centuries of the church, books falsely claiming apostolic authorship usually claimed well-known apostles as their authors rather than a secondary, and not altogether exemplary, figure such as John Mark.

Within the text itself, a veiled indication of Mark’s connection with this gospel may be seen in an otherwise apparently irrelevant notice of a “young man” who fled, unclothed, when Jesus was arrested. Some interpreters have suggested that this embarrassing incident is Mark’s way of referring to his own presence on that occasion (14:51 note), while others see it as a reference to an anonymous eyewitness to the events in Gethsemane. Possible evidence that Mark recorded Peter’s recollection of Jesus’ words and actions is the simplified chronological order of events in Mark, which mirrors Peter’s rehearsal of those events in the book of Acts (Acts 3:13, 14; 10:36–43).

Sproul, R. C., ed. 2015. The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition). Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust.

Date, time

If Mark was used by Matthew and Luke, it is the earliest of the Gospels and cannot be dated later than about A.D. 70. If Luke and Acts were finished around A.D. 62, when the narrative of Acts ends, Mark would be even earlier if he was the first evangelist to write. Likewise, Matthew was likely written before A.D. 70 (Introduction to Matthew: Date and Occasion); hence, if Matthew used Mark as a source, then that serves as another argument for Mark writing his gospel before the fall of Jerusalem. Beyond these considerations, an argument can be made that all the books of the New Testament were written within the lifetime of the apostolic generation.

Sproul, R. C., ed. 2015. The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition). Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust.

Audience

Mark seems to have targeted Roman believers, particularly Gentiles.

MacArthur, John, Jr., ed. 1997. The MacArthur Study Bible. Electronic ed. Nashville, TN: Word Pub.

Purpose for writing

Mark presents Jesus as the suffering Servant of the Lord (10:45). His focus is on the deeds of Jesus more than His teaching, particularly emphasizing service and sacrifice. Mark omits the lengthy discourses found in the other gospels, often relating only brief excerpts to give the gist of Jesus’ teaching. Mark also omits any account of Jesus’ ancestry and birth, beginning where Jesus’ public ministry began, with His baptism by John in the wilderness.

Mark demonstrated the humanity of Christ more clearly than any of the other evangelists, emphasizing Christ’s human emotions (1:41; 3:5; 6:34; 8:12; 9:36;),

MacArthur, John, Jr., ed. 1997. The MacArthur Study Bible. Electronic ed. Nashville, TN: Word Pub.

What is a Gospel letter?

This is a biographical document that tells the good news of what Jesus has done for us. They demonstrate Jesus's life, his character, his mission, he love of mankind. The gospel teach us Jesus's divinity, they reveal to us the triune nature of God.

Each gospel is doing a different thing, so you will notice that some event in Jesus's life are not included in every gospel. You'll notice that the sermon on the mount isn't in every gospel you'll notice in mark that the birth narrative isn't here. That is because every gospel is doing something different.

Just as a quick note: differences in the gospels do not mean contradictions. When two or three people are giving an account of an event or a person they are going to give different perspectives. This happens throughout history and it happens today. You'll hear several different views on George Washington for example based on different people who knew him and how they knew him. Benedict Arnold, the soldier under Washington's leadership, John Adams, and the other founding fathers are all going to have a different views and opinion of George Washington. There may be some overlap there may be similar stories or events that one man experienced that another man did not but that does not make a contradiction. What it does is paint a full picture the same is true for Christ. John, Matthew, Mark, and Luke are all telling the true story about Jesus from different perspectives. That's not a contradiction.

It's noted how much the Gospels of Matthew and Luke overlap with Mark, but that is because of using Mark as a source to write their gospel accounts among others.

1) Calling Levi.

a. What's wrong with Tax collectors (then and now)

Mark 2:14 (RSB:ESV2015E): tax booth. Tax booths were set up on highways, bridges, and canals for tolls and at the lakeside to tax fishing. See note on Luke 3:12. Tax collectors were despised by their fellow first-century Jews for their collaboration with Rome’s occupying forces and extorting higher-than-justified levies to enrich themselves dishonestly. By seeking out and enlisting Levi, Jesus demonstrates the shocking mercy of God toward the most undeserving people, even those on the margins of society (Luke 18:9–14; 19:1–10). -reformation study bible

b. Jesus sees past the Office of tax collector

(v14)

The Merits of Levi - Nothing that Levi has done merits him being called of God. He was a traitor he kept company with the worst, and yet Christ saved him.

We teach that salvation is wholly of God by grace on the basis of the redemption of Jesus Christ, the merit of His shed blood, and not on the basis of human merit or works (John 1:12; Eph. 1:4–7; 2:8–10; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19).

MacArthur, John, Jr., ed. 1997. The MacArthur Study Bible. Electronic ed. Nashville, TN: Word Pub.

c. Levi's Obedience - Jesus calls and he obeys, Mark uses the imperative here, the command verb to Levi. (V14)

to be a follower or a disciple of someone, in the sense of adhering to the teachings or instructions of a leader and in promoting the cause of such a leader—‘to follow, to be a disciple of

Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. 1996. In Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., 1:469. New York: United Bible Societies.

Christian Jesus is calling you to be a disciple, an adherent to his teachings and instructions for your life. Jesus is not calling you to be a fanboy. A lot of pews in America today are filled by those who really like what Jesus had to say about things, but sure don't want to do what it takes to follow him, to walk the difficult road. As a Christian we are called to produce fruit, there is no time limit other then the one the Lord gives us in his calling us to his side. We're to be actively be discpleded discpling, and looking to be more Christ like every day. That doesn't mean you need to be a pastor, it means you need to be able to stand on your two feet in front of a naysayer and not worry about the ground you stand on. It means when the going gets tough you don't get going. Jesus is calling you to be more than a pew warmer Christian, He is calling you to be a dragon fighter, a warrior, a contender for him and he won't leave you hanging.

(GIVE SIMPLE MEANS ON HOW TO DISCPLE AND BE DISCPLIED IN THE NEW YEAR, READING, LISTENING, CHURCH, ETC.)

Levi's obedience

Application: v14 he obeyed, no qualifications

Sir Leonard Wood once visited the King of France and the King was so pleased with him he was invited for dinner the next day.

Sir Leonard went to the palace and the King meeting him in one of the halls, said, “Why, Sir Leonard, I did not expect to see you. How is it that you are here?”

“Did not your majesty invite me to dine with you?” said the astonished guest.

“Yes,” replied the King, “but you did not answer my invitation.”

Then it was that Sir Leonard Wood uttered one of the choicest sentences of his life. He replied, “A king’s invitation is never to be answered, but to be obeyed.”

Tan, Paul Lee. 1996. Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.

Our kings call is not one that we second guess. It's not our place as believers. If God is calling you to something, making it painfully clear you need to do it.

Let me tell you another event that contrasts this. Matthew 8:18-22

18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

We as Christians need to let what's dead in our lives be buried. If something is in the way of your obedience to God today is to be like the tax collector, a hated traitor, and obey.

Your king isn't calling you to second guess him, he is calling to obey. He is not a king that that will leave you un supported. He litterally called Levi and went to his home. Our king will do the same with you. Do you trust Jesus to obey him, what's keeping you from obedience?

d. Controversy Strikes Jesus v Pharisees

He was repudiating there power. The Pharisees had set up a system that if you didn’t follow hat they thought was God with there rules and traditions you were a sinner.

Application: We obey the clear laws, we don’t set up rules of conviction.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. Matthew 23:15

(Life views must come from scripture not or biases, use Wednesday night study to teach on the application)

e. I came for the sick not the healthy

i. The Big brother vs the little brother (prodigal)

You see the younger brother verse the older.

The younger found himself in a literal pigsty at the bottom of the his life having said to his father you are dead to me and taking and blowing a third his assests. Then the father receives him back as a son. You contrast that with the older brother and the text says this:

Luke 15:25-32

25 “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”

This story is so striking because what happens is that Jesus tells this parable and then when it comes to the older brother he drops the pen so to speak and we don't know what the older brother chooses. The Pharisees are the older brother, the men not willing to come to Levi's table.

ii. Sharing the Gospel with those at the bottom verse those at the top.

2:17 call … sinners to repentance. Christ’s gospel is good news indeed for sinners, but just as healthy people will not often seek out a physician, those righteous in their own eyes will not depend on Christ for salvation until the Holy Spirit convicts them of sin (John 16:8).

Beeke, Joel R., Michael P. V. Barrett, and Gerald M. Bilkes, eds. 2014. The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books.

This is the issue. If you are not a believer today let me tell you your need, (give the gospel) your works