2023.02.19 Who Needs A Bath?

Who Needs A Bath?

Psalm 51:1-7 • Mark 2:16–17

Mark 2:16–17 NASB 2020

16 When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, “Why is He eating with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 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.”

For our preface to this morning’s text, look at the very beginning of verse 16. Is there anything curious about the phrasing here?

“scribes of the Pharisees” - It does NOT say Scribes AND Pharisees. So I thought this may be a spot to teach a little bit about the world of first century Israel. I’d love to go deeper into this, because I think there may be some more to learn from this, but for today, I’ll scratch the surface.

When we read the gospels, we often look at the scribes as a special sect like the Pharisees or the Sanhedrin, or the Roman government. But that’s not accurate. Being a scribe is a JOB! And scribes took specialties.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary reports:a

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Background

Scribes worked in a variety of realms, including religious, political, judicial, economic, and social. Jewish scribes may have been employed in additional occupations, including:

• copying manuscripts;

• teaching and interpreting the Torah and other Jewish literature;

• working in the temple, royal court, or administration;

• being a political advisor or diplomat;

• working with ancient sciences;

• functioning as wise sages, elders, judges, or as members of the Sanhedrin;

• writing letters and documents for the kingdom, businesses, and private households.

Some scribes were part of the sect of the Pharisees or Sadducees, and some were also priests and Levites. The New Testament portrays the scribes as an organized group, but recent studies have been more tentative on such a conclusion.

So “Scribes and Pharisees” doesn’t really make sense. The people in this passage are the particular scribes EMPLOYED BY the Pharisees, and that may change our reaction to them a bit. So, of course they are going to think like the Pharisees. They may talk differently if they left their job … but while they’re employed by this super-opinionated group of Jewish leaders, it should not surprise us that their opinions match the Pharisees’ opinions … at least in public.

So, now to the text...

What do you learn about God from this event?

What do you learn about GOD from this story?

Health and sickness are analogous to righteousness and sinfulness.

Last week, we talked extensively about God equating healing and forgiveness of sins. This week, in the same chapter of Mark’s gospel, we see this connection again! And most of us have missed this connection completely through our years of reading and studying the Scriptures.

Health = righteousness — Sickness = sinfulness

To God — sickness, sinfulness, lostness - are all part of the same coin.

To God — health, righteousness, forgiveness, salvation - are all part of the same coin.

A bit about humans before we return to what we learn about God:

Humans tend to one extreme or the other:

Either we think God’s highest priority is spiritual or we think God’s highest priority is temporal/earthly. We tend to either emphasize salvation to the exclusion of temporal needs — or we emphasize temporal needs and leave the gospel at home.

What we learn about God last week AND today, is that God is a both/and God. His highest priority is both!

Also like last week’s story, this one is found in all three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). Matthew, being written to a Jewish audience includes a quotation from the Old Testament that’s not included in the others.

Look a minute at Matthew 9.

Matthew 9:10-13

The context of this story is that Jesus has just called Matthew (also known as Levi) to be a disciple. Matthew was a tax collector, and he threw a feast to celebrate his new calling. And a bunch of his tax collector, sinner friends were at the feast … shocking that he invited his friends, right?

And when the Pharisees question Jesus’ disciples about him eating with sinners, Jesus answers that the sick are the ones who need a doctor. And in Matthew 9:13, he tell the Pharisees to go study a passage from Hosea:

Matthew 9:13 NASB 2020

13 Now go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, rather than sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Jesus connects his eating with sinners to compassion instead of sacrifice. The Pharisees are heavily invested in the systems of behavior and control for the sake of sacrifice. So, Jesus reminds them FROM THEIR OWN SCRIPTURES that God prefers compassion to sacrifice, and tells them he came to call sinners because they need righteousness.

My mom had a different version of this teaching. She used to say, “You don’t gotta get clean to take a bath!” In today’s story, Jesus is saying, “You don’t gotta get well to see the doctor.”

What do you learn about GOD from this story?

I’m a lifelong Miami Dolphins fan. Last week, in Walmart, Annette and I saw a kid with a Dolphins shirt on. So, I walked over to him and tried to convince him to be a Dolphins fan. I taught him the team’s history, and told him they’re the only team to complete an undefeated season.

Of course, I didn’t do that! I said, “Love the shirt!” and we had a moment of camaraderie. It would be thoroughly stupid for me to try to convince a Dolphins fan to be a Dolphins fan! Agreed?

Jesus says, I didn’t come to tell the righteous they need to be righteous … because I’m not an idiot!

Jesus came to call sinners to righteousness. And that’s a supreme act of compassion.

What do you learn about HUMANS?

Humans stick to our own, and expect others to do the same.

We don’t have a lot of recent evangelism experience. How many of us have friends … real friends … who don’t know Jesus?

Do those friends know how deeply you hope they find Jesus?

It takes effort to break out of our circles, and church people tend to hang out with other church people. Christians tend to hang out with other Christians.

When Temple first started discerning our future with the United Methodist Church, one person with a long history and wise understanding told me a former pastor said Temple was a difficult appointment because we aren’t a collection of theologically like-minded people— we’re a collection of people who are socio-economically alike. I think that’s a fair assessment of the history, and our discernment process shows some indications of that.

Like the Pharisees, we’re human. Like the Pharisees, we mostly stick to our own, and expect others to do the same. The Pharisees were riled up when Jesus hung out with people not in their circle — which incidentally indicates they saw JESUS AS PART OF THEIR CIRCLE!!! Otherwise, they wouldn’t have cared about him hanging out with “not them”.

We stick to our own, and expect others to do the same.

What do you learn about YOURSELF?

The late George Carlin was a comedian who was funny because he made observations about reality that rang true. One of his observations demonstrates that we always think the other person is the problem:

He observed when you’re driving: “anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac”. We laugh because he’s right!!!

Ultimately, what I’m doing is always right, and anyone who does something different is wrong. In other words … what I AM is always right, and anyone who IS something different is wrong.

We usually believe we’re worthy of God’s friendship, regardless of intellectually knowing we aren’t. And we use the differences in other people to justify seeing them as differently qualified for God’s favor … less than … us. We use our differences to to see people different than us as “not us.”

Jesus says he came to “not us” as an act of compassion.

I want to ask a couple of questions for you to think about. So, I’m going to ask these questions, and then leave some silent time for you to consider the answers in your life:

As I’ve been talking about separating into “us” and “not us” — Who, in your life, comes to mind?

What do you allow to segregate yourself from them?

Is it possible that THAT segregation is contrary to what Jesus would do?

[PAUSE - put up slide]

Who, in your life, comes to mind?

What do you allow to segregate yourself from them?

Is it possible that segregation is contrary to what Jesus would do?

[After the pause…]

Having considered these questions, let me ask...

What needs to change as a result of what you’ve learned?

If you don’t consider the particular differences, do you have more compassion for the other person?

What does that compassion lead you to think might be an appropriate response .. a GODLY response?

What needs to change as a result of what you’ve learned?