Mark 2:13-17 "The Great Physician Calls"

Good Morning Calvary Chapel Lake City!

Thank you Kevin for sharing those words of encouragement!

Please open your Bibles to Mark 2. Mark 2:13-17 today.

Last time, we looked at the four men who lowered the paralytic man through the roof. We assume these men were his friends and this was Peter’s house.

A huge crowd had gathered at Peter’s house and Jesus taught them… so many had gathered you couldn’t even get to the front door.

But these friends of the paralytic man didn’t let this stop them… they used ingenuity and persistence… and a little destructive force to break through the roof of the house and lower their friend to jesus.

And, what a lesson for us! What would we do to get our friends to Jesus? These men are extreme… and I love it!

They go through all the effort to get their friends to Jesus… it’s recorded “Jesus saw their faith” (their faith in action)… He must have looked up and smiled or had some look of approval on His face…

And, I wish the reaction of the friends was recorded here, because they had to be expecting Jesus to heal their friend, but He says…

“Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

And, the friends had to have been crushed with disappointment… “Wait… NO… Not the sins… the legs Man! His legs don’t work!”

But, that’s NOT how God works… He’s not our genie in a bottle… and He doesn’t bend to our beckon call…

He looks inside this paralytic and addresses the biggest issue in his life and it wasn’t paralysis… it was sin… it was that eternal age old issue that has caused mankind to be apart from God… spiritual paralysis… NOT physical paralysis.

This man could have died in this moment… still physically paralyzed… and gone to heaven… assuming he had faith in Jesus, which it seems he did…

Of course, you know the story… Jesus doesn’t leave him paralyzed, but heals him with a word to silence the religious scribes who doubted His authority to forgive sins.

Incredible scene… Jesus reads their thoughts… and said to them, V8 “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, 11 “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

And immediately the man arose… his friends fist bumped each other… gave each high fives or however they celebrated… I added that detail…

But the word does say “all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

And, that’s the appropriate response to a real encounter with God… astonishment and praise!

This brings us to today where we will observe the call of Matthew by Jesus who ate with Tax Collectors and Sinners because they were in need of a physician.

Thus our title for today… “The Great Physician Calls.”

Let’s Pray!

Mark 2:13-14 “Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them. 14 As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.”

Pause right there… were going to camp out here for awhile to get to know Levi and soak in this beautiful scene and invite to ‘Follow Jesus.’

Looking back to V1 of Chapter 2, we see that our setting is Capernaum… so the “sea” mentioned in V13 is the Sea of Galilee… beautiful lake front setting.

And, as the multitude comes to Jesus… what does He do? V13 says, “He taught them.”

7x already in Mark’s gospel it’s recorded that Jesus either “taught” or “preached.”

I spoke about the importance of teaching the word of God quite a bit last week, so I won’t over emphasize this point today, but it’s obviously thematic that Jesus was consistently teaching and preaching.

And, this is a key reason we teach chapter-by-chapter and verse-by-verse… here at Calvary Chapel Lake City.

The narrative continues in V14… and Matthew enters the scene.

This is Matthew who wrote the Gospel of Matthew… and one of Jesus’ Twelve Apostles.

Here in V14 we read his name as Levi the son of Alphaeus… starting in Mark Chapter 3, we read his name as Matthew.

Which is typical for Jesus’ disciples… many followers of God… even of old had their names changes.

Abram to Abraham.

Sarai to Sarah.

Jacob to Israel.

Simon to Peter.

To the churches addressed in Rev Chapters 2-3… Rev 2:17 is written to believers, “To him who overcomes… I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” ’

And to “He who overcomes” in Rev 3:12… “I will write on him My new name.”

What will your new name be? What name best represents you… and your Christian walk?

What do you want to be known for… for all Eternity?

Don’t think God doesn’t have a sense of humor… he renamed James and John… Boanerges… the “Sons of Thunder.”

Sounds cool… but it seems to reflect their intense character.

What will God call you?

For Levi, his new name is “Matthew” meaning “Gift of Jehovah.”

How meaningful was this renaming? From Levi, the Tax Collector to Matthew, the Gift of God.

That’s how God truly saw Matthew… as a gift.

And, these verses today… are his story of coming to Jesus.

One day Levi was sitting at his tax office… and Jesus walks by and says, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.

Was it that simple? Or was there some back story?

Just prior to this, we read in Mark 2 that nearby in Capernaum a paralytic was lowered through the roof where Jesus was teaching and… Jesus forgave the man’s sin… and then healed his body.

Did Matthew observe this? Did he think, “If Jesus could do all that for a man paralyzed… maybe He could restore me to God?”

We don’t know how God set this up, but He typically leads us down a path… where when He calls… His chosen will follow Him.

In John 10:27, Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

And, Levi was a sheep of the Lord… a lost sheep of the house of Israel… he was found… and when he heard the Master’s voice… he followed Him.

Jesus knew Matthew… He knew what he was carrying inside… He knew his story… his pain… his rebellion…

It’s safe to say Levi was not always a tax collector. Little Jewish boys didn’t grow up saying, “I want to be a tax collector when I grow up.”

Levi would have observed the hatred his Jewish countrymen had for tax collectors.

Probably, Levi grew up thinking he would be a priest because with a name like “Levi”… there’s a strong chance he was from the Tribe of Levites… the priestly line.

I say this, NOT ONLY because his name was Levi, but ALSO because he obviously had a grasp on scripture…

The Gospel of Matthew has 96 quotations from the OT… more than any of the other Gospels: Mark (34); Luke (58); John (40).

Only the book of Revelation has more OT quotes than Matthew’s writing.

Matthew uses the word “fulfilled” 17x… more than any other Gospel writer.

Where did Matthew get this biblical knowledge?

Was it his upbringing? Was he raised in a priestly home… and he himself was slated to be a priest?

Well… obviously something changed… because here in Mark… Levi is a Tax Collector… and if you know anything about Tax Collectors in 1st century… you know they were despised.

You think the IRS has a bad reputation… well that’s nothing compared to how Jews felt towards a guy like Matthew.

In the Sermon on the Mount… Jesus uses the despised tax collectors as a cutting remark to the Pharisees.

Matt 5:46-47 “For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?”

Jews who became tax Collectors were considered national traitors for collecting Roman taxes from their own people… and were hated.

They could tax almost anything… and did not have to be consistent with what they taxed… how much they taxed… taxing people equitably…

They taxed produce… goods from artisans and tradesmen… there was a poll tax or “head tax” for living in the Roman world… port duties… sales tax… auction sales tax… estate duties… land tax… inheritance tax… postage tax…

I mean… can you imagine living in a society where just about everything is taxed?

OH wait… yeah you can.

My Pastor taught that many of our current taxes were influenced by this Roman system of taxation.

And, as heavy as the Roman taxes were… when you had a corrupt tax collector in your town… life was even worse.

So, what would lead a guy like Levi… very likely one who grew up in a priestly home… to rebel against the priesthood?

What did he see growing up that let him to choose tax collecting over being a priest?

I think there’s a clue in Matthew’s Gospel. He is obviously sensitive to the failings of the Jewish leaders and is more critical of these leaders… and he loves to record their failings and Jesus’ rebuke of them.

You see this through a a key word in the Gospel of Matthew. Any guesses?

It’s the word “hypocrite” or a variant like “hypocrisy.” 16x we see either hypocrite, hypocrites, or hypocrisy in the Gospel of Matthew.

Compared to the other Gospels… only 2x in Mark; 5x in Luke; & 0x in John.

Only 13x in the entire OT! And, 16x in Matthew’s Gospel.

Do you think he was a bit sensitive to hypocrisy?

The Gk word for hypocrite is hupŏkritēs and by def. it means “an actor.”

They were the stage players who wore different faces in different scenes.

In essence, a real hypocrite was a “moral or religious counterfeit.”

What did Matthew observe in Israel that he would so often note hypocrisy in his Gospel?

Did hypocrisy cause him to leave the priesthood and become a tax collector?

Did he reason in his heart… “If this is what it’s all about… this fake show… pridefully seeking the praise of men in giving, in praying, in fasting… turning the temple into a den of thieves… commercializing the sacrificial system… if this is what it’s all about… well, I might as well become a tax collector… because what’s the difference?”

And, that’s exactly what he became… and no doubt he was hated in Capernaum because of his occupation.

Years later in various Jewish writings… the Talmud, the Midrash, the Laws of Shabbot… there are MANY recordings about tax collectors and how and why… Jewish Tax Collectors were viewed negatively…

They are described as worshippers of Molech. Molech is the abhorred idol associated with child sacrifice… which families did to supposedly secure financial prosperity.

And, financial prosperity was a god (little g) for tax collectors.

Lev 20:5 speaks about how God would cut off and man and his family… anyone who committed harlotry with Molech.

The Talmud taught that shame not only fell on the tax collector, but upon their entire family.

The Midrash tells a story about how one cannot smuggle nuts past a tax collector because they rattle.

The thought there is they will be discovered and taxed, but also reveals it was a Jewish practice to smuggle goods past tax collectors when they could.

There are several descriptors of tax collectors in various Jewish writings… “thief,” “robber,” one who would “flatter one person while mistreating another,” in other words, “he plays favorites with some individuals and is difficult with others.”

Several writing speak about how tax collectors were disqualified as serving as witnesses in court proceedings and taking oaths… and I quote, “because we assume they take more than they are entitled by the law of the land.”

The Roman Caesar… the Emperor… had a tax quota, and whatever the tax collectors collected over and above went into their own pockets… and it was known they over taxed the people.

In Luke 19, the Chief Tax Collector Zacchaeus became saved an committed to restore fourfold anyone he had defrauded.

He was dishonestly gaining money through extortion.

One who was a Haver (a meticulous observer of the laws related to the “heave-offering” and “tithing”)… who later became a tax-collector would be rejected from his status as a Haver.

Tax Collectors were not permitted into the Temple… they were forbidden from sacrifice… they were cut off from synagogue… excommunicated as apostates. Essentially, by their standards they were apart from God.

In the Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector- Luke 18:10-13 reads “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’”

In that parable we observe the tax collector far away from the Temple and full of shame.

Of course Jesus condemned the Pharisee for his pride… and praised the humble heart of the tax collector… who was justified- declared righteous in God’s eyes.

Do you get the picture here? Levi… Matthew… was of this class of Jewish citizenry.

An out-casted and hated tax collector…

Which makes the words in V14 “He saw Levi...” all the more fascinating.

The word “saw” can mean “to pay attention… to observe”… as in not just a glance… Levi was not just part of the backdrop…

In the previous account, Jesus could see inside the paralytic and know that his greatest need was the forgiveness of sins, even over his weakened body.

Jesus was able to perceive the thoughts of the scribes.

And Jesus is able to see inside Matthew and see his potential… he would not remain a tax exploiter of his people, but would become a gift of God.

Jesus saw him and focused on him. How many people only focused on Levi with a scowl on their face? How many people ignored him like he didn’t exist?

But, as Jesus walked by the tax office… He didn’t see the hated tax collector.

That’s not what we read.

Jesus didn’t see the traitor… the man who forsook his Jewish roots… possibly his priestly roots… to serve money… to align himself with Rome… to rob his people.

That’s not what the word says.

It says, “He saw Levi...” Jesus saw the man. The man who had a name. He was the son of Alphaeus.

What would we see?

A villain? Evil slime? A traitorous wretch?

I struggle to find an adequate comparison of someone in an official position that has become an enemy of our faith and our state… and we would be forced interact with on a regular basis.

It’s difficult to conceptualize the hatred and powerlessness Jews felt towards tax collectors who were protected by Rome… because we don’t live in a society that is ruled over by another country… as Israel was ruled by Rome.

The whole Jewish movement of the Sicarii… the Zealots or “dagger-men” was birthed out of the 1st century pain Jews felt by Roman rule.

It was 6 A.D. when they were founded… and they sought to incite Jews to violently expel Rome from Israel…

And, and a common target for them were Jewish Tax Collectors…

Have you ever considered how amazing it is that Jesus would call Matthew the Tax Collector… and Simon the Zealot to be His disciples.

If you watch the show, “The Chosen”… you see this tension between Simon and Matthew.

The other disciples felt they had to restrain Simon… they worry about Simon being near Matthew.

Matthew feared Simon. Amazing how Jesus can bring people together.

I think about how many people I have befriended because of our common faith in Jesus Christ.

I mean… just look around… who but Jesus brings such a diverse group of people together?

And, in V14… Jesus extends an invite to Levi the Tax Collector… who taxed Capernaum and anyone travelling the toll road through Capernaum…

He probably taxed the fish Peter, Andrew, James and John caught and sold.

And, now Jesus is inviting Levi to be a disciple. You just have to imagine the other disciples were thinking, “Wait Jesus… really? That guy???”

Boy… does He stretch us… and shatters our pre-conceived ideas about people… doesn’t He?

I’m glad He does because how many of us have been given a second chance like Matthew?

Jesus sees the man… Levi and says to him, “Follow Me.” And, V14 states “… he arose and followed Him.”

Instant obedience.

Matthew didn’t need an extensive speech… he just needed to believe in something real… something without hypocrisy.

Jesus was unlike anything he witnessed in religious Israel.

Jesus called Levi… a traitor to Israel… likely dishonest… who forsook his family and religion… who turned his back on God for the love of money and personal gain...

That’s WHO Jesus called to follow Him… to be an Apostle.

And, if he can extend that grace.... and take a guy like that and transform him… what can He do with our lives… and our hearts?

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever…

In Ezek 11, God spoke about Israel’s physical return to the land followed by spiritual renewal.

God said in Ezk 11:19-20 “Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, 20 that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.”

That’s exactly what He did for Matthew… Jesus changed his hard heart and brought him back into relationship with God.

And, Jesus Christ is in the same business of heart change and reconciliation today… if you’ll let Him.

He said, to Levi, “Follow Me.” And Levi obeyed… and left his tax office… he walked away from his career… he forsook money… he tore down his high place…

And… “he arose and followed Him.”

And while Matthew would very likely never be able to return to that tax office… because Rome would replace him quickly…

This was not a foolish decision… not from an eternal perspective.

The temporal minded man would disagree. A person only living for the world does not understand forsaking all to follow Him.

But, this is needed… this is necessary to be Jesus’ disciple…

Jesus taught hard lessons on discipleship… on what it means to “follow Him”… in Luke 14.

Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.”

One’s love for Christ must be stronger than any other relationship… even that of one’s family… even of one’s self.

And, all those relationships… as much as possible should be good, but in comparison to our love for Christ… it should be like hatred.

Luke 14:27 “And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”

This does not mean one is to wear a cross necklace.

The Cross was a death sentence… it’s what Jesus carried publically through the streets of Jerusalem.

And, He did that to die for sinners and reconcile them to God.

Can we die to self… for the love of God and the sake of others?

Luke 14:33 “… whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”

This was the first step Matthew took to follow Jesus and be His disciple.

One scholar wrote, “He left behind the source of his riches; he left his position of security and comfort for traveling, hardship, and eventual martyrdom; he left his old life for a new life with Jesus.”

Following Jesus means sacrifice (that’s real)… and though it may be hard… it’s not foolish…

The American Missionary Jim Elliot died at age 28. So young.

A Martyr for Christ at the age of 28!

And, before he died he wrote this… “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain that what he cannot lose.”

THAT’s what you call “eternal perspective.”

And, Matthew had it… while he did sacrifice his career to follow Jesus… while he gave up money and financial security…

What was he really walking away from?

I don’t think he missed the money, because his life was a mess.

How long can you live serving money? What a cruel master.

How long can you live being hated by your people? It’s wearing to the soul.

I think that when he got a true glimpse of Jesus… the invite to Follow Him brought joy to his heart.

I think when he discovered there was truth without hypocrisy… it was worth it to forsake all and follow Him.

I think Matthew was SO JOYOUS that he did what joy so often requires… he threw a party. Look at VSS 15-17…

Mark 2:15-17 “Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. [There were “Help Wanted” signs for Tax Collectors going up all over Israel] 16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?” 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.”

Matthew’s first order of business after his encounter with Jesus… he invited all his friend and threw a party. That’s joy!

Jesus was dining at Levi’s house.

In V15 with word “Dining” means “to lie down” and the word “sat” means “to recline with”… as reclining upon long chairs called “couches” was the traditional way to eat a meal.

And, Jesus reclines here with “many tax collectors and sinners.” Notice 3x in these verses the phrase “tax collectors and sinners” can be observed…

Almost as if Mark doesn’t want us to miss the significance of this moment.

And, this moment is a little lost on us. For us… eating a meal can be an experience, but it does not symbolize the mystical unity one person has with another… and this is exactly how Jews viewed eating with another person.

When we eat… you have a plate… and I have a plate… and we have utensils… and some of us use them…

Growing up, my Dad NEVER ate with his hands… unless we were eating crabs.

And, I’m kind of the same way. Give me a rack of ribs and I’ll take it down to the bone… WITH a knife and a fork.

Pray for me… I got a thing with messy hands.

Well for Jews in the first century… eating with your hands was common place. And, sharing a common bowl was also commonplace.

They would pass the loaf of bread around… I tear off a piece… you tear off a piece… and it goes down the line.

The bread also served as a napkin that you could toss to the little dogs… which should remind you of another story with Jesus and the Syro-Phoenician woman.

There was also a common bowl of sauce to dip your bread. And, everyone would dip their bread… and then double dip… and then go in for a third dip…

They didn’t have “no double dipping rules!”

Now, today is our Fellowship Lunch… and we DO have NO Double Dipping rules.

I love you, but please… don’t share your saliva.

But, the Jews did… and so eating became a time of oneness.

We eat from a common loaf… share a common bowl… what is going in me and nourishing me is going into you and nourishing you… and thus we mystically become one.

And, not only did these “tax collectors and sinners” eat with Jesus, but look at the end of V15 “they followed Him.”

Man I would love to read more details about that!

How many followed Jesus? What were their names? Were they part of the 120 disciples in the Upper Room (Acts 1)?

How many of them were desperate for an authentic encounter with the true and living God?

Be sure to catch the rest of that story… and their testimonies when you get to heaven.

And, just like how Jesus could touch the leper and not become unclean… so could He dine with these tax collectors and sinners and not become defiled.

But, not everyone agreed with this… as significant as this moment was… as much joy as it brought to all these outcasts to have Jesus eating with them…

This moment also set the stage for rebuke from the scribes and Pharisees… who saw this moment as a scandal.

In V16, the religious leaders complain to Jesus’ disciples, because it’s easier to complain to someone else… to gossip behind someones back then to go to the source.

I know no one does that here, but “let me tell you about a church down the street.”

I’m just joking… that’s exactly my point… and that’s what these scribes and Pharisees do to Jesus.

They don’t go to Him… instead they talk about Him.

They try to plant a seed of doubt about Him to His disciples.

They undermine Him.

And, how easy is it to fall into this trap of talking bad about other people.

Pro 18:8 likens gossip to “choice morsels”… “The words of a talebearer [or a whisperer] are like tasty trifles, And they go down into the inmost body.”

Gossip is like a sinful delight… like a rich delicacy because only you hear it and then it goes inside… you hear and remember.

Be cautious Christian with your words. Later Jesus would say, “...for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.”

And, here in Mark 2.. these scribes and Pharisees question… rather accuse Jesus of scandal… asking His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?”

With these words they accuse Jesus of NOT being like them… set apart from sin…

By def. a “Pharisee” is “a separatist” or “separated ones”, as they set themselves apart from anything unholy.

And, here is Jesus… eating… becoming one with tax collectors and sinners…

Why on earth would Jesus consort with these sorts?

Which leads to one of the most profound responses of Jesus in all of scripture… V17 “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.”

What a deeply profound statement… V17 clearly displays the heart of God in sending Jesus Christ to the world.

It models how we all should think and behave as Christians living in a fallen world.

Here we have Jesus… eating with tax collectors and sinners.... the religious leaders are appalled…

And, Jesus let’s them know… if you are self-righteous… I did not come for you.

If one is prideful, like these religious leaders… there is no room in their heart for God.

If one cannot humble themselves to repent and believe… and admit they need a Savior… how can God work in their life?

God does not force Himself on anyone… and all in one swoop, Jesus addresses the complaint of the Pharisees… He rebukes their self-righteousness… and He reveals His purpose to reach a lost world.

And, just like the Pharisees liked to twist Jesus’ intent… still to this day… people use this scene to misrepresent Jesus as one who approves of sin… “after all He ate with tax collectors and sinners… therefore…” and then they justify their own vice... which is wrong.

Because what does the end of V17 state? Jesus came to call sinners… and to clarify New King James add “to repentance.”

He didn’t call sinners to remain in sin, but to change their mind… believe in Jesus Christ… be filled with the Holy Spirit… and to turn from sin.

What kind of Physician would leave a person in a sickened state? Certainly not a great physician!

He calls us to Him… and then away from the sickness of the world… sin.

But, let’s dig further into Jesus’ response here in V17… beyond the rebuke… focusing on the purpose of His ministry.

Jesus likens Himself and His ministry to that of a Physician.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics… under “What Do Physicians and Surgeons Do?”

They state, “Physicians and surgeons diagnose and treat injuries or illnesses and address health maintenance. Physicians examine patients; take medical histories; prescribe medications; and order, perform, and interpret diagnostic tests. They often counsel patients on diet, hygiene, and preventive healthcare.”

Some key words from their definition: Physicians diagnose, treat, examine, prescribe, interpret, and counsel.

Pastor David Guzik wrote, “Jesus was the physician of the soul, and it made sense for Him to be with those who were sick with sin.”

Any good Dr. must be close to illness and close to injury in order to treat.

But, they also take every precaution NOT to become infected themselves.

And, Jesus may have eaten with Tax Collectors and Sinners to be close to those who needed treatment, BUT He was NOT infected with sin… He did not sin.

And, for us… we cannot fulfill the Great Commission to “make disciples of all nations” if we shut ourselves out from the world.

Sometimes… often… ministry is messy… it involves figuratively “eating with tax collectors and sinners”… NOT to compromise our lives, BUT to build a relationship and introduce those who are dying to the Physician… to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Compared to any earthly Doctor… Jesus is truly above… superior to ALL earthly Doctors… He is the Great Physician… for not only does He ‘diagnose, treat, examine, prescribe, interpret, and counsel....’

But, His availability is unlimited… 24/7 Call-THE-Doc… Jesus is always a prayer away.

His ability to see inside us and perfectly diagnose and prescribe is unparalleled.

If it’s His will… with just a word, He can heal… He can deliver…

He can heal our bodies, our minds, our hurts… He can soften a heart of stone…

And, His cure is complete… not only that… He even paid the bill… with His own blood.

You’ve probably heard Jesus referred to as “The Great Physician”… and it’s because of this verse…

Truly He is unparalleled… and worthy of our praise.

And, as we take Communion today… reflect on who Jesus is in your life… reflect on what He has done for you… and what He will continue to do in your life… If you let Him.

Let’s Pray!

1 Cor 11:23-29 “...the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”

Please distribute the elements...

Communion is a time for us to look three directions…

We look back remembering Jesus’ sacrifice… His broken body and shed blood for the remission of our sins.

His new covenant. Salvation by faith and in grace.

Look forward in hope of His imminent return… we proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. He is coming.

And, looking inward to examine yourself…and take communion in a worthy manner.

Time to do business with God.

Once you have prayed… take the communion elements individually.

Our worship team will play one worship song, and then close us in prayer.

----------------------------------------------

If you have never accepted Jesus as Lord...

...either let the cup pass and do not partake in communion -or- the better option...

...accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior today.

Pray to God and tell Him you believe in Jesus and accept Him as your Lord and Savior, and ask for forgiveness.

...then take communion. And, be sure to let us know. Salvation is something to celebrate!

------------------------------------------------