Mark 2:13-17 (Part 2)

https://joshlaxton.com/2019/03/27/your-church-might-be-a-country-club-ifpart-2/

Mark 2:16–17 (ESV)

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.”

Why is Jesus seemingly walking in the counsel of the wicked, and standing along side sinners and sitting with, reclining and dinning with those who were known as “scoffers.” Seems to be the opposite of the way of the “Blessed” and “righteous man” presented to us in Psalm 1:1.

The designation “sinners” as used by the scribes is roughly equivalent to “outcasts.”

Mark Contemporary Significance

we must guard against. It is inward and upward and results in a narcissistic selfishness—God is only interested in us and not the likes of them. This stuffy attitude is captured in Dean Jonathan Swift’s ditty:

We are God’s chosen few

All others will be damned

There’s room enough in hell for you

We can’t have heaven crammed.

The direction of Jesus’ ministry is downward and outward and implies that the church must bring Jesus to people, not simply people to Jesus

THe other guys can always go back and fish… they planned on it, but not this guy. You can’t abandon your post and go back.

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For eating with sinners and tax collectors who were shunned for being collaborators with the occupying roman forces was to signal full acceptance of such people and potentially make jesus himself unclean period

Who did Jesus come for?

If we don’t use this property for minisering to the community, then everything that has been renovated and built will be reduced to a pile of embers and ash on the day of judgement.

has any

So many visits to the doctor. The reason we when there and spent the time and money and energy is because we recognized that we were incapable of bringing about a healing. We needed assistance. We needed “professional” who had stethescopels, nebulizing units, xray machines and knowdeged and bed side manner to care for us. We went there because we recognized that something wasn’t right in our bodies and we needed help.

That is why you go to the doctor. That is why doctors exist. To help people that need help.

TRADITIONAL PROVERB -

COuntry club or a public use course… ( https://joshlaxton.com/2019/03/27/your-church-might-be-a-country-club-ifpart-2/) - Former senior pastor I have served under……

The sick. We are all really sick. If what you do in your secret life and in your private thoughts were publicly known, we would say that you are sick. Sin sick.

There is a really good chance that if Matthew was a tax collector by the sea he probably had many interactions with the fisherman on that sea. He, probably without questions knew some of these first disciples.

maybe you have been around others that have followed Jesus for some time but you have never pulled the trigger yourself. What you need to do is respond not to their evangelistic efforts but to the God who is calling you by your name.

The Gospel of Mark (c) Messiah Eats with Sinners. Ch. 2:15–17

As a teacher of the Law he should have recognized that it was inappropriate for him to recline at table with the men gathered in Levi’s house. In their banquets the Pharisees attempted to maintain an exclusive fellowship in order to avoid ritual impurity from contact with others who maintained the traditions less strictly. They considered it disgraceful for one of their teachers to recline at table with those unversed in the Law, and Jesus’ disregard of time-honored custom offended them.

Accused of being a glutton and drunkered. Guilt by association. spent time with these “types of people.” What types? All of us. the type of person sitting next you to. The type of person that is sitting in your very seat. We are all so dirty, and rotten. Don’t be offended by this, be in agreement with it. God grace and mercy are only apprehended to those who know they need it. Some of you think that others need it more than you. Like God’s beleveance is somewhat owed to you and not them. I am not that bad after all.

This is a place for broken people. Just look at our sign out front. It’s seen better days and yet it’s still on our property but when you come here and you’re brokenness, get ready for a restoration project.

Almost all churches claim to welcome sinners - and most are willing to baptize and share the gospel with just about anyone. But it's easy to welcome people in a superficial sense without fully including them into your community. Too often, when "the wrong sort of people" are welcomed into a church, they are still kept at a distance and never recognized as true members of the community who can contribute in meaningful ways.

The Gospel of Mark (b) The Call of a Tax-Farmer. Ch. 2:13–14

Such officials were detested everywhere and were classed with the vilest of men. The practice of leasing the customs duty of a district at a fixed sum encouraged gross oppression by tax officers anxious to secure as large a profit as possible. When a Jew entered the customs service he was regarded as an outcast from society: he was disqualified as a judge or a witness in a court session, was excommunicated from the synagogue, and in the eyes of the community his disgrace extended to his family.

The Gospel of Mark (b) The Call of a Tax-Farmer. Ch. 2:13–14

the brevity and urgency of Jesus’ summons and the radical obedience demonstrated in Levi’s dramatic response. Abandoning all other concerns, he arose and followed Jesus. The call of Levi has its sequel in the following pericope where grace is extended to yet other despised men in Capernaum.

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Please don’t be offended by God’s grace. Marvel at it, because it is extended to you as well. You need to see you are sick.

COnsequence is not a myth. It is very real.

 “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (v. 17) B. ButSometimesWeAreOffendedbyGod’sGrace  The Pharisees “judged” Jesus for spending time with sinners (v.16)  But that’s because they believed in their own righteousness and didn’t think these other people “deserved” to be saved; But that’s the point: no one “deserves” to be saved!  **The Pharisees heard Jesus’s sermons like everyone else, but they hardened their hearts! Key question: Do you see yourself as the 1st-hour worker or the 11th-hour worker (Matt 20)?