Mark 2:13-17

Introduction: Mark 2:13-17

Have you ever wondered how Jesus sees the person everyone else has rejected?

Imagine walking into a room where everyone knows the worst thing you have ever done. People whisper about you, avoid you, and have already decided what kind of person you are. Then, in the middle of that room, someone walks up to you—not to condemn you, but to say, “Come with Me.”

That is what we see happening with Levi. He was a tax collector, despised by his own people and considered a traitor and sinner. Yet Jesus saw him, called him, and welcomed him.

Jesus did not ignore Levi's sin, but He also did not allow Levi's reputation to keep Him from reaching him. Jesus saw the man behind the reputation and called him to a new life.

The religious leaders could not understand why Jesus would associate with people like Levi. But Jesus knew exactly why He came: He came for sinners who recognize their need for a Savior.

As we look at this passage, we will see three things:

Jesus came to seek sinners, call them to follow Him, and lead them to repentance.

1. (V13-14) As he passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office and He said follow me. So he arose and followed Him

(V13) Jesus fulfilled the focus of His ministry as He taught

Mark 1:38 “But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.””

Jesus calls and welcomes the outcasts (V13-15)

a) Levi was sitting at the tax office (V14)

Levi was not simply sitting at a desk; he represented a profession despised by his own people.

Tax collectors were viewed as traitors because they worked for Rome. 

They were also viewed as extortioners because the Roman system allowed them opportunity to collect more than was required and keep the difference. 

Levi had chosen financial gain over the approval of his own people.

He was an outcast in Jewish society

b) Jesus saw him

Everyone else may have seen a tax collector, Jesus saw Levi

Jesus deliberately moved toward someone society had rejected.

This demonstrates the heart of Christ: He is not repelled by sinners; He pursues them with grace.

 Application: Jesus sees people differently than we do.

Where others see a sinner to avoid, Jesus sees a sinner who needs to be called

The women at the well: Society ostracized and marked her as immoral, an unmarried woman living openly with the sixth in a series of men

He didn’t label her according to her action, but showed her grace and mercy, He showed her love

Do we see people primarily by their past, reputation, or sin?

Or do we see them as people who need the love of Christ?

1.1 (V14) Jesus Calls the Sinner — “Follow Me”

a) Jesus' call was personal (Follow me)

Jesus did not merely preach to Levi from a distance.

He spoke directly to him: “Follow Me.”

He didn’t have the seminary degree or the qualifications of the religious leaders

It wasn’t a call to go fix yourself and then come find me

People make the mistake of thinking they need to go fix everything in their life before coming to Christ

Why did Jesus choose Levi?

1 Corinthians 1:27 “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;”

b) Jesus' call required a response (He arose and followed)

Levi did not merely admire Jesus; he left his old life and followed Christ.

Grace does not leave us where it finds us.

c) Levi's response involved sacrifice

Peter, James, and John could potentially return to fishing.

For Levi, leaving the tax office meant leaving behind a lucrative position that would be difficult to reclaim.

He had to trust that what he gained in Christ was worth more than what he left behind

He couldn’t follow Jesus while remaining in the old life, Jesus calls Matthew

Application: Salvation is not something we purchase, but discipleship will cost us something

To follow Christ, we must surrender our life to Him

Pick up your cross and follow me daily (LK 9:23)

1.2 (V15) Now it happened, as He was at Levi’s house that many tax collectors followed Him

Most people consider this a “going-away” party Levi threw for his friends upon leaving the tax collecting business.

a) Levi invited his old friends to meet Jesus

Levi had just encountered Jesus and decided to follow Him.

Now he brought the people he knew to Jesus.

Levi didn't hide his past or distance himself from everyone he used to know.

Instead, he used his relationships as an opportunity to bring others into contact with Jesus.

b) Jesus was willing to receive them

Jesus was not embarrassed to be identified with people others considered unworthy

His holiness was not contaminated by sinners; His holiness brought sinners toward repentance.

2. (V16) How is that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?

2. The Pharisees Question Jesus’ Association with Sinners 

a) The Pharisees saw Jesus eating with sinners

The scribes and Pharisees were watching Jesus closely

They were disturbed that He was not only speaking to sinners but eating with them

In that culture, sharing a meal was more than simply having food together—it communicated friendship, acceptance, and relationship

To the religious leaders, Jesus was compromising Himself by keeping company with people they considered unclean and unacceptable.

b) The Pharisees separated themselves from sinners

The name Pharisee is associated with the idea of being “separated ones.” 

They believed holiness required separation from people and practices they considered sinful.

Their desire for holiness was not necessarily wrong, but their understanding of holiness became distorted.

Instead of becoming a people who helped sinners come to God, they became a people who distanced themselves from sinners

c) Jesus demonstrated a different kind of holiness

Jesus did not become sinful by sitting at the table with sinners.

Instead, His holiness moved toward sinners without participating in their sin.

Jesus could be close enough to sinners to love them, speak truth to them, and call them to repentance.

The Pharisees asked, “Why would Jesus associate with people like them?”

Jesus' answers “Because these are the very people I came to save.”

3. (V17) Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but the sinners to repentance

3. Jesus Explains Why He Came — (V17)

a) Jesus identifies the real problem

“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”

The problem was not simply that Levi was socially rejected.

Levi was spiritually sick and needed a Savior.

b) Jesus identifies the people He came for

“I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

He met them with His love, grace, and mercy, and He called them out of the old lifestyle and into repentance

c) We must recognize our need

A person who thinks he is healthy will not seek a physician.

A person who thinks he is righteous will not seek a Savior.

But when we recognize our sin and need, we are ready to hear Christ's call.

Application: We must be careful not to become like the Pharisees.

We can become so familiar with church, Scripture, worship, and Christian language that we forget that we are sinners who still need the grace of Christ.

We should never look at someone else and think:

“I'm glad I'm not like them.”

Instead: “I am a sinner who needs the same Savior they need.”

Conclusion:

The Pharisees saw sinners and wanted to separate from them. Jesus saw sinners and came for them.

The same Jesus who called Levi is still calling sinners today: “Follow Me.”