Go to the doctor.

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Introduction

THE CALL OF LEVI

27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 So, leaving everything behind, he got up and began to follow him.

29 Then Levi hosted a grand banquet for him at his house. Now there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others who were reclining at the table with them. 30 But the Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

31 Jesus replied to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a doctor, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

PRAY

Context

27 After this, Jesus went out
After what? From where?
Up to this point in Luke, we see Jesus has made his way around casting out some demons, healing some people from terminal illnesses, and the like.
The event directly in front of the one we just read is particularly important. In that passage, we see a group of friends, one of whom is unable to walk. This group of friends is ride or die. They are so determined to get their man some help that they find the house Jesus is teaching in and rip a hole in the roof big enough to drop their buddy through like a bucket of water into a well. But it’s actually not so similar to that because when your drop a bucket into a well, you drop and empty bucket and pull up a full bucket. In this story, they drop a cot with a crippled human into the house, not only did they pull up and empty cot but the guy the lowered down, could walk. And not only could he walk, he walked home.
While that is amazing and important, that’s actually not what I was referring to when I mentioned that that passage was particularly important. The healing was the icing on the cake, the mic drop of the story. You see, Jesus was teaching, and in the middle of all of this happening the Pharisees say:

“Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

22 But perceiving their thoughts, Jesus replied to them, “Why are you thinking this in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he told the paralyzed man, “I tell you: Get up, take your stretcher, and go home.”

25 Immediately he got up before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. 26 Then everyone was astounded, and they were giving glory to God. And they were filled with awe and said, “We have seen incredible things today.”

Irony - Blaspheme: to speak irreverently about God or sacred things:
Jesus responds by telling them what God can do, telling them he is God, and then proving it by healing this man. This is very important as we continue to walk through scripture because Jesus’ contempt with the Pharisees only escalates from here.
Who were the Pharisees?
So who are these Pharisee guys and why do they think they have the right to accuse Jesus of blaspheming?
Let’s all take a step back, this is one of those times that those of you who weren’t raised in church have an advantage. You don’t have to sort through the same stuff as those of use who did. If you were raised in church and you hear the word ‘Pharisee,’ it’s like red flashing lights and sirens run through your head. Because when we hear that word, we don’t actually think about who they were, we think ‘WE DON’T LIKE THEM.’
Pharisees were actually thought of as good people *gasp.* Up to this point in history, the people of jewish descent held to the laws of the old covenant set in the days of Moses. The Pharisees held STRICTLY to that law. They knew what the law was. Most of them had studied it their entire lives and could quote it word for word. In fact, the held to it so strictly that they built in rules to prevent them from breaking the rules.
This is our dog Mozzie. Mozzie is a good boy…most of the time. He gets excited around guests and gets into stuff he’s not supposed to from time to time but overall, he’s a pretty good dog. He does struggle with one rule though: jumping up on people. And a lot of our visitors don’t mind, but we do. So we tried telling him no, didn’t work. So we tried stepping on his feet, didn’t work. We tried, pushing him off, didn’t work. So them came the shock collar…while we rarely shock him because the beep and vibration are usually enough, sometimes he still breaks the rule…and ends up outside.
This is what the Pharisees did with their rules. They built in extra safeguard rules to prevent them from breaking the original rules. The issue with this is, eventually, you start to lose sight of what the actual rule is. Then it starts to feel like a bunch of meaningless laws that are so far removed from their context that you forget what you were not trying to do.
Later on, we will see that this is what Jesus began to expose with the Pharisees. While they were seen as good people, they gained power in doing this. They had gotten to the point where they were seen as the religious authority of the time. While people thought highly of them for a time, they also began to wield that like a club. The authority they gained from this attitude drove them to cling to that power with everything they had whether they were right or wrong…and they weren’t about to give it up for some punk from Nazareth.
So, for the second time, we see the Pharisees openly trying to diminish Jesus’ ministry.

The Problem

So the next time we see the Pharisees, it’s not a total surprise that they’re complaining. We know that they are not a fan of this Jesus guy and his ministry. So it’s not a huge surprise when you see them complaining to his disciples and saying:

“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

Who were tax collectors? Why did people hate them?

In Palestine, tax collectors were representatives of the Roman governing authorities. Their tendency to resort to extortion made them despised and hated by their own people (cf. Luke 19:8).

Such table fellowship implies welcoming these people into extended interpersonal association, which the Pharisees thought would make a person “unclean.”

Interpersonal Association - Friends
Which is exactly what we don’t want. Friends? I wouldn’t be caught in the same county as that person.
Levi was a tax collector, and to see a tax collector as a disciple? Of God? You’re kidding me. God wouldn’t call someone like THAT to follow him and join him in his ministry…right?
*BIG.............LONG..............PAUSE*
Earlier I talked about how those of you who weren’t raised in church had an advantage when learning about the context of the Pharisees. Well, there’s a reason those of us who grew up in church have that siren go off in our heads. It’s because we’ve read the rest of the story and we know how the story moves forward. And we know that the Pharisees are the unthinkable, they’re hypocrites. They’re hypocrites because they have gotten so caught up in protecting their brand that they forget why the group exists.
*Pause*
“Morgan, you sure have talked a lot about the Pharisees…but I walked through that door because I wanted to hear you preach about Jesus.” We’ll get there but first we have to deal with:
THE COLD, HARD, TRUTH: We’re all Pharisees.
BIG.............LONG..............PAUSE
Oops.
BIG.............LONG..............PAUSE
Keep pausing.
Almost there.
Now go.
We’re like the Pharisees because we don’t see the:
Recovering Addict —> Beautifully and Wonderfully Made
What we see: Unclean.
*Pause*
Someone who hit hards times - Homeless —> Created in God’s Image “GOOD”
What we see: Unclean.
*Pause*
People involved in sexual sin —> A future brother/sister in Christ
What we see: Unclean
And THAT is UNacceptable.
Pause
We get so caught up in our religion that we lose sight of the fact that at one point we were just like them. While our situation may not be exactly the same, we were dead in our sin.
Which is exactly what Jesus was trying to show them. By spending time with these people Jesus is modeling what he he wanted them to know.

Jesus is the guest of honor; but Levi does not, as might be expected limit the guest list to his new Christian friends, the disciples of Jesus. Instead of immediately cutting off his old associates, Levi invites them into his home, probably to bring them also into contact with Jesus. Luke mentions “others,” who turn out (v. 30) to be “sinners,” as far as the Pharisees are concerned.

‘Lead by example’
And I want to brag on someone I know who I think does this super well. She didn’t know I was going to put this in here either. Maryanna does this well, and I’m not even sure she knows when she does it.

The Solution

One of the amazing things God has shown me, over the last few weeks even, is that as humans we’re all the same. We all have struggles, and most people want to talk about them. We are not built to harbor everything inside of us. The pandemic has exposed this. For days, weeks, months, and now over a year we have been limited on our ability to be in community with one another and have relationships like the ones we previously did. But coming out of the pandemic God has shown me that we crave relationship, we crave just being near one another. There’s no better example of this than some of the conversations my wife and I have had over the last few weeks.
My wife has this superpower that I don’t, and probably never will, understand. Maryanna can walk up to a complete stranger, smile and ask them a question completely unrelated to their personal life…*pretty normal.* What happens next is what blows my mind EVERY SINGLE TIME. If I (or most people in this room) did this, we would get a straight forward answer. Not Mrs. Smith. Let me walk you through this…tell story. (Doritos, Husband leaving, Kids, etc.)
This almost never happens to me, and this shows you just how desperate people are I guess, but it did a couple of weeks ago. *TELL BARBER STORY*
The fact that people are willing to tell me this throws up a huge green flag that says people are searching for something!
Something that believers know can only be completely fulfilled by engaging in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Because a relationship with Jesus Christ makes a part of a family and a community that transcends geography (location) and time.
Which is something to celebrate! When Levi joined Jesus on his mission, they celebrated.

29 Then Levi hosted a grand banquet for him at his house.

We don’t do this well…it seems like for us we just say ‘Congrats, have a great week, see you next Sunday.” When the Lord calls a new believer to be a part of his eternal kingdom we should CELEBRATE.
After all, because of this relationship I will be able to spend eternity with followers of Jesus from all across the world from all different eras of time.
*EXPLAIN* Called into a community that not even greek fraternities and sororities can compete with.
*PAUSE*
You didn’t pause long enough.
*KEEP PAUSING*
You see, the people who are engaged in this relationship are the people Jesus is referring to at the beginning of verse 31.

31 Jesus replied to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a doctor, but those who are sick.

I’ve been doing a lot of talking about the people who are healthy, the believers, those of us who have been redeemed by Jesus.
So who are the sick?
We all were, and you may be today.
So how can you be a part of the kingdom, a part of the community that Levi and so many others from the past present and future are called into?
You can come to the doctor.

32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Warning: If you come for healing, you’re going to be so thrilled with your situation you’ll want to leave everything behind. All of the things you like and value won’t seem quite so important anymore in light of the community you have with your creator and healer.

Conclude

Forget your religion, follow Jesus.
Blurb
Lets celebrate the victories.
Doesn’t have to look like a feast, but maybe it looks like lunch.
Pointing to resources that have helped you.
Inviting them to your community.
Sunday school
Bible Study
If you’re sick, go to the doctor.
Are you a sinner who needs to repent?
What does repentance look like?
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