Mark 2:13-17

Jesus, Friend of Sinners

English Standard Version Chapter 2

13 He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. 14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

15 And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 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.”

OPENING REMARKS

I think this passage of scripture is one of the most wonderful in the whole Bible, at least I find it to be one of the most wonderful!

For a long time I have to be honest I struggled to connect with it, mainly verse 17. When I was young I would think; ‘but doesn’t God teach us that we should be Holy, and that righteousness is a good thing? Then why does Jesus only come for those who reject these things?’ Does this mean you have to be a criminal or a complete reprobate for Jesus to like you?! Should we go out and commit some sin so that Jesus won’t reject us?!

I knew that couldn’t be the meaning of what Jesus said here but that confusion around the meaning prevented me from finding the comfort and joy that His words here provide.

This is why studying scripture is so, so important. Reading it yourself, listening to someone preach through it verse by verse, reading commentaries, praying that God might open your eyes as you do. There is an infinite supply of comfort and deep joy locked up in these pages that is accessible to the Christian who perseveres.

This passage is very similar to the passage in chapter 1 where Jesus calls Simon, Andrew, James and John and then goes on to Simon and Andrew’s house. He’s walking beside the sea of Galilee teaching the crowds and then He calls Levi, a tax collector, to come follow Him. He then visits Levi’s home for a banquet with other tax collectors and sinners.

Jesus’s calling of Levi and subsequent dispute with the scribes is also recorded by Matthew (the tax collector himself!) in chapter 9:9-13 and Luke 5:27-32

Interestingly Matthew (Levi) adds the information that he didn’t just recline at table with Jesus but that he prepared ‘a great feast’ for Him. I love this bit of autobiographical content! It’s like John in His gospel bragging that he outran Peter to the empty tomb!

But, back to Mark’s gospel. Mark is known as ‘the gospel of action’, and here again we find Jesus in action, His ministry is starting to really gather momentum. He’s out walking beside the sea of Galilee again and we’re told that the whole crowd came to Him and He was teaching them.

LEVI

It’s at this moment that He stops in His tracks and fixes His gaze on the tax booth by the sea shore. The crowd we might imagine would have had designs on what they would like Jesus to say to the man sat in the booth. Tax collectors were the turncoats of Jewish society, Roman sympathisers, very often extortioners and swindlers and generally hated by all.

The Mishnah and Talmud (although written later) register scathing judgments of tax collectors, lumping them together with thieves and murderers. A Jew who collected taxes was disqualified as a judge or witness in court, expelled from the synagogue, and a cause of disgrace to his family (b. Sanh. 25b). The touch of a tax collector rendered a house unclean (m. Teh. 7:6; m. Hag. 3:6).

Was Jesus about to excoriate the man in the booth? Make an example of him? What would Levi have thought as he saw Jesus approaching with the crowd in tow? Was he bracing himself for humiliation? What was He going to do? Then come the words he least expected; ‘Follow me.’

Put yourself in Levi’s place; here you are, sat in your sin, literally. Not at your best, but living in your shame. Just as Levi was in his tax booth and suddenly Christ approaches. He fixes His gaze on you. This isn’t just any old religious zealot, this is Jesus, the sinless one, the son of God. And He sees you, His eyes know you in a wonderful and yet an awful way. He sees you, everything, all of you. And in spite of that He says ‘Follow me.’

This is the wonder of the gospel of grace! God chose to save sinners; not because of anything in them, but because He wanted to.

Eph 1:4-5 - even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

this publican, who followed an occupation little esteemed and involved in many abuses, was selected for additional reasons, that he might be an example of Christ’s undeserved goodness, and might show in his person that the calling of all of us depends, not on the merits of our own righteousness, but on his pure kindness. - CALVIN

THE BANQUET

For the second time in Mark’s gospel the scribes then come looking to argue with Jesus. They find Him and His disciples enjoying a feast at Levi’s house, we’re told that He was reclining at table with lots of tax collectors and sinners. Jesus was enjoying Himself, He was relaxed, we’re not told that He was preaching to them or healing people, but rather that He was sharing food with them, chatting, enjoying their company.

Has this ever struck you before? Jesus is comfortable in the presence of sinners, and they were comfortable with Him. Sometimes we can struggle with the thought that Jesus sees us as a bit of an inconvenience, that He’s got better things to be doing than listen to you. Or that He is ashamed of us, that we’ve let Him down one time too many and now He’s reluctant to be with you again. Scripture tells us of quite a different Jesus, and Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is still the same Jesus; comfortable in the presence of sinners, He enjoys our company when we come to Him, He has time for us.

“It is impossible for the affectionate heart of Christ to be overcelebrated, made too much of, exagerrated. It cannot be plumbed.” - Dane Ortlund

“No one in human history has ever been more approachable than Jesus Christ” - Dane Ortlund

The scribes were offended by Jesus’s attitude towards these sinners. You can imagine the scorn and derision with which they looked at those people!

In the Gospels, this term is generally used for people who are considered sinful by Jewish leaders. While certainly many of these people were involved in habits, lifestyles or occupations that led to unrighteous behavior, the label seems to be applied primarily to distinguish between those who were considered pious and those who were not.

The scribes begin complaining to Jesus’s disciples and Jesus comes to answer them Himself. He doesn’t attempt to defend Himself but rather gets to the heart of the real issue; not that He had eaten with sinners, but that the scribes considered themselves not to be sinners!

Truly, Jesus could only ever eat with sinners. Since He was the only truly righteous man who ever lived!

“All our weakness - indeed all of our life - is tainted with sin. If sin were the colour blue, we do not occassionally say or do something blue; all that we say, do, and think has some taint of blue.” - ORTLUND

The meaning of Jesus’s response to them is caught nicely by the New Living Translation

“Healthy people don’t need a doctor, sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

The reason I love this scripture now so much is that I don’t think I’m righteous, and I know that I am a sinner. This is such good news for me! Is it good news to you?

Are you in need of a doctor for your sin-sick heart? Or are you strong? Healthy? Perfectly fine on your own?

Will you call on Jesus to come and take care of your sins today?

You know, sometimes we can experience shame when we have to go to the doctors for something that we ought to have taken care of earlier. Or when it’s something that might make us feel embarrassment about. I remember being in hospital as a 16 year old having just come out of intensive care and having to be completely looked after by nurses who were not much older than me. I felt ashamed and although I was thankful, I couldn’t help feeling like a burden. But Jesus sees it as no burden to heal your sinful heart! You are not a burden to Him, it is His joy to be your saviour.

“The dominant note left ringing in our ears after reading the Gospels, the most vivid and arresting element of the portrait, is the way the Holy Son of God moves toward, touches, heals, embraces, and forgives those who least deserve it yet truly desire it.” - ORTLUND