13 Then Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to him. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him. 15 Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) 16 But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?” 17 When Jesus heard this, he told them, “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.” ~ Mark 2:13-17
Today's story is about spiritual healing which begins with the forgiveness of sin. The problem is we can not heal ourselves, only the Lord can do that. Levi, also known as Matthew, became the disciple who penned the gospel according to Matthew. Before he met the Lord Jesus, it did not appear that his life would turn out as it did.
Matthew was a person with two names and two identities, until he met the Lord Jesus. He was a Jew who collected taxes on the behalf of Rome. Jewish tax collectors were despised by the Jews, because they were known for extorting tax money from their countrymen for their Roman enemies. To the Jews, especially the religious ones, tax collectors were the lowest of the low.
In Matthew's gospel, Matthew quotes the Old Testament more than any of the other gospel writers. This tells us he was well-trained in the Old Testament scriptures. Matthew was probably of the tribe of Levi and he was dubbed to be a priest. But, he was so disgusted with the religion of his day, he was a rogue who did not want to be a "religious" person. He did not want to join the priesthood, so he became a tax collector.
The last thing a Jew, in good standing, would say to a tax collector, is the first thing the Lord Jesus said to Levi: "Follow Me and be my disciple." By including Matthew on His team, the Lord Jesus risked bringing discredit to Himself in the eyes of the religious establishment. But, since when did the Lord Jesus allow anyone other than His heavenly Father to define Him.
It all began when Levi invited the Lord Jesus to his house for a meal. Levi also invited his other tax collector friends. In that day & culture, sharing a meal with someone meant sharing life with them. One didn’t recline at a table with sinners and tax collectors; one reclined only with those who were the upstanding in the community. Above all, if you preached the kingdom of God, you didn’t recline at a table with tax collectors and sinners. To do so meant you were aligning yourself with the wrong people.
For the third time in Mark’s Gospel, the Lord Jesus enters a house. When the religious folk saw the Lord Jesus at Matthew's table, they were beside themselves. They reasoned the Lord Jesus to be a fraud because He spent time with such sinners. In fact, this was the issue that led to their rejection of the Lord Jesus in the end. For the One who claimed to be the most holy and righteous, to be most comfortable with sinners, in the religious mind, proved Him to be a fraud.
In Matthew's gospel, Matthew quotes the Old Testament more than any of the other gospel writers. This tells us he was well-trained in the Old Testament scriptures. Matthew was probably of the tribe of Levi and he was dubbed to be a priest. But, he was so disgusted with the religion of his day, he was a rogue who did not want to be a "religious" person. He did not want to join the priesthood, so he became a tax collector.
In v.13-14 of today's passage we read, "13 Then Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to him. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him."
The last thing a Jew, in good standing, would say to a tax collector, is the first thing the Lord Jesus said to Levi: "Follow Me and be my disciple." By including Matthew on His team, the Lord Jesus risked bringing discredit to Himself in the eyes of the religious establishment. But, since when did the Lord Jesus allow anyone other than His heavenly Father to define Him.
In v.15 of today's passage we read, "Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.)"
It all began when Levi invited the Lord Jesus to his house for a meal. Levi also invited his other tax collector friends. In that day & culture, sharing a meal with someone meant sharing life with them. One didn’t recline at a table with sinners and tax collectors; one reclined only with those who were the upstanding in the community. Above all, if you preached the kingdom of God, you didn’t recline at a table with tax collectors and sinners. To do so meant you were aligning yourself with the wrong people.
The level of spiritual immaturity among those who consider themselves as the most "spiritual" is based on their commitment to follow certain rules. On the other hand, God is always consistent in His word to show that spirituality is a matter of the heart. He always accentuates the heart, especially in reference to those who are like Matthew. The religious are quick to accuse the man of God for spending time with the "socially unacceptable," all the while, they think themselves better than those they look down upon.
In v.16 of today's passage we read, "But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?”"
In v.16 of today's passage we read, "But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?”"
For the third time in Mark’s Gospel, the Lord Jesus enters a house. When the religious folk saw the Lord Jesus at Matthew's table, they were beside themselves. They reasoned the Lord Jesus to be a fraud because He spent time with such sinners. In fact, this was the issue that led to their rejection of the Lord Jesus in the end. For the One who claimed to be the most holy and righteous, to be most comfortable with sinners, in the religious mind, proved Him to be a fraud.
This is the problem with the religious. They incorrectly believe that separation from sin renders them less sinful. They are always cautious to avail themselves to those whom they deem sinful. They lack the heart of our rescuer who led the Apostle to write, "While we were the enemies of God, blinded by our sin, Christ died for us." The wonder of the gospel is not that God gives salvation to the people who deserve it, but that He gives salvation to those who do not deserve it. This is the scandal of grace and it scandalizes every works righteousness system in existence. This is the difference between the true gospel and religion.
In v.17 of today's passage we read, "When Jesus heard this, he told them, “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."
Tax collectors and sinners were prevented entry into the synagogue by those who thought their goodness earned or maintained their rightness with God. So, the Lord Jesus Christ came to be like the doctor who traveled to the people's homes. On this day, the doctor entered into Matthew's home. And, in the same way a patient gets cured, Matthew had to admit that he was sick and that something was wrong.
Here, in v.17, the Lord Jesus indicts the "spiritual leaders of Israel" of spiritual malpractice. They could diagnose the disease, but they could not deliver the proper prescription. This is why the Lord Jesus came, to offer those who are ready to admit they are messed up and in need of the cure.
You will remember when the Lord Jesus healed the leper, He restored him to community. When the Lord Jesus dines with tax collectors and sinners: he restores them to community, as well, if they are willing of heart. The Lord Jesus brings together sinners and disciples and seats them at the same table. In doing so, He gave a glimpse of heaven.
The Lord Jesus heals us by calling us into a deeper relationship with Him. In so doing, He extends to us His forgiveness, inviting us to be part of His community. He does not exclude so-called healthy people, whom he equates here with the righteous. Obviously, this was a slap at the "self-righteousness" of the religious. Biblically speaking, the righteous are not those who live perfectly but those who belong to God through their faith in Him. The Lord Jesus did not need to call those who already belonged to God. He came to call those who were sick and of need of spiritual healing.
You will remember when the Lord Jesus healed the leper, He restored him to community. When the Lord Jesus dines with tax collectors and sinners: he restores them to community, as well, if they are willing of heart. The Lord Jesus brings together sinners and disciples and seats them at the same table. In doing so, He gave a glimpse of heaven.
The Lord Jesus heals us by calling us into a deeper relationship with Him. In so doing, He extends to us His forgiveness, inviting us to be part of His community. He does not exclude so-called healthy people, whom he equates here with the righteous. Obviously, this was a slap at the "self-righteousness" of the religious. Biblically speaking, the righteous are not those who live perfectly but those who belong to God through their faith in Him. The Lord Jesus did not need to call those who already belonged to God. He came to call those who were sick and of need of spiritual healing.
