Saints, Sinners, and Tax Collectors! - Mark 2:13-17
Saints, Sinners, and Tax Collectors! - Mark 2:13-17
By Pastor Lee Hemen
September 20, 2004 AM
Last week I spoke about friends and this week we discover just what kind of friends Jesus was willing to hang with. Jesus was one of those people who saw everyone He met with potential. It did not matter if they were saints, sinners, or tax collectors, Jesus saw them with the same possibilities to come to faith in God. Of course that is why Jesus came: To seek and save the lost and the lost were everywhere Jesus went. He was surrounded by those who were living separated from God. Things have not changed much from then until now. We still find a lot of saints, sinners, and tax collectors. This section of Mark shows us just who Jesus was willing to befriend even if it meant some harassment from the religious establishment of the day. In fact it dramatically shows us that you cannot claim friendship with God without being made new by His Son, Jesus Christ. Let’s discover what Mark can teach us this morning about saints, sinners, and tax collectors…
READ: Mark 2:13-17
Sometimes people can reveal what they truly believe about God by what they decide to do or don’t do. I will never forget when I asked a young man, “If you were standing before the Lord and He asked you, ‘Why should I let you into My heaven?’ What would you say?” He responded that Jesus regularly “appeared” to him, usually at night. Of course, he added, it was generally after he had been drinking or doing drugs. He admitted that even though he thought he might have seen Jesus, he never did anything about it. Like I said, people can reveal what they truly believe about God by what they do or don’t do. This was the case here in Mark’s gospel…
I. When tax collectors or sinners decide to follow Jesus! (Vv. 13-15)
1. There is no turning back when one’s heart takes a step toward the Savior! Once again Jesus is walking beside the Sea of Galilee, once again the people are following Him as He walks, and once again Jesus uses the opportunity to teach them about the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God welcomes tax collectors and sinners into citizenship. We know that Capernaum was a customs post on the caravan route from Damascus to the Mediterranean Sea. And, while Jesus was walking and teaching, He sees “Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth.” Jesus simply tells this man, "Follow me… and Levi got up and followed Him.” To me this is both poignant and intriguing. The beauty of Jesus affecting one so dramatically and instantaneously is as captivating as it is fascinating. The upshot is that we immediately discover that Levi, we also know him as Matthew, is more than just curious concerning Jesus and decides to invite Jesus for dinner. Levi’s job of tax collecting was often held onto through bribery and fraud. His fellow Jews therefore would have despised him. But when Jesus calls, the old life is left behind and, I believe, because the people saw Levi leave his post and follow Jesus, they were so affected that “many… followed Him” as well! Amazingly this has not changed, for when Jesus calls even today, we must respond immediately like Levi. The wonder is that when tax collectors or sinners decide to follow Jesus, their lives are changed forever!
EXAMPLE: Vernon C. Grounds writes that “Lord Kenneth Clark, internationally known for his television series Civilization, lived and died without faith in Jesus Christ. In his autobiography, he wrote about an overwhelming religious experience he had while visiting a beautiful church. ‘My whole being,’ Clark wrote, ‘was irradiated by a kind of heavenly joy far more intense than anything I had known before.’ Unfortunately, the ‘flood of grace,’ as he described it, created a problem for him. If he allowed himself to be influenced by it, he knew he would have to change. His family might think he had lost his mind. Or perhaps the intense joy would prove to be an illusion. So he concluded, ‘I was too deeply embedded in the world to change course.’ What a tragedy! If only he had responded to that grace-granted glimpse of another world! If only he had allowed it to turn his attention away from this world and toward Jesus! Then he would have become a part of that invisible world, which is not an illusion but a glorious reality.” God can enable any of us, sinner or tax collector, to change, no matter how deeply embedded we may be in this world. The miracle of the new birth (John 3:5-7) will take place when we say yes to the stirring of God's grace in our souls.
Recently a local teacher, Gordon Patterson, was killed while riding his bicycle home. What the news media has not stated is that while some saw him as the quintessential lovable nerd who loved science, he was also a strong wonderful Christian man. Although he was a public school teacher, he homeschooled his children. He always saw the very best and God’s potential in everyone. He will be missed because of his caring attitude that he displayed because of his love for Jesus. Why is it then that when someone takes a step towards God there are always those who find something wrong with the response? Last week I stated that there will always be naysayers when a person decides to follow Jesus and here in Levi’s life there is no exception. That is the case as Jesus and Levi are having dinner together. It comes about…
II. When “saints” ask foolish questions! (Vv. 16-17)
1. If you ask a silly question, you may not always like the answer you receive! Once again we find folks following Jesus, once again we see Pharisees being picky pertaining to personal contact with those they considered sinners, and once again we see Jesus answering their antagonism. In fact, “When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the ‘sinners’ and tax collectors, they asked His disciples: “Why does He eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” Sinners for the Pharisees were those people who did not have formal education as far as the Law was concerned and who could not keep the strict Pharisaic code like they could. Therefore, for Jesus to actually share a meal, which implied friendship and commonality, with such “people” sent these “righteous” men into a tizzy-fit. The Pharisees, which were the most influential religious party in Palestine, were deeply devoted to the Mosaic Law. They strictly regulated their lives by the supposedly binding interpretations of it passed down in oral tradition and were meticulous about maintaining ceremonial purity. Right down to tithing the spices in their cupboards! For Jesus to eat with such common folk, who were uncouth and unrighteous was, well, shocking to say the least! I love Jesus’ response to their insincerity. He used a common proverb, which His opponents would immediately recognize, to show their hypocrisy: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Now, they had to reason why Jesus did not come to “call” them. But then that often happens when “saints” ask foolish questions.
EXAMPLE: Jesus condemned the Pharisees’ self-righteous double standard because it blinded them from seeing their own need for repentance and a Savior. Many Pharisees prided themselves in their strict avoidance of obvious, outward sin. But they refused to look inside themselves and acknowledge the presence of inner sin that didn’t fall within the boundaries of their man-made rules. Jesus knew that in spite of their obsession with outward perfection, they willfully resisted consciousness of their inner corruption and need for grace. Jesus didn’t associate with “sinners” and “tax collectors” because He minimized their sin. He freely associated with them because He knew that they were more open to repentance. Lest we forget, Paul reminds us that we are all sinners, both inwardly and outwardly. “There is none righteous, not even one!” What is keeping you from faith in Jesus? This is not a “foolish” question.
Conclusion:
We have looked at two important things that happened in Jesus’ life today: When tax collectors or sinners decide to follow Jesus and when “saints” ask foolish questions. Now, what are you going to do with what you have learned?
---
This article is copyrighted © 2009 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission. You now have my permission to use the entire article.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
September 20, 2004 AM
Last week I spoke about friends and this week we discover just what kind of friends Jesus was willing to hang with. Jesus was one of those people who saw everyone He met with potential. It did not matter if they were saints, sinners, or tax collectors, Jesus saw them with the same possibilities to come to faith in God. Of course that is why Jesus came: To seek and save the lost and the lost were everywhere Jesus went. He was surrounded by those who were living separated from God. Things have not changed much from then until now. We still find a lot of saints, sinners, and tax collectors. This section of Mark shows us just who Jesus was willing to befriend even if it meant some harassment from the religious establishment of the day. In fact it dramatically shows us that you cannot claim friendship with God without being made new by His Son, Jesus Christ. Let’s discover what Mark can teach us this morning about saints, sinners, and tax collectors…
READ: Mark 2:13-17
Sometimes people can reveal what they truly believe about God by what they decide to do or don’t do. I will never forget when I asked a young man, “If you were standing before the Lord and He asked you, ‘Why should I let you into My heaven?’ What would you say?” He responded that Jesus regularly “appeared” to him, usually at night. Of course, he added, it was generally after he had been drinking or doing drugs. He admitted that even though he thought he might have seen Jesus, he never did anything about it. Like I said, people can reveal what they truly believe about God by what they do or don’t do. This was the case here in Mark’s gospel…
I. When tax collectors or sinners decide to follow Jesus! (Vv. 13-15)
1. There is no turning back when one’s heart takes a step toward the Savior! Once again Jesus is walking beside the Sea of Galilee, once again the people are following Him as He walks, and once again Jesus uses the opportunity to teach them about the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God welcomes tax collectors and sinners into citizenship. We know that Capernaum was a customs post on the caravan route from Damascus to the Mediterranean Sea. And, while Jesus was walking and teaching, He sees “Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth.” Jesus simply tells this man, "Follow me… and Levi got up and followed Him.” To me this is both poignant and intriguing. The beauty of Jesus affecting one so dramatically and instantaneously is as captivating as it is fascinating. The upshot is that we immediately discover that Levi, we also know him as Matthew, is more than just curious concerning Jesus and decides to invite Jesus for dinner. Levi’s job of tax collecting was often held onto through bribery and fraud. His fellow Jews therefore would have despised him. But when Jesus calls, the old life is left behind and, I believe, because the people saw Levi leave his post and follow Jesus, they were so affected that “many… followed Him” as well! Amazingly this has not changed, for when Jesus calls even today, we must respond immediately like Levi. The wonder is that when tax collectors or sinners decide to follow Jesus, their lives are changed forever!
EXAMPLE: Vernon C. Grounds writes that “Lord Kenneth Clark, internationally known for his television series Civilization, lived and died without faith in Jesus Christ. In his autobiography, he wrote about an overwhelming religious experience he had while visiting a beautiful church. ‘My whole being,’ Clark wrote, ‘was irradiated by a kind of heavenly joy far more intense than anything I had known before.’ Unfortunately, the ‘flood of grace,’ as he described it, created a problem for him. If he allowed himself to be influenced by it, he knew he would have to change. His family might think he had lost his mind. Or perhaps the intense joy would prove to be an illusion. So he concluded, ‘I was too deeply embedded in the world to change course.’ What a tragedy! If only he had responded to that grace-granted glimpse of another world! If only he had allowed it to turn his attention away from this world and toward Jesus! Then he would have become a part of that invisible world, which is not an illusion but a glorious reality.” God can enable any of us, sinner or tax collector, to change, no matter how deeply embedded we may be in this world. The miracle of the new birth (John 3:5-7) will take place when we say yes to the stirring of God's grace in our souls.
Recently a local teacher, Gordon Patterson, was killed while riding his bicycle home. What the news media has not stated is that while some saw him as the quintessential lovable nerd who loved science, he was also a strong wonderful Christian man. Although he was a public school teacher, he homeschooled his children. He always saw the very best and God’s potential in everyone. He will be missed because of his caring attitude that he displayed because of his love for Jesus. Why is it then that when someone takes a step towards God there are always those who find something wrong with the response? Last week I stated that there will always be naysayers when a person decides to follow Jesus and here in Levi’s life there is no exception. That is the case as Jesus and Levi are having dinner together. It comes about…
II. When “saints” ask foolish questions! (Vv. 16-17)
1. If you ask a silly question, you may not always like the answer you receive! Once again we find folks following Jesus, once again we see Pharisees being picky pertaining to personal contact with those they considered sinners, and once again we see Jesus answering their antagonism. In fact, “When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the ‘sinners’ and tax collectors, they asked His disciples: “Why does He eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” Sinners for the Pharisees were those people who did not have formal education as far as the Law was concerned and who could not keep the strict Pharisaic code like they could. Therefore, for Jesus to actually share a meal, which implied friendship and commonality, with such “people” sent these “righteous” men into a tizzy-fit. The Pharisees, which were the most influential religious party in Palestine, were deeply devoted to the Mosaic Law. They strictly regulated their lives by the supposedly binding interpretations of it passed down in oral tradition and were meticulous about maintaining ceremonial purity. Right down to tithing the spices in their cupboards! For Jesus to eat with such common folk, who were uncouth and unrighteous was, well, shocking to say the least! I love Jesus’ response to their insincerity. He used a common proverb, which His opponents would immediately recognize, to show their hypocrisy: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Now, they had to reason why Jesus did not come to “call” them. But then that often happens when “saints” ask foolish questions.
EXAMPLE: Jesus condemned the Pharisees’ self-righteous double standard because it blinded them from seeing their own need for repentance and a Savior. Many Pharisees prided themselves in their strict avoidance of obvious, outward sin. But they refused to look inside themselves and acknowledge the presence of inner sin that didn’t fall within the boundaries of their man-made rules. Jesus knew that in spite of their obsession with outward perfection, they willfully resisted consciousness of their inner corruption and need for grace. Jesus didn’t associate with “sinners” and “tax collectors” because He minimized their sin. He freely associated with them because He knew that they were more open to repentance. Lest we forget, Paul reminds us that we are all sinners, both inwardly and outwardly. “There is none righteous, not even one!” What is keeping you from faith in Jesus? This is not a “foolish” question.
Conclusion:
We have looked at two important things that happened in Jesus’ life today: When tax collectors or sinners decide to follow Jesus and when “saints” ask foolish questions. Now, what are you going to do with what you have learned?
---
This article is copyrighted © 2009 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission. You now have my permission to use the entire article.
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