Gospel of Mark Study #7

“IRS Agents and Other Sinners”

Mark 2:13-20

Study #7 in Mark Series

INTRODUCTION:

In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Paul cites an appalling list of sins. He says, “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the...

ü  sexually immoral nor

ü  idolaters nor

ü  adulterers nor

ü  male prostitutes nor

ü  homosexual offenders ¹⁰ nor

ü  thieves nor

ü  the greedy nor

ü  drunkards nor

ü  slanderers nor

ü  swindlers... will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

Given Paul’s list of sins how would you rank these 10 things from “worst” to “least bad.” On what is your ranking based? How did you determine which one is worse than the other? Which sins are on the extreme ends of your list?

 

Obviously, Paul was not putting these sins in ranking order. Moreover, the list is incomplete. Without a doubt the Christians in the Corinthian church had committed other gross sins that he does not even mention here. So, what is the point? Was Paul just trying to rub salt into their wounds, reminding them of all their past sins and shortcomings? NO! Quite the opposite. He was reminding them that what they had done in the past, what they had been before they came to know Christ, no longer defined who they were now in the present. Regardless of the enormity of their past sins they had been washed, sanctified, and justified by the power and authority of God himself.

TRANSITION:

The apostle Paul once claimed to be the world’s worst sinner. He made that claim in 1 Timothy 1:12-16. I do not know if he really was or not, but that is how he felt about it. He wrote, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that He considered me faithful, appointing me to His service. ¹³ Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. ¹⁴ The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—of whom I am the worst. ¹⁶ But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on Him and receive eternal life.”

In our passage for today we can see that the Jewish religious leaders had a definite list in their minds about some sins being greater than others. They put people into categories based on the seriousness of their sins. “Tax collectors” were one of the categories. “Prostitutes” were another category. However, these self-appointed spiritual giants failed to see that their sins of slander, hatred, jealousy, discord, pride, arrogance, bigotry, and gossip were as bad or worse than the sins they were so quick to point out in the lives of other people. That is why on several occasions Jesus called them “hypocrites,” and He did it to their faces.

NOTES on the Text:

Verse 13: Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to Him, and He began to teach them.

·         Which lake? The Sea of Galilee, of course. It was not really a sea, just a big fresh-water lake 13 miles long by 8.1 miles wide.

·         “A large crowd” That is a redundancy, like, “a huge multitude,” but these are common in the Bible. Is there any other kind of crowd besides a large crowd? Anyway, a bunch of people followed Jesus out to the lakeside, anxious to see Him and hear His words. He used the opportunity to teach them the Gospel, the Good News about God’s love for them and the plan of salvation.

Verse 14: As He walked along, He saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow Me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed Him.

·         Was Levi sitting by the lakeshore? Probably not. This must have happened as Jesus re-entered Capernaum through the town’s main gate. Capernaum sat on a major trade route connecting Egypt and Damascus of Syria. Being the gateway into Herod Antipas’ territory it was one of the places where Herod set up a customs office and tollhouse to tax everyone passing through. Levi worked as a collection agent, collecting taxes from his own people, the Jews, and turning it over to their hated enemies. He worked on a commission basis—the more he could squeeze out of people, the more both he and Herod’s administration would benefit. As a result of this, there was no more despised group of people than the hated publicani, or “publicans” as they are called in the KJV. They were viewed as collaborators and traitors and were hated by their fellow Jews.

·         This man is known in the Scriptures by two names. Here in Mark’s Gospel and in Luke 5:27 he is called Levi. In the Gospel of Matthew, written by Matthew himself, he is called Matthew, which in Hebrew means “Gift of Yahweh.” It is possible that Levi (from the Hebrew verb meaning “to join or unite”) was the name his parents gave him at birth, and Matthew was his nickname, perhaps given to him by the Lord at his new birth. We have similar circumstances with Simon coming to be called Peter (meaning “stone, or pebble”), and Joseph being given the nickname, Barnabas (meaning “son of consolation”).

·         Something important to notice about Levi (Matthew)... when he “left all” to follow Christ, he really LEFT ALL! Peter and the other guys left their boats and nets, but they often went back to them. Levi had no job to go back to. He gave up far more than the other disciples.

Verse 15: While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Him and His disciples, for there were many who followed Him.

·         This by itself is amazing. Jesus was doing what no one else among the Jews would do. He was sitting down to eat with a tax collector and a bunch of his tax collector friends, in his own house. This was scandalous! This was unheard of! Did Jesus not know who these people were for crying out loud?

·         Also amazing is this phrase, “...for there were many who followed Him.” Many of these followers of Jesus not long before this would have been just like the Pharisees we read about in the next verse. These are Jews who if not for being changed by Jesus would have never considered going to a party at a publican’s house. This shows the amazing influence that Jesus had on His followers.

·         The syntax of this sentence allows for two possible interpretations. It is probably true either way you take it.

1.       That Jesus had many disciples at the reception, or

2.      That many of Levi’s fellow publicans and other assorted “sinners” and immoral people had become followers of Jesus. This is the option the makes the most sense to me based on the law of the nearest antecedent.

Verse 16: 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?”

·         These Pharisees were totally scandalized by what Jesus was doing, but they did not have the nerve to approach Him directly with their questions. They posed their critical questions to Jesus’ disciples. They were probably standing outside in the street watching people come and go from Levi’s house, and it burned them up that their fellow Jews would have anything to do with that no-good turncoat scoundrel, Levi.

·         The Pharisees, whose name means, “separated ones,” were a sect who followed rigorously the precepts of the written and oral law, being meticulous in their attempts to maintain ceremonial purity. They viewed with disdain those who were not as strict as they were in observing the commandments, referring to them as “the people of the land.” The class designated as “sinners” here probably included all non-Pharisees.

Verse 17: On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

·         Last week we learned about the story of Jesus healing the paralytic man who was brought to Him by the man’s four friends. Sitting there, witnessing the whole thing, were a group of Scribes, taking notes about everything Jesus did and said. We read that Jesus could read their minds and knew exactly what they were thinking, and He confronted them over it.

·         On this occasion, the religious leaders present were not the Scribes but were from the sect of the Pharisees. The Pharisees were the ultra-conservative, fundamentalist, legalistic, wealthy sect within Judaism. They were probably the ones who most hated Jesus because He did not follow their picky little manmade rules and He called them “hypocrites” all the time. Jesus explained the situation with an answer that needs some explanation. Notice the interplay in His answer between the words “healthy” and “sick,” and between “righteous” and “sinners.” The Pharisees believed that they themselves were spiritually healthy and spiritually righteous. They viewed the tax collectors as spiritually sick and spiritually unrighteous sinners through and through.

·         But Jesus was making a point that they missed entirely. Only people who realize and admit that they are sick will seek the help of a doctor. Those who think they are healthy are not interested in what a doctor can do for them. Likewise, a person who is truly righteous does not need saving. But sinners are the ones who need a Savior. What the Pharisees were missing was the fact that they were as sinful and in need of a Savior as those publicans and “sinners” sitting inside listening to Jesus’ words. Because the Pharisees were unwilling or unable to admit that they were sick, there was no treatment for them, leaving them to slip even deeper into spiritual terminal illness. Yet those around Levi’s table who were coming to see their sinfulness and sin-sickness, they were positioned to receive the treatment that would make them truly healthy.

·         Make no mistake. Jesus was not saying that the Pharisees were so righteous and spiritually healthy that they didn’t need a doctor. Quite the contrary! They were sickos!

Verse 18: Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but Yours are not?”

·         Try to picture this... Jesus and His disciples are at Levi’s house. They are eating and drinking and having a wonderful time. The conversation is engaging, and people are asking Jesus questions and He is sharing with them. Apparently at that time John the Baptist’s followers were fasting. We are not told the reason. Also, the Pharisees and their followers were fasting. Again, we do not know why, although we do know that the Pharisees regularly fasted twice a week, usually on Mondays and Thursdays (cf. Luke 18:12). Someone came up to Jesus during the evening and asked Him about this. Apparently, the question was posed publicly, so Jesus gave an answer that everyone could hear.

Verses 19-20: Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. ²⁰ But the time will come when the Bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.”

·         Jesus answered the question with a question. I hate it when people do that to me because it forces me to think, and that hurts my head.

·         Jesus gives them a scenario to think about: There is a wedding being planned. That wedding involves a bride and a groom. A wedding is a joyous event, an occasion for feasting, not fasting. People do not fast when they are celebrating. When we are celebrating, we want to eat and drink and dance and sing and laugh. Fasting is for times of sorrow, for times of grief, and pain, and loss, and mourning. While the bridegroom is present with his bride everyone is happy. The party is in full swing.

·         Jesus gives them a prophetic word at this moment. He says that the time will come when the Bridegroom will be taken away. That will be the time for sorrow and for fasting. Who is the Bridegroom that He is referring to? It is Him, Jesus Himself. Several times in the Gospels Jesus employed this word picture. Jesus is the Bridegroom and we are His people, His Bride, the Bride of Christ. That is one of the titles for the Church. While Jesus was with His people it was a time of celebration. However, the day came when He went to the cross, leaving His Bride to mourn and weep and fast for a season. But praise God, He rose on the third day and is ALIVE today!

CONCLUSION:

One of the things that stands out to me as I read this passage is that the Pharisees were not bad people, as we often assume. And for the most part they were right about tax collectors. As a rule, the men in that profession were greedy, unscrupulous, unprincipled, immoral crooks who cared only for money. So, who is the hero in this story?

The Pharisees were right about the tax collectors. Moreover, Levi and at least some of the tax collectors would have agreed with their assessment. Where the Pharisees went wrong was in their evaluation of themselves. They could see sin in others, but they could not see it in themselves. And what little they did see, they redefined and renamed and called it something else. “That is not sin, that is a character flaw.” “That is not sin, it is just a lapse in good judgment.” “That is not sin, it is a blind spot.” They could not bring themselves to admit their need for forgiveness and cleansing. Thus, they rejected Jesus and everything He said and missed out on what He came to bring us—peace, joy, forgiveness, a new life, and a future with Him in Heaven.

What is also alarming is that all of us have a little bit of Pharisee in us. We find it easier to find fault in others than to recognize it in ourselves. This accounts for one of the biggest problems in every church and explains the commonly heard criticism that “the church is full of hypocrites.” Can any of us deny it?