Lent - Day 4
Jesus Calls Levi
"Once again Jesus went out beside the sea. All the people came to Him, and He taught them there.
As He was walking along, He saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Levi got up and followed Him.
While Jesus was dining at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Him and His disciples—for there were many who followed Him. When the scribes who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with these people, they asked His disciples, “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
On hearing this, Jesus told them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:13-17
We are continuing our Lenten study by reading through the Book of Mark.
If you have been doing some reading you should have finished chapter one and moved on to chapter two.
You would have read that Jesus moved around, teaching and healing sick people.
Follower
In the passage above, He called another follower. It was Levi, a tax collector. Levi is Matthew, one of the four gospel writers and one of the closest followers of Jesus. Levi is the son of Alphaeus, bible scholars say, Jesus may have changed Levi's name to Matthew, like He did Simon's to Peter.
Tax Collector
During that time tax collectors were despised, well they still are, but it was totally so more much during that place and time.
Jesus have been going around different places teaching the good news and healing the sick.
By that time, scribes, teachers of the law and Pharisees started stalking Jesus -- spying at everything He was doing. No doubt they were concerned of what was happening, they were becoming envious of Jesus, trying to find something wrong about Him and already plotting against Him.
Sinners
In this passage we read that these fine people asked those following Jesus, why does their leader eat with sinners and tax collectors.
Now, in instances like these, Jesus would reply with a question, or a story (called a parable), or in this case, a clarification and a metaphor.
Doctor
To this particular question, as we have just read, Jesus had the perfect answer. He replied with "it is not the healthy who needed a doctor, but the sick." -- this is a metaphor.
In a way, this in itself is a one sentence parable. It is like saying healthy people do not go to see the doctor (not in that place and time anyway, they wouldn't have health insurance or super health conscious people yet).
Back then as still is, in many developing countries or some rural areas, no one really goes to see the doctor. Almost never, unless they are having a real medical emergency.
Jesus as we have read, did heal many people. And thus those who were sick either came to see Him, were brought to Him or He went to go look at them.
Patients
Jesus then added, "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
This He said so that there would be no confusion as to who He came for. The doctor sees sick patients. He comes for sinners.
If we aren't sinners, then we aren't who He came for.
We just read in the previous message that from the first people He called, Peter fell on His knees and said go away from me Lord, I am a sinner.
Jesus has a way for people to see who they really are. The enemy of our soul, of course, tries to blind us so that we cannot see that.
Blind
This response of Jesus can also be taken as a dig at certain Scribes, Teachers of the law, Pharisees and religious leaders of His day.
Many of these "respected" members of their society (unlike tax collectors and sinners) consider themselves righteous because of the righteous things they think they do. What they do not realize is that they have been blinded, and worse they do not realize it.
If only they would see that they are blind, then they would realize that Jesus also came for them (although spiritual blindness and pretending not to see are not the same as actual physical blindness).
Let those who have eyes to see, see.
Join us next time as we continue this series on Lent. Shalom.
"Once again Jesus went out beside the sea. All the people came to Him, and He taught them there.
As He was walking along, He saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Levi got up and followed Him.
While Jesus was dining at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Him and His disciples—for there were many who followed Him. When the scribes who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with these people, they asked His disciples, “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
On hearing this, Jesus told them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:13-17
We are continuing our Lenten study by reading through the Book of Mark.
If you have been doing some reading you should have finished chapter one and moved on to chapter two.
You would have read that Jesus moved around, teaching and healing sick people.
Follower
In the passage above, He called another follower. It was Levi, a tax collector. Levi is Matthew, one of the four gospel writers and one of the closest followers of Jesus. Levi is the son of Alphaeus, bible scholars say, Jesus may have changed Levi's name to Matthew, like He did Simon's to Peter.
Tax Collector
During that time tax collectors were despised, well they still are, but it was totally so more much during that place and time.
Jesus have been going around different places teaching the good news and healing the sick.
By that time, scribes, teachers of the law and Pharisees started stalking Jesus -- spying at everything He was doing. No doubt they were concerned of what was happening, they were becoming envious of Jesus, trying to find something wrong about Him and already plotting against Him.
Sinners
In this passage we read that these fine people asked those following Jesus, why does their leader eat with sinners and tax collectors.
Now, in instances like these, Jesus would reply with a question, or a story (called a parable), or in this case, a clarification and a metaphor.
Doctor
To this particular question, as we have just read, Jesus had the perfect answer. He replied with "it is not the healthy who needed a doctor, but the sick." -- this is a metaphor.
In a way, this in itself is a one sentence parable. It is like saying healthy people do not go to see the doctor (not in that place and time anyway, they wouldn't have health insurance or super health conscious people yet).
Back then as still is, in many developing countries or some rural areas, no one really goes to see the doctor. Almost never, unless they are having a real medical emergency.
Jesus as we have read, did heal many people. And thus those who were sick either came to see Him, were brought to Him or He went to go look at them.
Patients
Jesus then added, "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
This He said so that there would be no confusion as to who He came for. The doctor sees sick patients. He comes for sinners.
If we aren't sinners, then we aren't who He came for.
We just read in the previous message that from the first people He called, Peter fell on His knees and said go away from me Lord, I am a sinner.
Jesus has a way for people to see who they really are. The enemy of our soul, of course, tries to blind us so that we cannot see that.
Blind
This response of Jesus can also be taken as a dig at certain Scribes, Teachers of the law, Pharisees and religious leaders of His day.
Many of these "respected" members of their society (unlike tax collectors and sinners) consider themselves righteous because of the righteous things they think they do. What they do not realize is that they have been blinded, and worse they do not realize it.
If only they would see that they are blind, then they would realize that Jesus also came for them (although spiritual blindness and pretending not to see are not the same as actual physical blindness).
Let those who have eyes to see, see.
Join us next time as we continue this series on Lent. Shalom.
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