Associating with Sinners. Mark 2:13-17.
He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. 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. 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. 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?”And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Dear People Belonging to God,
Jesus is still based in Capernaum. He goes out to the seaside because there is more open space there and because the sea forms a natural barrier. The crowd would be forced to stop by the water. It is also possible that this being a fishing community, most people were to be found by the shore, buying or selling fish.
Calling (vv. 13-14). Jesus was probably done teaching and on his way back to town when he encountered Levi, also called Matthew (compare Matthew 9:9). Apparently, Levi was at a tax booth strategically placed on the road to the sea, where he could intercept most people and demand taxes from them. What he had not considered was that he was also strategically placed for Jesus to find him. When Jesus called him, Levi left his lucrative, if the dishonest job, and followed him.
Consorting (v. 15). Apparently, Levi invited Jesus home to dinner. Jesus and his disciples reclined at the table with Matthew and his fellow tax collectors, and others described as “sinners,” the kind whose sins were publicly known. Usually, no self-respecting Jew would have sat at a table with such a crowd of outcasts. Tax collectors were especially despised because they served the colonizing Romans and because they cheated by overcharging people to keep the extra for themselves. These and many other sinners followed Jesus.
Criticism (v. 16). The scribes are described as being “of the Pharisees,” meaning that they belonged to that party. They were highly legalistic and separatist, so they found fault with Jesus’ associating with “sinners.” For them, one was defiled by proximity to uncleanness, and the tax collectors were unclean. We see a progression in their interaction with Jesus. Previously, they questioned in their hearts” (v. 6), now they confront his disciples but loudly enough for Jesus to hear. Mark is also developing for us a growing resistance to Jesus by the experts of the Law.
Correction (v. 17).The scribes and their party of the Pharisees had been unchallenged in their teaching prior to this. Jesus shows them that they have focused on the wrong point. Jesus as the doctor cannot stay away from the sick. The scribes and their like are “well” and do not need the services of the doctor, but the tax collectors and sinners do.
Just as Jesus made the physically sick well, he wanted to make the spiritually sick also well. This is an important lesson – self-righteousness is the greatest hindrance to spiritual healing. A person who would be healed of sin must admit his sinfulness.
Your Loving Pastor Chris.