"And as He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed Him. And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and His disciples: for there were many, and they followed Him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eat with publican and sinners, they said unto His disciples, How is it that He eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?"
Mark 2:14-16
Part 3
Yesterday: “The Cost of Following”
“And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house.”
“Many publicans and sinners.”
“Sat also together with Jesus and His disciples.”
“For there were many, and they followed Him.”
Today: “The People Part of Ministry”
“When some teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with such bad people, they asked His followers, ‘Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?’” (Mark 2:16, HSB[1]).
Dear believers, as we think about Jesus’ care of sinners, we need to understand some things about ministry that can help us as we go to serve others. Faithful ministry always deals with people, and the trouble with people is that they are sinners, which means they are selfish and finite. As we go about working with people, we can understand that there usually are problems attached. Working with people can be very difficult, tiring, and thankless. Often there are misunderstandings and difficulties when we try to help. And we see from Jesus’ life when He tried to help the lost, the religious people of His day were often scandalized by what He did. Yes, ministry with people can be messy, but remember, this is what Jesus sent us to do. His promise is still in effect – “and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:20b).
“And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eat with publicans and sinners.”
As Jesus’ fame spread, soon He was on the radar of the scribes and the Pharisees. They followed Him around to see what He was doing, how He was doing it, who was following Him, and ultimately they wanted to make Him stop. Their problem with Jesus was His popularity with the people. He had more followers than they did.
The scribes and the Pharisees were of the same sect, and they thought they had the corner on the market of truth. They studied Moses’ Law and thought of themselves as the enforcers of that Law.
“The Pharisees were known for their skill at interpreting the Law of Moses, and they held strict views on what was appropriate behavior for a righteous person. In Mark, Jesus criticizes the Pharisees for holding to traditions rather than obeying God’s commands (7:6–13)” [2] (FSB).
“The name Pharisee meant ‘separated ones.’ They separated themselves from everything they thought was unholy, and they thought everyone except themselves was separated from the love of God” [3] (EWC).
Sadly, their attitude was that everyone was a sinner except themselves. Jesus had much to say about their hypocrisy. It’s no wonder that they hated Him so much.
“They said unto His disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?”
It seems a bit awkward that these men did not ask Jesus their question but His disciples. He knew their thoughts and actions, and He will answer the question.
Here in Mark chapter 2, the Pharisees “…condemn Jesus’ choice to eat with those they viewed as unrighteous and unworthy, but Jesus is not interested in their rules about who is worthy of His attention” [4] (FSB).
“Eating with Jesus were many tax collectors (Levi’s former associates) and “sinners,” a technical term for common people regarded by the Pharisees as untaught in the Law, who did not abide by rigid pharisaic standards. For Jesus and His disciples to share a meal (an expression of trust and fellowship) with them offended the Law teachers who were Pharisees” [5] (BKC).
Aren’t you thankful that Jesus targeted those who are “the down and outers,” not those who are the “good” and “well-bred?”
“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
“Jesus did not consider these people’ rejects,’ even though they had been excommunicated by the religious leaders. Matthew’s friends were patients who needed a physician, and Jesus was that Physician” [6] (Wiersbe).
“When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Mark 2:17).
Amen!
Believers, God has called us to the messy work of ministry with people. As we see sinners’ awful condition, we ought to remember that dreadful pit from which we were dug when Jesus lifted us up and set our feet on the rock.
“He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings!” (Psalm 40:2).
Matthew Henry has wise advice about our lives in this sinful world that we believers today need to heed.
“If the world had been righteous, there had been no occasion for His coming, either to preach repentance or to purchase forgiveness. We must not keep company with ungodly men out of love to their vain conversation; but we are to show love to their souls, remembering that our good Physician had the power of healing in himself and was in no danger of taking the disease; but it is not so with us. In trying to do good to others, let us be careful we do not get harm to ourselves” [7] (Henry).
Believers need to remember that we still have feet of clay, and we are not “perfect” yet. Sin is still our enemy, and we are susceptible to it. We are to do battle against it daily. But this truth does not erase our obligation to show Christ’s love to those who do not know Him. As we share Jesus with those in the dark, we must never forget that we are “children of light” (Ephesians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:5), and we walk in the light (1 John 1:7). Believers, let’s not forget to put on God’s armor. There is protection there for us in the armor, all of it, “the whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6:13). We do ministry with people through His strength.
Quotes: “If I could relive my life, I would devote my entire ministry to reaching children for God” [8] (Dwight L. Moody).
“Excellent ministers cannot be those who yearn for earthly applause. Neither can they be lovers of earthly comfort. The life of ministry is not a life of leisure. The notion that ministry can be both effective and painless is a lie” [9] (John MacArthur).
[1] HSB is the Harvest Study Bible from Harvest Ministries in Guam.
[2] FSB, Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Mk 2:13–17). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[3] EWC, Enduring Word Commentary, the electronic version in eSword.
[4] FSB, ibid.
[5] BKC, Grassmick, J. D. (1985). Mark. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 113). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. The emphasis is theirs.
[6] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 116). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[7] Henry, M., & Scott, T. (1997). Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary (Mk 2:13–18). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems. The emphasis is mine.
[8] Moody’s quote downloaded: October 28, 2021. From: https://www.timpriceblog.com/30-inspirational-quotes-to-share-with-your-ministry-teams/.
[9] MacArthur’s quote downloaded: October 28, 2021. From: https://www.timpriceblog.com/30-inspirational-quotes-to-share-with-your-ministry-teams/.