Weekly Questions

Here are this week’s questions. Please think over them, discuss them at home, and discuss them here on the blog. If you have any questions, or you are not sure what these questions mean, I would be happy to clarify.  This week the questions come from Mark 2:18-22:

• Why do you think most people have a hard time accepting change?  Can you think of an example when you had to adapt to change?

• What is the message of the “old way?”

              -man centered/works based salvation

• What is the message of the “new way” that Jesus proclaimed?

              -salvation through divine grace

• Can you describe what it means to fast?

• Why would a person fast?

              -repentance, sorrow, and always with prayer

• Why were John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fasting?

• In what ways do we sometimes fall back into the message of the “old way?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly Questions

Here are this week’s questions. Please think over them, discuss them at home, and discuss them here on the blog. If you have any questions, or you are not sure what these questions mean, I would be happy to clarify.

• What does the term gospel mean? 

• How would you describe John’s ministry? What was he teaching?

• How does Jesus describe the purpose of His earthly ministry (Mark 10:45)?

• Why was Jesus baptized?

• What does it mean repent?  What does it mean to believe (1:15)

• What is the main theme of Mark 1:16-45?

• What is so significant about Jesus forgiving this man of his sins (2:1-12)?

• What is the main principle that we learn in Mark 2:13-17?

   

         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Youth Notes: Philippians 4:8-9

 

The Equation for Peace – Philippians 4:8-9 (part 2)

I. Things to dwell on for the believer – 4:8

II. Things to practice for the believer – 4:9

4:9

The ending of verse 8, “dwell on these things,” is matched by the end of verse 9, “practice these things.” Both of these commands go together, just as both verses share a common subject. You cannot separate outward action and inward attitude. The emphasis in verse 8 of right thinking now shifts in verse 9 to right doing or living. Both are necessary in order to experience the peace of God.

A. Things you have learned

B. Things you have received

C. Things you have heard

D. Things you have seen

Paul begins the verse with a list of verbs: “the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me.” These verbs comprise all the Philippians may be expected to have known as part of the apostolic instruction. It is an impressive combination of teaching, tradition, spoken word, and living example. These instructions were extremely important to the early church before the New Testament writings were written or widely circulated as the standards of Christian belief and behavior were largely taught by the words and example of the apostles. Paul frequently made reference to these traditions or ordinances, and it reminds us of the importance of instruction in the early church as part of the ministry of teachers and apostles in these communities. But not only did Paul instruct the church, he clearly held himself up as an example to follow. The phrase “seen in me” unites Paul with all elements of apostolic instruction, and paves the way for his writing to be regarded authoritative as Scripture (II Peter 3:15-17). This verse calls for the reader to follow Paul’s example and follow right thinking with right doing. This shows us that facts in our heads are not enough, they must be “received” inwardly and become part of our inward being. Paul taught it, but he also lived it. A speaker must not only speak with his mouth, but with his life. We must learn the Word, receive it, hear it, and do it (James 1:22) thereby conforming our thinking and actions to the Word of God which will result in the peace of God.

III. The resulting peace for the believer – 4:9b

Paul now gives the promised results of proper thinking and doing by promising that God himself, the Author of peace, will be with them. The very presence of God provides such comfort to the Christian as he realizes that God knows the situation and is even in control of it. This is the source of true peace for the one who applies himself to right thinking and right living.

“The peace of God” is a test as to the health of our relationship with Christ. If we are surrendering to Christ, then the peace of God will rule our hearts. Isaiah 32:17 tells us “the work of righteousness will be peace” (also James 3:17). When we are not living in obedience, then we lose peace. The last phrase of the verse may be seen as the completion of the circle that began in verse 7.

These verses give us conditions for having the secure mind and victory over worry. There is no middle ground. Either we yield heart and mind to the Spirit of God, or we yield to the flesh and find ourselves torn apart by worry. Yielding to God includes gentleness, patience, prayer, right thinking, and right living.

There is no need to worry. Besides, worry is sin. Matthew 6:24-34 addresses this as well. With the peace of God to guard us and the God of peace to guide us, why worry?

Conclusion

This entire section in 4:1-9 has given us resources that will keep our thoughts and actions right. God has not commanded us to live a godly life without the resources to do it. If we fail to live in the power of God we will never mature and grow as believers. Paul gave this church specific things that would aide them in this endeavor. He told them the “the Lord is near” indicating that Jesus would return and vindicate their cause so they should be patient. He also told them to pray instead of being anxious. All of this involves aligning our will to God’s and making that our priority. To often our own will takes over and then we begin to forfeit peace in our lives.

These exhortations are exactly what the Philippian church needed. In the midst of disagreement, they needed harmony and peace; in the midst of hostile forces, they needed prayer to keep them from worry; and in the midst of the everyday tensions of life and people, they needed to be patient for the Lord was near. These are the very truths that we need to know as well.

On top of all this Paul gave instruction on their thoughts and actions. Believers should keep on thinking and doing what is morally and spiritually excellent as defined in Scripture. This involves centering our thinking on heavenly things and then putting into practice what we have learned from spiritual teaching and example. Conforming our thinking and actions to the Word of God will result in the peace of God.

Sunday School Notes: Philippians 4:8-9

 

The Equation for Peace – Philippians 4:8-9 (part 1)

Introduction

Paul continues this section of exhortation to the church at Philippi. He has told them to stand firm in the Lord; to live in harmony in the Lord; to help one another to live in harmony; to rejoice in the Lord; to be gentle to all; to be anxious for nothing, but pray. Now he expands on the idea of having the peace of God by addressing the thoughts and actions of the Christian. By heeding these things the follower of Jesus will have the peace of God. Believers should keep on thinking and doing what is morally and spiritually excellent as defined in Scripture. This involves centering our thinking on heavenly things and then putting into practice what we have learned from spiritual teaching and example. Conforming our thinking and actions to the Word of God will result in the peace of God.

We are going to look at three things in this passage: things to dwell on for the believer; things to practice for the believer; and the resulting peace for the believer.

I. Things to dwell on for the believer – 4:8

4:8

“Finally” continues the thought of the peace of God in verse 7, and verses 8 and 9 are a further extension of the way to experience God’s peace. Paul adds to his list of resources to joy and peace.

This passage deals with the thought life of the Christian. A believer cannot enjoy peace if he is always allowing unwholesome thoughts to fill his mind. Isaiah 26:3 also addresses this. Wrong thinking leads to wrong feeling, and before long the heart and mind are pulled apart and we are strangled by worry. We must realize that thoughts are real and powerful even though they cannot be seen, weighed, or measured. II Corinthians 10:5 tells us to bring “into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” Paul gives us a list of things we ought to think about.

Before this list is studied it is important to notice the verb that the verse is governed by: “dwell on these things.” It means more than ‘keep in mind.’ The sense is ‘take into account.’ More plainly, it may be said, ‘reflect upon and allow these qualities of living to shape your conduct.’ There is a close connection between “dwell” in verse 8 and “practice” in verse 9.

A. Things that are true

“Whatever is true” has the sense of valid, reliable , and honest. Truth characterizes God (Romans 3:4), and it should characterize His followers. Calvin defines this as, “Nothing else than the integrity of a good conscience.” Jesus called Himself “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), and He designated God’s Word as truth (John 17:17).

Satan, on the other hand, is a liar (John 8:44), and he wants to corrupt our minds with lies (II Corinthians 11:3). It began with Eve in the garden (Genesis 3:1-ff). The Holy Spirit controls our minds through truth (I John 5:6), but the devil tries to control them through lies. Whenever we believe a lie, Satan takes over.

B. Things that are honorable

“Honorable” means simply what is morally good. It relates to things worthy of honor or reverence. Noble, dignified, and elevated also catch the sense here and in I Timothy 3:8 and 11, and Titus 2:2, the remaining New Testament references. There are many things not honorable or respectable, and Christians should not think about these things. This does not mean we hide our heads in the sand and avoid anything unpleasant or displeasing, but it does mean we do not focus our attention on these things and allow them to control our thoughts.

C. Things that are right

“Whatever is right” or just has to do with right according to God’s standard which is spelled out in Scripture. We have no excuse for not knowing what is right. This subject of right was expounded upon more in 1:9-11. Paul prayed that they would be “filled with the fruit of righteousness” as a result of their love abounding in knowledge and insight. This abounding would cause the Philippians to be able to discern what is right or upright, and then act it out in their lives. Remember, the “dwell” in verse 8 is closely connected with the “practice” in verse 9.

D. Things that are pure

“Whatever is pure” may recall 1:17 where it has to do with motivation of conduct. Although, “stainless” or “chaste” could be used referring to moral purity as the reference is in II Corinthians 11:2 and Titus 2:5. Either way it denotes purity in every aspect of life.

E. Things that are lovely

“Whatever is lovely” is found only here in the New Testament. The term goes together with “good repute.” “Lovely” means beautiful, attractive, pleasing, agreeable, or amiable.

F. Things that are of good repute

“Good repute” means good report or admirable. It does not mean so much well spoken of as speaking well of. So “lovely” refers to things that incite true love, and “good repute” relates to things attractive in character. The believer must major on the high and noble thoughts, not the corrupt thoughts of the world.

G. Things that are excellent

H. Things that are worthy of praise

Rather than continue, Paul now sums up his list: “if there is any excellence” having moral virtue, or “if anything worthy of praise.” Both terms are inclusive of the earlier list, and describe in general terms the kind of qualities that should mark out the Philippians in their attitudes and actions. These phrases are not referring to receiving praise from men since we are to glory in Christ alone. We are not to live our lives according to the judgments of people, but we are to be devoted to doing good works and thinking good thoughts that are worthy of commendation. This will happen when we think and do things as unto the Lord and not unto men.

Again, as in 2:1, the “if” here can be translated “since.” In other words, these attributes, and many similar ones, do exist and should be considered excellent or virtuous and worthy of praise. Excellent things motivate us to do better in Christ, and praiseworthy things are worth commending to others.

David gives a description of the Word of God in Psalm 19:7-9 that is comparable to this. The Christian who fills his heart and mind with God’s Word will be able to detect wrong thoughts. Romans 12:1-2 also speaks to this. Psalm 119:165 says that “those who love Your law have great peace.” Ultimately, right thinking is the result of daily meditation on the Word of God, and conforming our thinking and actions to the Word of God will result in the peace of God.

Weekly Questions

Here are this week’s questions. Please think over them, discuss them at home, and discuss them here on the blog. If you have any questions, or you are not sure what these questions mean, I would be happy to clarify.

• According to Jesus what is the greatest commandment?
• How does loving God relate to loving your neighbor?
• What are some of the wyas that we are supposed to love one another? (Lev. 19)
• Were any of the things listed in Lev. 19 a surprise to you?
• How are you doing at loving one another?
• How can you improve?
• What is slander?
• What is hate?
• How can you work to love others, even the people you are tempted to hate?

 

 

Wii Night Tonight

There was some confusion in the bulletin this Sunday so let me clear it up for everyone.  The Wii night is tonight at my parents house at 7 p.m.  Moma just called and let me know that we will be having ice cream and homemade hot fudge.  Hopefully no one will be there so that I can eat it all myself.

Sunday School Notes

Last Things

• † What does the Bible say about the end of the world?

 

There are almost as many questions today about the end of the world as there are about the beginning of the world.  Some think that the world will never end.  Others think that pollution and global warming will end the earth.  There are even some who think that aliens are coming to destroy our planet.  Amidst these speculations we must ask, “What does the Bible say about the end of the world?”

 

The Bible teaches us quite a bit about the end of this present world.  It does so in order to have an ethical effect on our lives.  That is to say, the study of last things (eschatology) will impact the way we live. 

 

2 Peter 3:10-14:   But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless…

          

The fact that the Lord is coming back should motivate us to obey Him, and to live our lives with a proper perspective. 

 

 

• † Individual Eschatology

 

The study of last things (eschatology) can be divided into two categories; individual eschatology, and cosmic eschatology.  Individual eschatology deals with the future of the individual, and answers questions like “where will I go when I die?”

 

The following issues are the primary concern of individual eschatology:

 

Death – Physical death is not the end of a human being.  After the death of the physical body the soul will continue to exist.

 

Luke 16:22: Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom…

 

Application: Death is to be expected by all peoples, believer and unbeliever.  Unless we are alive when Jesus comes back we are all going to die.  It is important that we understand how fragile we are, especially when compared to God.

 

Intermediate State – Between death and the final resurrection there will be an intermediate state for both believers and unbelievers.  In this intermediate state believers will experience the presence of God, and unbelievers will experience the absence of God. 

 

2 Corinthians 5:6-8: Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord- for we walk by faith, not by sight- we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

 

Application: Christians do not need to fear death!  We can be confident that when our physical bodies die our souls will be escorted immediately into the presence of Jesus. 

 

Resurrection – After Jesus comes back a second time Christians will receive a new glorified body that will be suited for glorifying God throughout all of eternity.   

 

Philippians 3:20-21: For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

 

Application: We can eagerly look forward to the time when Jesus will come and transform these sin-marred bodies into a body that conforms with His own glory.  At that time there will no longer be sickness or death. 

 

Judgment – God will finally and completely judge all men.    

 

Jude 14-15: It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all…

 

Application: All have sinned and thus all deserved to be punished in God’s final judgment.  However, because Jesus redeemed those who trusted in Him by becoming a sacrifice for them they can face this final judgment with confidence. 

 

Final State – All who accepted Jesus will spend the rest of eternity in the presence of God where all joy will be made complete.  All who rejected Jesus will spend the rest of eternity in hell where the wrath of God will be fully unleashed.    

 

Jude 14-15: It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all…

 

Application: The joy of heaven and the misery of hell should motivate us to press forward into God’s kingdom, and see as many people accept Jesus as possible.  

 

 

• † Cosmic Eschatology

 

Cosmic eschatology deals with the future of all creation. Cosmic eschatology answers questions about the end of this present world, and the return of Jesus.  Cosmic eschatology is not an easy topic to understand.  In fact, many faithful Christians disagree on matters of cosmic eschatology.  With this in mind it is important that we depend on the teachings of Scripture to help us understand this complicated issue.

 

The primary teaching within the realm of cosmic eschatology is the second coming of Jesus.

 

The Bible teaches that Jesus is coming back a second time to vindicate His church, and fulfill His promises to Israel.    

 

John 14:3:  If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

 

This second coming could happen at any time.

 

Mark 13:35-37: Therefore, be on the alert-for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning- in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep. What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert!’

 

Jesus’ return will happen in two phases.  First, Jesus will gather up all the Christians in the world.  This phase is known as the Rapture.

 

2 Thessalonians 2:1:  Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him…

 

The Second phase of Jesus’ return will be His ultimate Revelation.  At this time Jesus will come back and defeat all those who have rebelled against Him. 

 

Revelation 19:11-21: And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

 

It is difficult to determine the exact timing of the Rapture and the Revelation in relation with one another.  However, the Bible does make it clear that Jesus’ return will launch His Millennial Kingdom on earth. 

 

Revelation 20:4b:  Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

 

During this time Jesus will reign on the earth for 1000 years.  During this time Satan will be confined, however at the end of the 1000 year period Satan will be released for one more rebellion.

 

Revelation 20:7: When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison

 

This rebellion will not last long before Jesus defeats Satan, and imprisons him eternally in the lake of fire (hell).

 

Revelation 20:10:   And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

 

After Satan has been defeated all those who rebelled against God by rejecting Jesus will be judged for their sin, and sentenced to hell.

 

Revelation 20:11-15: Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

 

After all of this has been completed God will create the new heaven and the new earth thus beginning the rest of eternity. 

 

Revelation 21:1:  Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.

Here are this week’s questions. Please think over them, discuss them at home, and discuss them here on the blog. If you have any questions, or you are not sure what these questions mean, I would be happy to clarify.

 

• Why does the bible say so much about the end of the world?

• What is the main principle that we learn in Mark 2:13-17

• What was so bad about being a tax collector?

• What were the tax collectors and sinners like?  What would be a modern day equivalent?

• Who were these scribes and how did they react to sinners?

• How was their reaction different than Jesus’?  What was wrong with their response? 

• What are some of the results of sin? 

• Why did Jesus love sinners?

•  

• How do you respond to people who are not like you, or may appear to be “more sinful?” How can you do better?

God’s Love for the Vilest Sinner (pt. 1)

God’s Love for the Vilest Sinners

Mark 2:13-17

 

Theme: God loves sinners.

 

Introduction:

In Mark 2:1-12 Jesus made it clear that He has the divine authority to forgive sins.  As one thinks about this authority the question is how far does this forgiveness go?  These men in 2:1-12 were clearly respectable men who had faith.  It is understandable to us why Jesus would forgive them.  But will Jesus forgive just anyone who has faith?  What about when Jesus comes into contact with the vilest of sinners?  How will He react?  What will He do?  These are all questions that Mark answers for us in 2:13-17.  In this passage we have a conflict story that contrasts Jesus’ reaction to sinners with the reaction of His opponents. 

How we are supposed to react to sinners is not an easy issue, but it is one that we face all the time.  Every day we encounter sinners living in constant rebellion toward God.  We must determine how we are going to react to this.  This may be something that you have never consciously thought about, but you need to! 

Let me give you a hypothetical situation to show you what I am talking about.  Let’s say that right after I started teaching tonight a teenage guy walked in the door.  He is rough looking guy with carrying a skateboard, and the only reason that he is walking in late is because he was outside smoking a cigarette.  How would you react to this guy?  Would you be scared, nervous, or would wonder what a guy like that was doing here?  Before you think to much about this hypothetical situation let’s look at this passage in Mark and see how Jesus and his opponents reacted to a similar situation.  As we look it this passage we are going to learn a very important principle; we are going to learn that God loves sinners. 

 

I. The Reaction of Jesus to Sinners: He loves them. (vv. 13-15)

 

a. Jesus chooses Levi the Tax collector

This account begins with Jesus returning to the Sea of Galilee.  Mark writes, “He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming out to him, and he was teaching him.”  Jesus would have been quite familiar with the banks of this body of water.  He had minister there on several occasions before, and had even called four of His disciples from this location (1:16-20).  This would have been a nice place for Jesus to get away.  After ministering in extremely tight quarters (2:2) the breeze coming off the water would have been very refreshing.  But despite this refreshing atmosphere, the crowds did not stop coming to Jesus.  You can almost picture wave after wave of people flocking to Jesus to see what He would do next.  This would have been utterly exhausting for Jesus; however He turned no one away.  He was readily available to the people providing them with the teaching that they desperately needed (1:14-15, 21, 38, 2:2). 

As all of this was going on Jesus continued walking along the shores of the Sea of Galilee “and as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth….”  At this point, it seems a little strange for Mark to mention this.  Jesus “just happened” to come up on this tax booth, and he “just happened” to see this tax collector named Levi.  Looking back now we can see that this was obviously part of the Father’s plan, but to the people present at the time it would have seemed strange for Jesus to pay any attention at all to this tax collector. 

To really understand what is going on here we need to understand how the taxes worked and what tax collectors did in the 1^st century.  Just like today, there were many taxes imposed by those under the Roman rule.  This particular tax booth, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, was for collecting a usage tax on imports and exports.  It was like a customs office, or maybe a toll both of sorts.  People bringing goods into the region by boat would have to stop at the tax booth and pay according to what they were bringing in.  These tax booths would be owed by individuals who bought the rights from the Roman government.  Kent Hughes explains how this worked:

 

The Romans collected their taxes through a system called “tax farming” (similar to farming out franchises such as McDonald’s fast-food restaurants). They assessed a district a fixed tax figure, and then sold the right to collect taxes to the highest bidder. The buyer had to hand over the assessed figure at the end of the year and could keep whatever he gathered above that. The obvious potential for extortion was compounded by the poor communication characteristic of ancient times, so that the people had no exact record of what they were to pay.^[1]       

 

The people hated these tax collectors because they cheated the people out of their money.  Additionally, the Jews who took a position as a tax collector were particularly hated.  They were viewed as traitors who had sided with this oppressive Roman government.  The Jewish tax collectors would not have even been allowed to worship in the temple (Luke 18:10-14) or in the synagogues.  If a tax collector were to walk in the room the people would have responded with utter contempt.  This is how this crowd of people would have looked at Levi.  However, we know a little but more about Levi. 

This Levi is also known as Matthew (Matthew 9:9).  As Matthew we know a quite a bit about this man.  John MacArthur described Matthew as “a Jew who knew and loved the Old Testament.  He was spiritually hungry.  At some point in his like, most likely after he had chosen his despicable career, he was smitten with a gnawing spiritual hunger and became a true seeker.”[2]  You may ask how can we know all of this about this guy Levi.  We know this because Mark says that Jesus saw Levi “and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’  And he rose and followed him.”  Levi became a disciple of Jesus.  This is no small sacrifice either.  A fisherman could always go back to fishing, but once a tax collector left his post there would be no returning.  This is exactly what Levi, also known as Matthew, did.  He became a disciple of Jesus, and eventually he would go on to write the book of Matthew.  In that book He quotes from the Old Testament more than all of the other gospel writers combined.  This proves that even before Jesus called him Levi was a man who knew and loved the Old Testament.  In fact, Levi had probably already heard the reports about Jesus and began putting together the pieces even before Jesus showed up. 

We can learn a lot from this account.  The perception that the people had of Levi as a tax collector was different than the reality of who Levi was.  Yes, he was a tax collector and a sinner.  But in reality he was no worse than any of us.  Jesus saw this sinner and he loved him, and he called him, and he made him into a disciple.  I wonder how we would have reacted to this sinner.  We might have seen Levi and judged him to be a horrible person and walked away.  But that is not how Jesus reacted, and in v. 15 Mark goes on to tell us even more about how Jesus reacted to sinners.  

 

b. Jesus reclines with sinners

Mark writes, “And as he reclined at table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.”  Here in v. 15 we have a new development in the story.[3]  Jesus is no longer out by the Sea of Galilee.  Now we find Jesus in a house reclining at table with tax collectors and sinners.  So what happened?  Well, Luke tells us that “Levi made a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with him.” (Luke 5:27).  Apparently, Levi was so excited to be a follower of Jesus that he had a huge feast for Jesus and invited all of his buddies.  Remember, Levi was a tax collector.  His friends would have been tax collectors not the respectable members of the Jewish community.  Mark calls these friends the “tax collectors and sinners.”  These people were the lowest of the low in Jewish society.  They were viewed with such distained by the community that Jewish literature from about that time compared them to murderers and robbers.  These people would have been the equivalent to what people today call “trailer park trash” or “gang bangers.”  Respectable people simply would not have associated with them in any way.  Yet here in v. 16 we find Jesus and His disciples eating with them at a feast. 

Jesus, rather than shunning these people, loved them and ministered to them.  He was not afraid of being associated with these sinners.  It is also important to note that He also never condoned their sinful lifestyles.  He is the perfect example of the familiar adage that “we are to be in the world not of it.”  We should seek to live up to this perfect standard.  Some people make the excuse that Jesus was able to associate with these people because He was God, but that we should not do the same thing.  But this excuse is just that, and excuse.  Consider this, in John 17:18 Jesus told the Father, “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”  This means that we must actively love sinners and minister to them just as Jesus did.  As we do this we must protect ourselves from sin in our own heart, but this does not mean that we are supposed protect ourselves from sinners.  There is a difference.

If you are still hesitant about what I am saying, then just look at the outcome of Jesus’ love for sinners.  Mark tells us that “there were many who followed him.”  These individuals were saved because of Jesus’ love for sinners.  If Jesus had only minister in the Temple and in the synagogues where the respectable people were then these people never would have been saved.  If we want to see sinners be saved and follow Jesus then we must be willing to love them and minister to them just as Jesus did. 

So, in vv. 13-15 Jesus reaction to sinners is quite clear; He loves them.      

      

 

II. The Reaction of the Self-Righteous to Sinners: They hate them. (v. 16)

 

a. The self-righteous were shocked by the crowd

Unfortunately the majority of the people did not share Jesus’ love for sinners.  In v. 16 Mark tells us that a new group of people had arrived on the scene:  “And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors….”  So, as Jesus was eating with this rough crowd the scribes of the Pharisees arrived on the scene.  These guys were serious business.  They weren’t just any old Pharisees, and they weren’t just any old scribes.  These “scribes of the Pharisees” represented a small group of “professional scribes, whose concern, even more than that of Pharisees in general, was to ensure correct observance of the law.”^[4]  These guys were probably the same guys who have been following Jesus around trying to find fault with Him (2:6-7; Luke 5:17).  They were specialist brought out to find a charge that could be brought against Jesus.  And when these sticklers of the law showed up and saw Jesus eating with these people their jaws must have hit the floor.  Twice in this verse Mark records that they either thought to themselves or verbally mentioned that Jesus was “eating” with these guys.  This shows us just how shocked they were.  They were beside themselves.  You can almost hear them, “He is eating with those guys!  I can’t believe He is eating with them!  Why is He eating with them?”

To make things worse, in the Jewish culture it was very important who you ate with-especially to the religious elite.  There are numerous dietary regulations and rules in the Old Testament.  But in addition to these rules and regulations the religious elite had added many additional regulations.  In other words, tradition was made more important than the teaching of Scripture.  This practice is described in some detail by Mark in 7:1-13:

 

Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ” ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban’ (that is, given to God)- then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

 

Jesus recognized the sinfulness of this practice in Mark 7, and we see it here in Mark 2 as well.  These scribes, being self-righteous men who valued their own standards above Scripture, were appalled that Jesus would break their regulations and eat with this crowd.  In fact, they probably did not even enter the house of Levi where the feast was going on.  If they had entered the house they would have been unclean by their own standards.  They just stayed outside and, as we will see in the second half of this verse, they criticized Jesus.   

b. The self-righteous criticized Jesus

You can almost picture these self-righteous scribes standing outside the door to Levi’s house like the prodigal son’s older brother.  They simply couldn’t contain their disdain any longer.  Mark tells us that these self-righteous scribes “said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’”  It is interesting that they did not question Jesus directly, but instead went to His disciples.  Maybe Jesus just had too many people around him, or the disciples had stepped outside for a minute and ran into the scribes.  Whatever the case may be you can hear the disdain in the question.  They are not trying to figure out why Jesus did what He did.  There were criticizing Jesus for what he did.  In fact, by speaking to the disciples about this the scribes were probably trying to discredit Jesus in the eyes of these new disciples.  They may have been testing his new followers, who may have been a little uncomfortable with the situation themselves.   Either way, it is clear that these self-righteous scribes could not stand these sinners, and they could not stand the thought of a Messiah who loved these sinners.

Before we become too judgmental toward these self-righteous scribes we need to be very careful.  In a lot of areas we tend to be just like these scribes.  We are often guilty of making the same mistakes that these scribes made.  We set up our own “rules” and “standards” that do not reflect the explicit commands of the Bible, but rather our own personal preferences.  As well thought and helpful as these preferences may be in our own minds, they are still only preferences.  However, we tend to forget that they are only preferences and we begin to impose them on other people as if they were straight from Scripture.  Then, before we know it, we find ourselves having the same attitude that the scribes had.  We impose our own preferential standards on other people, and then we refuse to associate with those who do not live up to those standards.  This is exactly what these self-righteous scribes were doing to these sinners, but not only that, they were also imposing their preferences on Jesus himself.  They were doing it because they failed to recognize several truths:

 

• 1. They failed to recognize that they too were sinners. These individuals were really good at recognizing the sin in the lives of others, but they failed to recognize the sin in their own life. The fact of the matter is that we are all guilty of this. To prove it let me try a little test. Think about all the areas in your own life that might annoy someone. Now think about all the things that annoy you about your sibling/best friend/parent/spouse. Be honest, not only did you think of more things about the other persons but you also got more riled up about those things didn’t you? All this shows is that we, like the self-righteous scribes, fail to recognize that we too are sinners. For those times when we forget that we are sinners Romans 3:23 helps us to remember when it says that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”
• 2. They failed to recognize that their preferences were not the ultimate standard. These individuals wanted to judge the Messiah based on their preferences, but they forgot that their preferences were not infallible. Their own standard was not to eat with what they perceived to be sinners, and they wanted to hold Jesus to that same standard. We must be very careful of falling into this same trap. We all have the tendency to want to hold others accountable to our own standards. In fact, if we are being honest, we often define Christianity as the keeping of these rules rather than submission to Christ. The apostle Paul understood this tendency and wrote some very helpful words on the subject in Romans 14:1-12. His basic conclusion, found in verse 12, is that “each of us will give an account of himself to God.” In other words, when it comes to preferential issues you are only responsible for your own conscience.
• 3. They failed to recognize that these sinners may have just needed someone to show them the truth. This is what Jesus did with Levi. He called Levi, and Levi followed Him. Jesus was merciful to Levi and He showed Levi the truth. But these self-righteous scribes had no mercy toward these sinners. It never occurred to them that these sinners may have been living in such a reprehensible way because they did not know the truth. They should have seen these people as spiritually needy and shown them mercy. Instead, they saw these people as spiritual disgusting and they showed them contempt. This should not be a problem for us as Christians-because we have been shown abundant mercy by God-and yet we often struggle to show mercy toward others. This is why James said that we must “speak and act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.” (James 2:12)
• 4. They failed to recognize that they could have ministered to these people without falling into their sin. What these self-righteous scribes did not understand is that sin comes from within not from without. Jesus made this clear when he was speaking to the Pharisees in Mark 7:14-23. But the scribes did not understand this. They did not understand that sin comes from within our own hearts, and that to protect yourself from sin is to examine your own heart. Consequently they were so busy protecting themselves from sinners that they were not protecting themselves from sin. In fact, they were falling into sin by hating sinners. We must learn from this negative example and make sure that we are protecting our own hearts from sin rather than protecting ourselves from being in the presences of sinners. 2 Timothy 2:22 puts it this way: “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” Rather than fleeing sinners we need to flee our misguided passions and pursue a pure heart. I want to be clear that it can be dangerous to constantly surround yourself with rebellious individuals. They will be a bad influence on you. But that is only because your heart is not pure. You will see their sin and you will begin to be jealous of that sin, and you will desire it more than God. That is the danger of bad influences; but it is a danger that stems from a sinful heart.
• 5. Finally, and most importantly, they failed to recognize that God loves sinners. We saw this clearly in the positive example of Jesus vv. 13-15, yet these scribes have absolutely no love for those whom they perceive to be sinners. They were not like God in any way; they did not have His heart on this matter. This is unacceptable behavior for the people of God. For us as Christians we must demonstrate God’s love for sinners. We must be like God. To paraphrase the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 31:33, “God has put His law within us, and written it on our hearts. He is our God and we are His people.”

BBQ

This Saturday is the BBQ!  It will be at my grandmother’s house (I will send out direction via e-mail or phone to those who are going).  All the food will be provided (you can thank my grandmother for that), and she has a pool.  We are going to be buying food for the BBQ later this week, so please let me know if you are coming as soon as possible.  You can call me, e-mail me, or leave a comment here letting me know if you are coming. 

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