Ministry Methods Questioned (part 1)
Mark 2:13-18
Good Morning,
Dr. Kent Keith said in the paradoxical commandments, “People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.”
Please open your Bible to the Gospel of Mark 2 as we continue in the verse by verse study of that Gospel.
Last week we spoke on the most important miracle Jesus performs; but, He was accused of blasphemy for that healing.
Jesus returned to Capernaum and immediately, the crowds came to find Jesus and “He preached the Word to them.”
Then four men brought their friend to Jesus, but there was such a big crowd there, they could not get near Jesus.
The men climb to the roof, made a hole in it and lowered their friend down to Jesus. These men believed that Jesus could heal their friend and they wouldn’t stop until Jesus did just that.
However, instead of merely healing the paralytic with words, Jesus first told the man his sins were forgiven.
These men showed faith in Jesus to heal their friend; because if they didn’t think Jesus would heal their friend, they would have had to lift him and his mat, back up through the roof.
We learned that the religious leaders were not interested in the faith of these men bringing their friend to Jesus.
The Scribes were concerned with rule keeping; not with the man being healed or forgiven of his sins.
Finally, we learned how all of the people were amazed and glorified the Lord. The word, “amazed” means, “These people were totally blown away by this miracle.”
The Lord leads, guides, and directs. We simply follow and obey
The Westminster shorter catechism says, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.”
This all starts with a relationship with Jesus who forgives our sin
This morning, is part one of a two part series, where we will see Jesus questioned about His method of ministry.
I. Public enemy number one.
Read Mark 2:13-14
Jesus again hits the road and notice the crowds came to Him and again, Jesus began to teach the crowd.
Levi is another name for Matthew, which we know was the man who wrote the first Gospel in our New Testament; in fact Matthew 9 is a parallel writing to this account in Mark 2.
Both Levi and Matthew are Hebrew names.
Matthew means gift of God and the name Levi of course comes from the tribe of Levi in the Old Testament; someone had to be from the Tribe of Levi in order to be a priest in Israel.
Matthew was a Hebrew man with a lot of knowledge of the Old Testament. In the Gospel of Matthew there are 99 Old Testament quotes; more than the other three gospels.
So here is this Jewish man, who knew the Old Testament scripture and prophecies well; but, he is a tax collector.
There were two kinds of tax collectors at this time; one who would collect property or income taxes, like the IRS or county tax office. These men were hated by the people…but
There was a second type of tax collector, who was hated even more, because of the dishonesty used, while collecting taxes.
Herod Antipas was appointed by Rome to rule over the region of Galilee and he had to pay Rome a certain tribute tax every year.
Herod would hire this second kind of tax collector, charge him a fee in order to get the job; and then the tax collector would charge extra taxes in order to make a nice living off of the job.
These tax collectors had to collect the minimum taxes Herod was obligated to send to Rome; but, they were also permitted to keep any money they could extort from the people.
We first meet Levi/Matthew as he was sitting at the tax office/booth and he is the second kind of tax collector for Herod.
This Jewish man collected taxes for the pagan Roman Empire that now ruled over Israel; Israel is the Promise Land God had originally promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
William Lane said, “When a Jew entered the customs service he was regarded as an outcast from society:
“He was disqualified as a judge or a witness in a court session; was excommunicated from the synagogue, and in the eyes of the community his disgrace extended to his family.” (William Lane)
Jesus approached the guy everyone hated and wanted to avoid!
Imagine the scandal of Jesus calling Matthew to be a follower;
Even though the rest of Israel looked at Matthew as an enemy of the state and a despicable tax collector; Jesus saw a man who was broken and in need of a Savior.
When Jesus looks at you and me, He sees right through our greed, bitterness, and rebellion as well.
Some Christians have the idea they were some sort of a bargain to Jesus; but, when a drug addict, prostitute, or even a greedy tax collector gets saved; it costs Jesus the same amount of His blood
Jesus dispelled that stinking thinking when He said…
Matthew 5:43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' Skip down to
Matthew 5:46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
Matthew 5:47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?
Matthew 5:48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. NKJV
Jesus saw Levi at the tax office; but Luke 5, uses the Greek word for Theatre (theaomai) for the words, “saw”; which means to behold, look upon, view attentively, contemplate.
Jesus stopped and gazed at Levi and told him to “Follow me.” i.e., from now on, you must follow Me! And Levi understood it.
There is something worth noting about Matthew… Matthew’s Gospel is the only one that says, “Matthew, the tax collector”.
Matthew never forgot he was one of the most despised people in his community; but, he also knew Jesus loved and saved him.
Jesus loved him, sought him, and invited Matthew to follow Him; even though Matthew was a sinner.
Notice, “So he rose and followed Him.”
Luke 5:28, “So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.” NKJV
Levi was willing to take the job of a tax collector, even though his own countrymen would hate him for doing it; the potential of money and power were the important things in Matthew’s life.
As soon as Matthew follows Jesus, the greed and power no longer mean anything to him and he left the old life behind.
Before Matthew got up to follow, he made a clear break from everything related to his old life; he got up and followed Jesus.
Matthew walked away from his old identity, greed and idols; knowing full well Herod would never offer him the job again
This is what true repentance looks like; remember repentance is a u-turn, turning away from sin and running towards the Lord.
Paul told the Church in 1 Thessalonians 1:8 Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything.
1 Thessalonians 1:9 For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. NKJV
II. The scandal of Grace.
Read Mark 2:15-17
Jesus befriended this enemy of the state named Levi, and it was such a close friendship, Jesus even shared a meal with him.
To a share a meal in the first century, in the Jewish culture, was of tremendous significance.
Being invited to a meal signified deep friendship, intimacy and unity;
In our narrative, Jesus is extending grace and friendship to these social outcasts through a meal.
Jesus didn’t only eat with one sinner; He fellowshipped with a bunch of sinners.
Luke 5:29 Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them. NKJV
It was bad enough Jesus asked Matthew to become a follower; but now Jesus starts a scandal by dining with these heathens.
Imagine who would have been included within the list of friends, of a hated tax collector: the misfits, the rejects and the outcasts of Israel (prostitutes, adulterers, drunks, and thieves).
As they ask the question, we see the motivation of the religious leaders of the day; they have dirty hearts; but they are concerned with the perceived wrong actions of Jesus rather than their sin.
The religious leaders don’t go to Jesus with their accusatory question, they go to His Disciples.
There is Gossip and divisiveness with the question vs. 16 "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?"
Pharisee means “separated ones.” They separated themselves from everything they thought was unholy; but, they thought everyone was separated from the love of God except them.
The Lord calls us to be separate from sin; but we are not to think that we are somehow holy because of our good works or deeds.
The Greek word for Church is ekklesia, which literally means “The Called Out Ones.”
Jesus said we are to be in the world but not of it.
We are called out of darkness into light; from sin into holiness; from the flesh to the Spirit; and from death to life.
We have been saved from the destruction that awaited us because of the consequences of our sin. This is the Good News!
Even as Christians however, we are still in the world, so we can and will still struggle; yet we are not of the world.
This means our lives should be marked by joy, peace, contentment, and love above all else; as we show lost people the love of Christ; while not joining them in their sin.
Expecting lost people to live holy, apart from having the Living Holy Spirit within them, is not only impossible, it’s ridiculous.
We are told that people apart from Jesus are in darkness, so how can we expect them to live holy without the power to do so.
So Jesus tells these religious leaders that they have no idea why He came to save these people.
Re-read Mark 2:17
Sin is often compared to sickness. We saw the man with leprosy from last week’s narrative was sick because of his own sin.
David Guzik said, “Jesus’ answer was both simple and profound. Jesus was the physician of the soul and it made sense for Him to be with those who were sick with sin.
Jesus is the perfect doctor to heal us of our sin; He is always available, He always makes a perfect diagnosis, He provides a complete cure, and He even paid the doctor’s fee.”
There are three kinds of people Jesus won’t save: (1) those who do not know about Him; (2) those who know about Him but refuse to trust Him (3) those who will not admit they need Him.
This account shows us the natural progression of the Christian life. Jesus pursued Matthew; he left everything from his old life behind, and he followed Jesus.
Matthew then introduced his friends to Jesus, probably saying, “I want you to come to know the One who changed my life, and has given me a real purpose, and offered me eternal life.”
As Christians, do we show unsaved people, Jesus in such a way that they would want to come to know Jesus for themselves?
We should NEVER take a holier-than-thou attitude that leaves lost and broken people of the world feeling cut off from God.
I believe Jesus wants us to be like Him: in the world, but not in sin. We should associate with sinners; but, be set apart from sin.
III. Why fast?
Read Mark 2:18
John the Baptist’s disciples, along with the religious leaders, come to Jesus with another accusatory question.
The question: Why aren’t your followers fasting like we are?
Like a lot of things where the religious leaders added to the Mosaic Law, there was not a law in the Old Testament that said the nation of Israel had to fast on a regular basis.
There was only one specific time the Lord commanded Israel to fast and it was on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement; which was to be a very solemn day of fasting and confession of sin.
Even though Yom Kippur is the only day mandated in scripture to fast, the Pharisees would fast two days a week to appear holy before other people.
Jesus said the Pharisees were hypocrites and whitewashed tombs because they did everything for a show without sincerity.
When the Pharisees fasted, they made sure that everyone knew they were fasting. They walked around looking like they were about to collapse from hunger; so people would be impressed.
Rituals and duties do not make us righteous or holy to the Lord.
The Lord looks at the heart of a person; not at their works, to determine whether or not that person is right before God.
Titus 3:4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
Titus 3:5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, NKJV
There is a lot of confusion within Christianity about fasting; but, fasting does not make us righteous to the Lord;
Our righteousness is a gift, given to us by having faith in Jesus.
When you trust and believe on Jesus; God imputes the perfect righteousness of Jesus into your account!
Even though fasting does not make us righteous, there is a time for fasting; it can be profitable in our relationship with Jesus.
Fasting is where a Christian dies to some of the cravings of the flesh, while setting their focus on Jesus.
Fasting is not a magic formula to receive what we want; instead fasting takes our focus off of our physical and fleshly needs and desires, to remind us to focus on the Lord.
Allow me to point out some things about fasting;
Fasting is to be private, not public.
Jesus said, Matthew 6:16 "Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance.
For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
Matthew 6:17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
Matthew 6:18 so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. NKJV
Although fasting is not commanded for Christ followers, it seems to be an expected part of a normal Christian experience.
Jesus said in Matthew 16, “When you fast…” not “if you fast.” Jesus assumed that, as Christians, we would want to fast.
We must be mindful of our motives while fasting.
If we are fasting to impress people, then the response we get from people, is our reward. Our goal in our Christian walk should be to please the Lord; not to impress people.
Fasting is not just doing without food; we can fast from many things. Fasting from food may not be wise for someone with health issues; so, fasting is not limited to abstaining from food.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “Fasting should really be made to include abstinence from anything which is legitimate in and of itself for the sake of some special spiritual purpose.”
We can fast from TV, computers, social media, or anything else that captures our hearts away from our relationship with Jesus.
In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul talks about married couples fasting from sex “for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer”.
The real purpose of fasting is for a follower of Christ to take our eyes off the things of this world and our flesh, in order to enable us to focus completely on the Lord instead.
Fasting takes the distraction of my flesh and the world, out of focus; so we should pray and call out to the Lord when we feel the desires for food or whatever else we are fasting from.
Fasting is a way to commit ourselves deeper to the relationship with Christ; it helps us focus on our relationship and helps us gain a new perspective and reliance upon the Lord.
When we face things that are bigger than we can handle, we need to learn to trust God and many times fasting can help us focus on Jesus to do just that.
By taking our eyes off cravings of the flesh or the things of this world, we can turn attention to Christ. Fasting is not a way to get God to do what we want; because fasting changes us, not God.
IV. Conclusion.
Jesus did not reach people or do ministry the way the religious leaders wanted or expected.
At every turn, Jesus called these men out of their comfort zones and showed them how the Lord looks at the heart of the matter, not at the rules of man.
Warren Wiersbe said, “Salvation from sin involves much more than a person knowing about Christ, or even having “good feelings” toward Christ.
Salvation comes when the sinner commits himself or herself to Jesus Christ and says, “I do!”
Like Levi, when we are called by the Lord, we follow His commands, in His timing, and in His way.
Jesus went to places where the people knew they needed a Savior. He said He didn’t come for the healthy, but the sick.
In our world today, there are real issues from real people with real problems, real addictions, and real pain.
There are so many hurting and lonely people who need the church to rise up and be the hands and feet of Jesus.
Are we going to Love people like Jesus or wish harm on them?
At the end of the day, church, it doesn’t matter how much Greek you know, or how much scripture you have memorized, if you don’t love lost people.
We cannot become fishers of men, unless we are called by Jesus and we follow the leader. Jesus isn’t looking for perfect people; He is looking for willing people as He says, “Follow Me”.
Kyle Idleman said, “He was looking for followers. Not just any follower though, but a completely committed follower.
I want you to think of someone in your life who is un-savable. Now I want you to repent of that kind of thinking and think about Jesus who did not see people as un-savable.
The Apostle Paul started out killing and persecuting Christians and yet the Lord saved him. If un-savable people will call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, they too can be saved.
We may be judged for reaching the un-savable; but, what would Jesus do?
A true follower cares about the things the leader cares about; and Jesus cares about lost sinners.
The paradoxical commandments say, “People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.”
When it comes to our behavior and rituals within our Christian walks; we need to be sure of the motivation of our hearts.
Everything we do is done because of our love for Jesus within our relationship with Him; not because of rules and laws.
