Mark 2:13-17 Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners
13 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to Him, and He began to teach them. 14 As He walked along, He saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow Me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed Him.
15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Him and His disciples, for there were many who followed Him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked His disciples: “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
I like this passage because I feel like I can relate to Levi. When I think about the people that I love and that I would like to come to Jesus, they all fall into the “sinners” category, and even though we are ALL sinners, I believe that there are some people who are looked down upon in society more than others. People who are deep in sin, slaves to addiction, and whose sin has destroyed their lives. Those whose sin has caused them to lose their jobs, their marriage, their children, their money, or their health. These are people whose sin has cut them off from the rest of the world and caused them to become the outcasts of society, and I feel like these are MY people.
I have loved ones who are addicted to alcohol, drugs, sex, profanity, and idols. I have loved ones who are homeless. I have loved ones who party, drink alcohol, and use profanity. I have loved ones who have lost their children to the system or have given them up for adoption, and I have loved ones who have stolen, been dishonest, cheated, and prostituted themselves.
These are the people that I choose to minister to. People who know just how broken they are and make no attempts to hide it. These are the people that Jesus came to call, and if we are His disciples, then that means that they are the people that He is sending us to call upon.
These are the people that I relate to because I once lived a lifestyle similar to theirs, so I know the strength and the courage that it takes to come out of it, and I know what it feels like to be transformed. I also know that it is impossible to do it alone. We need God’s strength, His guidance, His wisdom, and His leadership. These are MY people because I feel like everything that I experienced in life was for God’s purpose, so if I can relate to even just one person who is going through something similar right now and have the opportunity to give them hope through Jesus Christ, then I know that it wasn’t all for nothing.
Questions:
Jesus sat with the sinners, but He did not sin with them. This sounds easy, but in my experience there are always temptations, especially if you are joining people who are living the same lifestyle that you used to live.
1. Is it possible to “sit with the sinners”, without joining them in sin?
God’s word in 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
2. In my experience, some people in my “old circle” feel uncomfortable around me now that I have openly professed my faith. They either don’t come around anymore, or they act differently because they think that I will judge them. Why do you think this is?
3. How do we respond when we talk about Jesus to somebody, and they openly chastise Him in front of you? It’s hard not to become defensive. It is also hard sometimes to speak up and defend Him when you feel like it is not being received, but if I don’t speak up, I feel like I have let Jesus down and that hurts. What is the best thing to do in this situation?
I think that the most important thing that we can do is be a role model.
The other day, my friend, who has not come to know Jesus personally yet, but lives with me and sees me walk with Him daily, was talking on the phone, and I heard her say, “I will ask Stacia to pray for you, she is a woman of God and I have seen her prays answered.”, and then she said, “No, I’m serious, just wait and see!” This made me so proud because not only was she bragging on me being a “Woman of God”, but she was also bragging on God Himself and the power of prayer! Now I know that even though she doesn’t call herself a Woman of God yet, someday she will because that seed has been planted and she is starting to recognize it. Praise the Lord!
Prayer
Thank You Abba for many opportunities to minister to others and to give them hope.
Abba there are so many people that need You today.
Some that don’t even know yet that YOU are the answer that they are looking for.
Some that don’t even know yet that YOU are the peace that they so desperately need.
Abba YOU are the way out of a life filled with so much hurt, sadness, anxiety, and chaos.
Thank You Father for choosing us.
Thank You Father for open hearts, open minds, and open communication so that we can minister to Your people who are our people as well.
Thank You Father for taking the bad experiences in our lives and turning them into something good.
Thank You for encouraging us to tell our stories so that we can relate to others and so that they can relate to us too.
And thank You Father for the seeds that you have already planted or will be planting in the hearts of those that we love and also in the hearts of those that we do not yet know.
Please help us continue to be role models representing You and Your love,
And please help us to “sit with the sinners”, without joining them in sin as this is not an easy task.
In Jesus Beautiful Name,
Amen