WHY IS JESUS HAVING DINNER WITH THOSE PEOPLE?
Mark 2:14-17
Mark 2:14-17 NKJ
14 As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him.
15 Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. 16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?"
17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."
Because we live in a different day, we can often fail to grasp what Jesus did by calling Matthew. Here in the gospel of Mark, Matthew is called Levi. But by any name, he was involved in a profession that was hated by Jews.
The tax collector worked for the Romans and collected taxes from their fellow Jews. Because of the leeway given to tax collectors, they could leverage their authority and become rich. The Jews viewed tax collectors as the worst of the worst. Typically, these agents of Rome were willing to sell out their countrymen for money.
So right in the middle of choosing His disciples, Jesus chooses a tax collector. And not only has a tax collector on his team, Jesus goes and hangs out with tax collectors and their rowdy friends and has dinner. To go eat with someone was considered an honor. So why would Jesus eat with a group of people voted least likely to do anything good or religious?
Jesus knew what He was called to do. He knew reaching those lost and away from God was a top priority. Jesus having dinner with tax collectors and sinners was not an endorsement of their character. It was a revelation of His character. The tax collectors and sinners needed His help, so Jesus reached out. Jesus did not wall Himself in with the religious people. He reached beyond the wall to those religion had rejected.
Jesus was a revolutionary figure in His day. He confounded the scribes and Pharisees, then worked miracles that confirmed His divine assignment and proclamations.
APPLICATION:
It is so easy to get walled off from those who are different from standard Christianity. And though I appreciate a clean Christian culture, we always must keep in mind it was the grace of God that saved us. And before we received His grace, we were "those people." The very people we can turn away from today. The very people that need God's love and grace.
Jesus knew His mission. As His body on the earth, we have the same mission. To reach a dying, hurting world with the gospel. And turn "those people" into God's people.
PRAYER:
Dear Father, help me to never lose sight of Your love for the world and my assignment to reach those who need You.