Mark 2

SCRIPTURE
¹⁵ Later Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house. Many tax collectors and "sinners" were eating with him and his disciples. They were part of the large crowd following Jesus.

OBSERVATION
Jesus came to seek and to save the lost so He went where they were.

UNDERSTANDING 
There are two ways we tend to deal with hanging with the lost.  The first is that when we become Christ-followers we cut off all contact with them.  We become like the Pharisees who looked down at those who were not as religious as they were.

The second response is that we hang out with them as Jesus did but what happens is that we allow them to influence us instead of us influencing them.  

Jesus hung out with the sinners, because those were the ones He came to seek and to save.  He has called us to go and proclaim the good news to all of the same people so it really is a requirement that we hang out with sinners.  We must follow in Jesus' footsteps and be the one who influences them to salvation instead of them influencing us towards sin.  And Jesus was careful to spend time with just the disciples as well.  He didn't spend all the time with the sinners but found time to pray, talk with the Father, and be prepared for the times He would spend with the sinners so that He could influence them instead of the other way around.

LIFE APPLICATION
We must follow in Jesus' footsteps: always on purpose, making sure to hang out with those who are not yet Christ-followers.  But being on purpose also means preparing for those times of being with "sinners."  We must spend time with other disciples so that we can grow, mature and be strong enough to handle the time with those we are trying to reach.

 

Comments

[Russ]

Mark 2 – Law & Grace Reconsidered

S – Jesus answered the Pharisees: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27-28)

O – Jesus was not about to condone worship of the letter of the Law, nor its use as a weapon of domination.

U – The more we hold onto the notion that our faith is all about letter-of-the-law compliance and obedience, the more we are like the Pharisees.

L – God’s law is a priceless gift of His grace and self-revelation.

For thoughts on this, click below “Understanding” at top, right.

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