The Cross of Christ - Pt. 5

 

He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. And the scribes of1 the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:13-17 ESV).

 

I am especially encouraged by our reading today. It means that Jesus cares for everyone, especially those who are outcasts and rejected. It’s important to remember that the people Jesus would spend time would include every strata of humanity, even the poorest and most misunderstood. He came to save saints and sinners. The only prerequisite was a sense of spiritual desperation..

 

Levi (also known as Matthew) was that sort of man. He was a tax collector for the Roman government. Like other tax collectors, he may also have been corrupt, growing rich by charging excessive taxes and pocketing the extra change. He was the kind of person that hardworking, respectable people didn’t like. Most would have thought he had no chance with God. Yet, he was someone whom Jesus went after in his grace. Levi was just the kind of person Jesus came to save.

 

Jesus’ words remind us that there’s no one his love cannot reach. He didn’t come “to call the righteous, but sinners.” He came to share God’s love with people who were spiritually sick and unsavory. He came for each of us, no matter our sin. And he has called us to follow him.

 

Jesus also calls us to reach out with his love. We ought to remember our call in building relationships with people in need of Christ, not simply other believers. Our churches should be more like hospitals where the sick and messy can find healing and mercy, than cathedrals enshrining the self-righteous and pridefully arrogant. The Cross of Christ was for all sinners… we should recognize that truth in our lives and the lives of others.