People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!
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. 16 And the scribes of 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?” 17 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 2:15-17 ESV
Jesus was eating at Levi’s house—a man who was a hated agent for the Romans. He betrayed his fellow Jews by collecting Roman taxes for them, and overcharging his own people in order to line his own pockets. The words of the religious leaders (Pharisees and their scribes) are so willfully self-ignorant it is painful. They demand of Jesus' disciples--so sowing in them seeds of doubting the goodness of God, just like the serpent did in the Garden of Eden--"Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
Who are the sinners? If the religious leaders had just read the Old Testament faithfully they would hear what Paul summarized in Romans 3:22-23 “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.
The tax collectors and others sinners were drawn to Jesus because they were made aware of their sin, which like a cancer was killing them. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day had all the signs of a cancerous-sin condition, but refused to acknowledge it or get the help of the Great Physician, Jesus Christ. It is much worse for the religious leaders because they understood the Old Testament, they know the judgment of God against the wicked, but they still refused the prophets’ warnings and teachers from the Old Testament who exposed the sins of all the people.
Very bluntly, this is why prison ministry is so appealing to me. I meet with men who know they are sinners. They have been convicted by the courts, and by their own conscience. They know the sins of the men around them. When you speak Good News to them, they are thirsty. Amazed at the Living Water Jesus brings. This is why church ministry is often so difficult for me. Like the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, many in the pews believe themselves far superior to “those sinners out there” and therefore, they are in a cancerous-sin-state, unaware of their great need for healing—the very healing Jesus brings to all who know their need of Him.
There is no sin so great that the cross has not disarmed it. The punishment against sin was taken by the Great Physician Jesus Christ. To know who know they are debtors to Jesus, being made aware of one’s own sinfulness is not anger-provoking, it draws from the lips of believers a volley of thanksgiving and praise. Who is like our God—rich in mercy and having unfathomable depths of steadfast love for ruined sinners. Blessed be His Name.
Now, now is the day of repentance. Now is the day to acknowledge how great are your sins. If you're already a pew-sitter, or a tax-collector sinner, know and believer how much greater, infinitely greater, is the Great Physician Who heals you and brings you to the Father. You are those who were gross sinners, but now you can be presented as those made clean by His shed blood. How great is Jesus our Healer, Who plants within us the Holy Spirit so that the cancer of sin will never again reclaim us. The Spirit is the guarantee of this great salvation given to us by the gracious Father through the redeeming work of Jesus!
Lord Jesus, Great High Priest,
You have opened a new and living way
by which a fallen creature can approach you with acceptance.
Help me to contemplate the dignity of your Person,
the perfectness of your sacrifice,
the effectiveness of your intercession.
O what blessedness accompanies devotion,
when under all the trials that weary me,
the cares that corrode me,
the fears that disturb me,
the infirmities that oppress me,
I can come to you in my need
and feel peace beyond understanding!
The grace that restores is necessary to preserve,
lead, guard, supply, help me.
And here your saints encourage my hope;
they were once poor and are now rich,
bound and are now free,
tried and now are victorious.
Every new duty calls for more grace
than I now possess,
but not more than is found in you,
the divine Treasury in whom all fullness dwells.
To you I repair for grace upon grace,
until every void made by sin be replenished
and I am filled with all your fullness.
May my desires be enlarged and my hopes be emboldened,
that I may honor you by my entire dependency
and the greatness of my expectation.
Be with me, and prepare me for all
the smiles of prosperity, the frowns of adversity,
the losses of substance, the death of friends,
the days of darkness, the changes of life,
and the last great change of all.
May I find your grace
sufficient for all my needs.
"GRACE ACTIVE" from Valley of Vision, page 214
https://youtu.be/ZkL0_EMCW4Q
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