It’s great to be with you again today. Thank you so much for being there. We are honored to be here and consider it a privilege to investigate the Word of God with you. As an introduction to this lesson, think about a flame. When you put a candle in the flame, it goes from hard to soft, but if you put a piece of bread in the same flame, it becomes stiff and rigid. This is a good illustration of what we are discussing today: the same flame has an opposite effect depending on the material it burns.
Today, our title is “The Offense of Grace.” Who would be offended by grace? Good question, that is what I thought. In our lesson, notice the effect Jesus has on two groups of people. First, observe His effect on tax collectors and sinners, and then consider how the religious people responded to Him. Now you know where the title comes from.
If you can, turn to Mark 2 and follow along as J Mark shares about a grace that offends.
Most religions of the world believe in a higher power that can impact life in either a positive or negative way. They also share practices like worship, kindness, compassion, and community. But what is the goal of these practices?
The goal of all religions is to enable worshipers to connect with the object of their worship. To reach that goal, they must find a way to be acceptable to the gods they worship. The traditions of Judaism in Jesus’ day followed this premise. All their cumbersome observances attempted to answer the question, “How can a person be just with God?”
Judaism, as practiced in the time of Christ, stood silent and powerless regarding the forgiveness of sins. It had no word of welcome or help for the sinner. The very title, “Pharisee,” meant “separated one,” and it implied that sinners were excluded. Contact with such people made one unclean.
Understanding this concept is critical to the proper interpretation of the text before us today. In the minds of the religious leaders, one needed to clean up their life before coming to God. So, when Jesus welcomed sinners and offered them grace, the Pharisees were offended because it upset their whole belief system. I’ve titled my teaching “The Offense of Grace.”
That Jesus introduces this concept of grace so early in His ministry is instructive. His miracles of curing human illness and curing the sickness of the soul showcased His power as the Great Physician. Our text is Mark 2:13-17. Follow the sequence of events and the varied reactions to the grace of Jesus.
13 Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them.
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 do not need a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
The sequence of ACTIONS in this text shows us how grace is restorative to the sinner but offensive to the self-righteous.
The First ACTION is,
The Call to a Sinner
Levi was a tax collector for the hated Roman government. The rabbis forbade tax collectors from serving either as judges or witnesses. In some cases, they were barred from the local synagogue. They also stated that repentance was especially challenging for tax collectors and customs officials. That statement bears directly on our text and shows us how rabbinic interpretations of the law did not bind Jesus!
So, you can imagine the astonishment of Jesus’ disciples when He says to Levi, “Follow me.” Jesus didn’t hesitate to break cultural taboos and go against prevailing religious sentiments, which offended the religious leaders. He could see beyond the exterior of a person and look into their soul. So, Jesus invites Levi to walk with Him, to become one of His disciples.
From his booth near the seaside, Levi must have heard Jesus as he taught the crowds. From his elevated seat, he could observe the eager multitudes that thronged Jesus. He saw the people with all kinds of illnesses, who were graciously welcomed and sent away whole. Like others, Levi most likely “wondered at the gracious words that proceeded out of Jesus’ mouth.”
To this man, whose repentance the rabbis proclaimed extremely difficult, Jesus offered His simple call: “Follow me.” In the Greek text, Levi’s response is only four words. But those four words show the totality of Levi’s acceptance. “He rose and followed Jesus.”
Jesus continues to issue His call of grace to sinners today. It doesn’t matter what your nationality, your family background, your occupation, or your socio-economic status is! Have you, like Levi, heard Jesus’ call? Do you understand His grace? What is your response?
The Next ACTION is,
The Community of Sinners
In response to Jesus’ call to follow Him, Levi invites Jesus to his house for a meal. Reclining with Him at the table were many tax collectors and other assorted sinners. This isn’t too surprising. This man, so long the subject of hatred and suspicion, has found genuine love and acceptance in the presence of Jesus. Surely, he would want his friends to experience the presence of Jesus, to know his love and acceptance, too!
As humans, our greatest need is the forgiveness of sin. When that need is met, it brings visible results. For the paralyzed man, forgiveness of sin caused him to “take up his bed and walk.” While he didn’t become one of Jesus’ inner circle, he certainly was a disciple. Levi’s forgiveness motivated him to share his resources and Jesus’ friendship with his fellow tax collectors.
Levi was a man with a big heart. He had just walked away from a very lucrative and secure way of making a living. As long as there was commerce, there were taxes! While he most likely was a wealthy man with accumulated property, he had no certainty of future income. I believe his generosity gives evidence of the new life he was living. Before, he was cold, calculating, and greedy; now, he freely shared what he had without thought of expense.
Levi’s example illustrates a significant effect of salvation: grace is restorative; it makes a profound difference in the focus of our lives and our relationships with others. Following Jesus calls me to use my resources for His honor and glory and the blessing of others. Am I willing to share what I’ve found with people like me, my community of sinners?
The Next ACTION is,
The Contempt of the Scribes
“The scribes of the Pharisees…” considered themselves to be among the few who were worthy of God’s attention. After all, they were familiar with the law and had established a strict code of rules and regulations to ensure they didn’t violate it. The ordinary people were beneath them; their very ignorance made them unclean in the sight of these “holy ones.” So, for Jesus to meet with these sinners offended them and opened Him up to their criticism.
The religious leaders didn’t understand the divine realities of grace, mercy, and forgiveness. That’s evident from their question to Jesus’ disciples. “If your teacher is holy, why is he associating with those who are unclean?” They were offended that Jesus would offer grace to those they looked down upon with contempt.
Notice that they complained to the disciples rather than to Jesus. They most likely hadn’t forgotten how Jesus so thoroughly confounded them in the healing of the paralyzed man. They wanted to drive a wedge between Jesus and His followers, who were yet in their spiritual infancy; they were not settled in their minds on many questions of faith and righteousness.
Are there people that you and I know whom we feel are worthy of contempt? Are we sometimes fearful of what others may say about us if they see us in the company of people burdened with sin? If we’re honest, we have some of the same attitudes the Pharisees did.
Let’s face it: the Gospel is offensive to people because it exposes their sin. It shows them they can’t be good enough to earn God’s approval. It is also offensive to the self-righteous when Jesus freely offers His grace to those they consider undeserving.
The Final ACTION is,
The Correction of the Savior
Jesus overheard them asking the question because He addressed their criticism directly. “Those who are healthy do not need a doctor; only those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Jesus called sinners to repentance, but He also called them to Himself and to become His disciples.
Some of us believe that until we choose the correct way to live, we’re not worthy of being selected, that until we clean up the mess, Jesus won’t have anything to do with us. The opposite is true. Until we admit we’re a mess, Jesus won’t have anything to do with us. Once we realize how unlovely we are and how lost we are, Jesus shows up and changes us from the inside out. The New Testament shows us that Jesus is attracted to the unattractive.
Have you accepted Jesus’ call to be His follower? He’s still saying, “Follow me.” He is inviting you to leave behind your sin, rise from the ashes of your past, and follow Him. What freedom and joy you can experience, just like Levi did.
Then you will want to tell your friends how Jesus has set you free! You will want them to experience the incredible blessings you’ve received. You will invite them to listen and learn, to have fellowship with Him.
But in doing this, you will also surely invite criticism. Not everyone will appreciate your newfound freedom. Your newly cleansed life will make some of your former friends feel guilty about their past. And they may refuse to associate with you.
So, don’t be offended by God’s grace; reach out, accept it, and let your life and the lives of those around you be transformed.
Thanks, J. Mark, for this teaching. This is something worth considering. The bad people were drawn to Jesus, and the religious people rejected Him. And still to this day, Jesus continues to have the same effect on people. Some hate Him and want to do away with Him and those who follow Him. Others are drawn to Him and share Him with friends and family, just like Levi. May you and I experience God’s grace and allow it to change us from the inside out.
If you have any questions about today’s lesson or would like to contact us, please don’t hesitate. You can reach us by email or the internet. Our email address is [email protected], and our website is heraldsofhope.org. There, click on the “contact us” which is on the top right of the page, and you can message us directly. Contact us; however, it is easiest for you. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Thank you for joining us for Hope for Today. We look forward to being with you next time. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul said, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain.” He knew it was God’s grace that made all the difference for Him. May you and I never be offended by grace, and may it have the same effect on us that it had on Paul.
