Mark 2 13-17

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Mark 2:13-17

The Other Lord’s Supper

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

I always look forward to the Lord’s Supper. Perhaps it’s the specialnature of the service. Perhaps it’s the beauty of the sacrament.Maybe it’s the fact that people make a special effort for thisservice.The singing is always magnificent – not that it isn’t on other Sundays but there’s this extra power that’s coming from behind it.Many people take extra care in dressing – the extra-good Sundaysuit…the more formal dress. Even though we’re a relatively casualworship community there’s still a formality to the day.And there’s this extra attempt to be here. There is a reverence for this day and for the sacrament that even though other things mightfrom time to time keep you from worship – this is one service thatyou make sure to be at.It makes for a wonderful service – extra passion, extra effort, extraattendance. And from up here looking out it’s wonderful to see…and it shows just how faithful and how alive we are as acommunity of grace.But sometimes we focus so much extra effort on this Supper thatwe forget about the other meals that God wants us to eat – andthat’s our focus this morning as we look to Mark chapter 2 and wefind…

I. Jesus having another meal.

The Scriptures are filled with stories of Jesus eating – at weddings,at peoples homes, all over the place and this story is no different.

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It’s is a familiar story for us – even if we don’t remember all thedetails we certainly cite it as example all the time. Jesus ate withtax collectors and sinners.It started out at a lake near Capernaum where Jesus was beginninghis ministry of healing when he met this guy Levi sitting at a taxcollector’s booth. Now tax collectors were notorious at that time.We’ve talked about this before – they were pretty sleazy in their business practices. They bought contracts to have the right tocollect taxes and then they’d go out and collect. They hired thugsto beat people for payment and they often took more than theywere owed.The Jewish people considered them sinners – unrepentant andunclean – they were expelled from the synagogue – they couldn’t participate in the religious and social life of the people. They werewealthy but nobody liked themLevi was one of these guys – sitting at his booth – figuring out whoto send the goons to.And then here comes Jesus – a Rabbi – being followed by thislarge crowd as he was teaching them and he get to Levi’s boothand he was probably waiting for the sermon. Here is the taxcollector – woe is him – evil is everything he touches – don’tassociate with guys like this…But instead – Jesus says follow me. This would have beenshocking. That a religious leader would even talk to him rather than at or around him.

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And the conversation that probably went on around it was similar to Jesus and Zacchaeus. Come with me and guess what – I’mcoming over to dinner. Invite your friends.Somehow this has evolved into a dinner party. Jesus and Levi andnow his friends were there – and since he was a tax collector theonly people that he would be connected with were other outcastsfrom the society – the other tax collectors and sinners.This is the scene we find ourselves with – Jesus is here – theJewish rabbi surrounded by all these people who he shouldn’t behaving supper with. These tax collectors and sinners.It’s here – at this meal – with these particular people that wefind….

II. The Pharisee’s Problem

Before we move on from this point we should stop and think alittle bit about the book of Mark. If you read the whole gospelthrough you find out that the major event of Mark is the story of the Transfiguration. At the Transfiguration there is a shift thathappens in the story.Before this point there is a question being asked –

Is Jesus theMessiah?

At the transfiguration the answer is revealed –

Yes he is.

And following it a second question is asked –

Now what does thismean? Which ultimately leads us to the cross.

This is important for us to know when we read through Mark because it helps us to understand these stories and some of themotivations that the people and groups have within them.

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