Mark 2:13-17 – Reaching the outcasts

This is the second of the five controversies that Jesus had with the scribes. The issue revolved around the Lord’s mixing with tax collectors and sinners. Levi was none other than Matthew the tax collector who wrote the Gospel named after him. In was in his account of the life of Christ that Mattthew gave us the connection between himself and Levi (Matthew 9:9-11).  Mark, on the other hand, was satisfied to just let his account of the call of Levi serves as an illustration of the Lord’s willingness to mix with the outcast and people whom the Jewish community found offensive.   

In verse 13 we are once again told that Jesus was around the lake, or more precisely the Sea of Galilee. As usual a large crowd polarized around Him so He began to teach them. As the Lord was walking along, He spotted Levi. Verse 14 tells us that he was the son of Alphaeus. He was sitting in his tax collector’s booth. Being a tax collector, Levi belonged to the class of the offensive. Tax collectors were despised by their own race because they were thought to be in collusion with the Romans. They would inflate the tax commission and defraud the commoners.

The Lord Jesus’ call to Levi to follow Him was exactly the same as He had called Andrew, Peter, James and John. And just like the four disciples, Levi also responded without hesitation. He arose from his booth and followed the Lord.  Jesus then went to Levi’s house, and together with His disciples, was dinning with him and other tax collectors and sinners. Those outcasts were attracted to the Lord’s ministry so they followed Him to hear His teachings.

Verse 16 tells us that when the scribes, or the teachers of the law who were largely Pharisees, saw the Lord eating with the outcasts, they asked a denigrating question. To them, Jesus had violated the customs expected of a Rabbi. He mixed with people who did not keep the tradition of the Law. So sneeringly they questioned His disciples, asking, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”

When Jesus heard what they said, His response to them was quick. He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” This answer has two parts. Firstly, He said, the healthy do not need a physician. Secondly, He said He had come to call sinners and not the righteous.  It’s sad to note that while the Pharisees and leaders were just as needy as the sinners but they were blind to it.

Like the Lord, we must not isolate ourselves from those who need Him regardless of their status in society. We are called to join Him in His mission of reaching the lost and needy. Let’s remember where we came from. We all became a follower of Christ not because of our goodness, status, wealth or merit. We became one because Christ looked beyond our faults and He saw our needs.