Why Does Jesus Interact with Tax Collectors and Sinners?

Introduction: With Tax Collectors and Sinners

This morning, we’ll be continuing to look at specific events in the life of Jesus Christ, recorded for us in our Bibles – in the book of Mark. So if you have a Bible nearby, please turn with me to Mark, Chapter 2. I’ll be reading from Mark 2, verses 13 through 17. (And we’ll see how Jesus calls one of the tax collectors, named Levi). But before I read God’s Word for us, please pray with me:

(***Sorry, but due to technical difficulties the audio for this sermon from Fellowship Reformed Church in Mt Pleasant is not available. Please utilize the manuscript here:)

[Pray and Read Text]

A few months ago, one of my pastor friends, over in Cleveland, asked for prayer, because he was experiencing some abdominal issues. And it had gotten to the point where he was having a surgery scheduled, to try to clear up some of his symptoms. But a couple weeks ago, he gave an update – that the surgery had been canceled. The cancellation had nothing to do with the doctor being on vacation, or having an over-filled calendar. But the surgery was canceled because my friend’s health had improved. My pastor friend wasn’t continuing to have major signs of disease or symptoms, and so he and his doctor came to the same conclusion: healthy people don’t need surgery.

Now, in the text we just read, Jesus acknowledges something similar. In verse 17, he says that “those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” But in this case, Jesus is talking about something quite different. Because he isn’t just making a statement about physical health and medical doctors. But he’s explaining how people who are aware of their inward, spiritual sickness, are aware of their need for intervention. And in our text this morning, Jesus identifies that he’s come to help people who’re aware of the diseased condition of their souls.

Now over the past several weeks, we have seen that Jesus can heal physical illnesses. But we’ve also seen that Jesus’s goal isn’t primarily to deal with physical problems – but when he heals the man with leprosy, Jesus’s goal is to make the man clean, and presentable to God. And last week, when we heard about Jesus healing the paralyzed man, the main focus wasn’t on the paralysis – the main focus was on forgiving this paralyzed man of his sins. And in our text this morning, Mark completes this thought and confirms that Jesus’s focus in coming is to heal people of their evil. He’s come to be a physician for wrongdoers – a doctor for sinners – in order to make people right with God.

So as we work through our text this morning, I simply want to answer three questions from our text, to help us understand how Jesus goes about this work. Three questions. First, who does Jesus call? Second, How does Jesus relate to sinners? And third, why does Jesus operate this way? These will be my main headings as I break down our text – so I’ll repeat these questions one more time: Who does Jesus call? How does Jesus relate to sinners? And why does Jesus operate this way?

Who Does Jesus Call?

So first, let’s consider the question who does Jesus call? In verse 13, we’re given a bit of the context here. Mark tells us that Jesus “went out again beside the sea.” He left the town of Capernaum, which is where he stayed the night before. And we’re told that “…all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them.”

But in verse 14, we’re told that as Jesus passed by, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax booth. This is the first time that we’re introduced to Levi in Mark’s gospel. And it’s understood that Levi actually went by two names. And this wasn’t uncommon at the time, because nicknames were common, or sometimes people who lived in a bilingual culture like this maybe had an Aramaic name and a Greek name. (This is similar to how some international students will sometimes adopt an English nickname if their original name is difficult for some people to pronounce). So anyhow, it’s believed that this man in the tax booth went by two names. He was called Levi, and he was also, more commonly, called Matthew. And this is the same Matthew who wrote another account of Jesus’s life, here in the Bible, which is the first book of the New Testament. In fact, he records this same encounter with Jesus back in Matthew Chapter 9, verse 9.

And as Jesus sees this man, Levi (or Matthew), sitting in the tax booth, we see in our text that Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” And Levi responds by rising, and following Jesus. This isn’t a new pattern. We saw Jesus do something similar, back in Mark Chapter 1, in verses 16 through 20. Jesus was walking along the shore and he gave a special invite to a number of fishermen to be his special students – his disciples. And that was unusual enough – because the Jewish religious leaders and teachers didn’t go out asking people to follow them – especially not average, unremarkable people like these fishermen.

But in this case, as Jesus calls Levi, there’s even more going on – this decision would have been viewed as even stranger. And it’s important to point out some of the reasons why calling Levi is so unexpected here.

The first reason is because Levi was a tax collector. We learn this piece of information because of where Jesus finds Levi. Levi is sitting in the tax booth. And the reason why it would be so strange for Jesus to invite a tax collector to be one of his close disciples and companions, is because tax collectors were widely considered to be corrupt, treacherous, and greedy. I imagine that many Americans today also don’t think very highly of IRS employees or other people who work for tax collection agencies. But in that region of the world, back in the days of the Roman Empire, the feelings of dislike were even stronger.

In general, people didn’t like having their money taxed and taken away – especially since it went to a foreign government, to the Roman Empire. That was maybe part of why the Jews didn’t like tax collectors. But there was another reason. It’s because the tax collectors weren’t foreigners – they usually weren’t Roman citizens – but many of them were hired from the local community. Many of them were actually Jewish. And when these Jews agreed to be tax collectors for the Romans, it was basically viewed as an act of treason. They were betraying their fellow Jews and turning their backs on the Jewish faith, by doing business with the enemy. That’s how all this was viewed. So as you can imagine, being a tax collector was considered to be horrible – totally unacceptable – and egregiously sinful.

And yet there was even more to the problem. Because when these tax men collected the money required by the Roman government, they were authorized to collect additional money, that the tax collectors could then pocket for themselves. And as you can imagine, many tax collectors would charge much more than they needed to. They’d make themselves rich at the expense of their family members and neighbors. Or they’d maybe charge higher taxes for people they didn’t like, and give free passes to their friends. And so tax collectors became notorious for their abuse of power and their corruption. So in light of all these ethical issues, the Jews considered tax collectors to be vile, wicked people – some of the worst people out there.

And so that’s what makes Jesus’s action here so astonishing. He singles out this man, Levi (also called Matthew) – Jesus goes straight to this tax collector who has messed up all his relationships, to this man who has been greedy, and foolish, and ungodly – Jesus chooses this man, and he says, “Follow me.”

This isn’t the sort of person you’d expect Jesus to bring on as an apprentice. You might expect him to call someone who’s popular, and who has some social influence. Or you might expect Jesus to call one of the Jewish intellectuals – one of the scribes, or someone who knows the Old Testament Scriptures. Or you might expect Jesus to look for people who have lived a decent, moral life – someone who has a reputation for keeping the rules, and doing things right. You’d expect Jesus to call those kinds of people, right? Gifted people – good people – or people who at least seem like they’re trying. Those are the kinds of people we’d probably look for.

But that’s not what Jesus does, here. Instead, he singles out Levi – he calls this scum-of-the-earth sinner, this despised tax collector. He calls him. That’s the man Jesus tells, “Follow me.” It seems like a foolish choice.

But what makes Jesus’s action look even more strange, is the context in which it’s happening. Because, notice, Mark has just been telling us that Jesus is being chased after by crowds of people. There are dozens – hundreds, possibly thousands of people, who are trying to get near to Jesus, and to hear his teaching. And so you’d think, that Jesus would pick disciples from this eager crowd of people. After all, these people are eager. They’re already following him around by their own initiative. If you were in Jesus’s position, isn’t that where you would look for your disciples?

But Jesus is different. He goes out and looks for other people to call. He initiates conversations and relationships. He invites people into his life, including people who are despised and rejected by the rest of society – even the lowest of the low – people like this tax collector, Levi.

And even though Mark doesn’t give us many details about this interaction, the text makes it clear that this invitation was 100% driven by Jesus. Levi wasn’t asking for this. He wasn’t making any effort to move toward Jesus at all. Instead, when Jesus found him, Levi was simply sitting in the tax booth. There was no visible indication that he was interested in Jesus. From outward appearances, Levi seemed committed to continuing on with his life as a tax collector. And yet, in verse 14, Mark tells us that Jesus called him anyway. Jesus said, “Follow me.” And the surprising thing that we see here is that Levi actually listened, “And he rose and followed him.”

And make sure you don’t miss how incredible this is! After all, this Jewish man has spent his whole life being interested in money and worldly influence – not God. And there’s no question about it here – following Jesus means that this man will have to leave behind his business, his livelihood. We wouldn’t expect Levi to accept Jesus’s invitation. It’s too costly! It’s too uncomfortable. And yet, Jesus says, come, and the unexpected happens! This lowly, treacherous sinner Levi – he actually comes.

Over the last couple weeks, we’ve seen Jesus perform miracles. Jesus has said to a leper, “be healed,” and the skin disease has instantly vanished. And we’ve seen Jesus command a paralyzed man to pick up his mat and walk – and immediately, just by speaking, Jesus gave the paralyzed man the ability to move, and to walk. Yet now again, here in our text, we see the power of Jesus’s word again. We see something that’s just as miraculous as those previous things. Here we see a man who has been defiled by sin, and paralyzed by his stubborn selfishness and greed – and Jesus again speaks. He says, “Follow me.” And by the power of Jesus’s Word, this man is unchained from his old identity, and his old way of life as a tax collector. And Jesus calls him to become someone new.

And you and I need to be aware – in fact, you and I should be confident – that Jesus is continuing to speak by his Word and Spirit today. He’s continuing to call people like this – he’s continuing to transform people’s old identities, and their old ways of life – and Jesus is continuing bring people to himself. And Jesus isn’t just doing this for the people we might expect – it’s not just for moral people, or for the crowds of people who follow Jesus at a distance, or for the people who seem close – but Jesus is even calling and changing the types of people who would seem impossible.

And so, for you and I, we mustn’t assume that certain people in our lives are too far away – or too far gone. And I know that for many of you, this is a real struggle. Because you have certain friends or family members who drive you crazy, because of how stubborn they are – how unwilling they are to talk with you about spiritual things. And yet you need to recognize, a different type of day may still come. The day may come when Jesus, working through you, might powerfully speak by his Word and Spirit to call them, and to change them.

The lowest of the low, the worst of sinners, those who are inactive and unwilling – those are exactly the types of people that Jesus calls to follow him. And as we consider the way Jesus calls Levi, it’s a good reminder for all of us that when Jesus called us, it wasn’t because of good things we had done. It wasn’t because of how active we were in loving God or pursuing him. It had nothing to do with any greatness inside of us. Instead, it’s right that we would be brought to the humble recognition that Jesus is the great one – great in his mercy, his generosity, and his power.

How Does Jesus Relate to Sinners and Tax Collectors?

But with that being said, many of the Jews watching Jesus’s life didn’t think that it was all that great of a thing for Jesus to call this tax collector, Levi. In fact, a number of the Jews were quite uncomfortable with the way that Jesus related to sinners like this. And so in our next section of the text, I want to address my second main question – my second main point – How does Jesus relate to sinners?

Well, look with me at verse 15. Mark says “And as he (Jesus) reclined at table in his house (in Levi’s house), many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.”

So the first thing you’ll notice, right away, is that Jesus is apparently invited over to Levi’s house. And Jesus accepts the invitation. He goes there with his disciples to enjoy a meal and some friendly conversation.

But the reason why this is such a big deal is because the Jewish religious leaders – the Pharisees and the scribes – they would never do something like this. Because they viewed tax collectors and sinners the same way that they viewed pagan unbelievers. People like this were dirty, and beyond hope of cleaning. The Pharisees believed that they should be shunned – ignored – avoided.

But Jesus reclines in Levi’s house, as a friend – as a companion. And he doesn’t just do this with Levi. But we’re told that “many tax collectors and sinners” were also reclining with Jesus and his disciples.” And Jesus makes it clear that he isn’t embarrassed to be around people with bad histories and broken lives. He isn’t afraid to call such people his friends. He isn’t concerned how people might interpret it, or about the accusations people might make to hurt his reputation. Jesus simply, genuinely cares about these people.

I’m not sure if the same thing can always be said about us. I imagine that for many of us, there have been times when we’ve been ashamed to be seen with certain people. I distinctly remember that when I was in elementary school, I learned that there were a couple kids who I was friends with who were unpopular. And to my shame, I became self-conscious about spending time with them – about being associated with them. Because I was afraid that people might have less respect for me if I was considered to have those unpopular people as my friends.

But Jesus isn’t like this. He doesn’t pull back from relationships that are inconvenient. He doesn’t just befriend you if it’s advantageous for his popularity and self-interests. Instead, Jesus remains committed in his relationships with people, even when the world rejects them.

But there is something that’s important to understand about these sinners and tax collectors that Jesus enjoys fellowship with. Notice the end of verse 15. Mark explains that Jesus ate with this crowd at Levi’s house, “for there were many – many tax collectors and sinners – who followed him.” So you see, these people at Levi’s house are identified as followers of Jesus. So even though they still have the reputation of their sinful past – even though they likely still have all kinds of problems and sin struggles that they’re working through – these people and Jesus are able to enjoy fellowship, because they’re no longer entrenched in their selfishness and sin. There’s evidence of faith in their lives – they’re following Jesus.

And I think it’s important to point this out, because sometimes people can misunderstand this text, and it can lead to some bad outcomes. Because some people think that Jesus here had a friend group of diehard tax collectors and committed sinners. And so some people come to the conclusion that it must be right and good if our primary friend group is made up of people like that, too – people who embrace various forms of evil, people who abuse drugs, who shoplift, who have immoral relationships, or who are vocal about their unbelief.

And yet Jesus isn’t teaching us to surround ourselves with persistent sinners and unbelievers. Other parts of the Bible explain that it’s foolish and harmful to have a bad friend group as the primary influence in our lives. (Examples of this would be Proverbs 13:20 – “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” Or you could also turn to 1 Corinthians 15:33 – “Bad company ruins good morals.” So Jesus isn’t teaching us to run into situations where we’ll be fiercely tempted with sin. He isn’t teaching us to love the parties and priorities of our unbelieving neighbors or peers.

Instead, Jesus is simply reminding us that no human being is too low, or too dirty, or too unworthy to become our friend, and to be brought into fellowship with God. If the Holy God of purest heaven is eager and willing to establish fellowship with sorry sinners and tax collectors, how much more willing should you and I be?

In fact, you need to understand – you and I are the sinners – we are the tax collectors. We’re the dirty, low, despicable rebels who have violated God’s commands, and who have stained ourselves with guilt. And yet, God earnestly calls us. He pledges to be with us, to take us into his home, not only as his friends but as his children. And as God brings us into this enduring covenant relationship, he isn’t reluctant. He isn’t embarrassed to be seen with you. He isn’t ashamed to be your God. That’s what Jesus shows us, in the way that he relates to sinners.

Why Does Jesus Operate This Way?

But there’s one more question that our text deals with. In fact, the Jewish religious leaders are the ones who raise the question – the question why? Why does Jesus operate this way? This is my third and final question this morning.

As soon as the scribes and Pharisees hear about what Jesus is doing at Levi’s house, you’ll see in verse 16 that they ask this question, Why? – “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Really what they’re asking, is if this man is really from God – if he’s really a good teacher who leads people into the way of truth, then why does he associate with crooked, unsavory characters like this?

Because the Pharisees believed that if people wanted to be truly good and godly, they had to physically avoid impure people. They had to totally separate themselves from anything that had the appearance of being unclean. And so in that circle, the more you did to separate yourself from the world, the more righteous and religious you were believed to be. The Pharisees assumed that if they could just avoid bad things enough – if they could just be separate enough, and clean enough, and moral enough – then they would have God’s utmost approval. And since from the Old Testament, they knew that God had promised to send his chosen, anointed king, the Christ, the Pharisees likely expected that when the Christ showed up, they would be first in line to receive His attention and affirmation.

But the Pharisees have wrong expectations. And so when Jesus appears on the scene, and he’s not separating himself from tax collectors and sinners, and when he’s not exclusively hanging out with the scribes and Pharisees, they don’t know what’s going on. Jesus doesn’t make sense to them.

But as these scribes and Pharisees ask “Why?” – Jesus answers their question in verse 17. He makes two comments. First, Jesus says that “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” And Jesus is answering their question, here, by using an analogy. He’s basically saying – “Who would you expect a doctor to spend time with? When the doctor comes to town, is he going to spend all his time with healthy people? Or will be go be with the sick?”

And in Jesus’s analogy here, it’s pretty obvious what we should expect the doctor to do. He’s going to spend time with sick people, to treat them, to heal them. And Jesus is explaining to the Pharisees that he has come as a doctor for the soul. He has come to rescue people from everlasting death, to make sick sinners well. When Jesus physically heals people’s bodies, it’s pointing to his identity as the doctor who has come to heal our hearts.

And this is why, in Jesus’s second comment in verse 17, he says, “I came, not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Jesus directly explains his mission – which is a different mission than what the Pharisees expected. Jesus has come to help disobedient, guilty, evil people. And he hasn’t come to reward people for making themselves righteous. In fact, there’s no such thing as a self-made righteous person. The whole reason why Jesus needed to come is because everyone needs a doctor. Without Jesus, you and I are polluted and guilty by sin. We can’t heal ourselves. We can’t hide what we’ve done and fool God into thinking that we’re innocent. No one is on right footing with God – Romans 3:10 confirms that “None is righteous, no not one.”

And this is why it was important for Jesus to come and call sinners. It’s because humanity needed a great physician who could save us, and call us out of our sin. He’s the only way this is possible. And just to make sure that this is clear, when Jesus says that physicians don’t heal people who are well, and when he says that he hasn’t come to call the righteous, he’s not saying that healthy, righteous people exist. He’s not saying that some people need him, and other people don’t. But instead, he’s indicating that if these self-made righteous people did exist out there, God wouldn’t need to send a doctor. There would be no need for the Christ – no need for salvation. Jesus’s mission could simply be to call people who were already good – already righteous.

But that’s not Jesus’s mission. Because there’s nobody like that. Instead, he comes to call sinners, and to heal them. But you see, there are two types of sinners. On the one hand, there are sinners who see their need for a doctor, like Levi. And when they hear the doctor calling, these are the ones who receive the doctor and who find healing. These are the people who enjoy friendship and fellowship with God – it’s the people who trust Jesus and follow him.

But then there are other sinners – people like the scribes and Pharisees – people who either aren’t aware or who aren’t willing to admit that they have a problem. And so to these people, when the doctor comes calling, they don’t want him. They don’t understand why a doctor is needed. They perhaps even feel offended that Jesus challenges their beliefs and questions their lifestyle. These people want to think they’re okay without help. And so tragically, these types of sinners don’t receive the doctor when he calls. And they don’t find healing.

What type of sinner have you been up to this point? What type of sinner will you be going forward? If you think that you can totally fix yourself, & cover over your sins without Jesus, the only person you’re fooling is yourself. You & I need Jesus.

And for those of you who think that your life is too messed up, or that Jesus is past the point of wanting to help you – make sure you don’t miss Mark’s whole point here. Jesus goes out of his way to find this twisted, rejected tax collector, Levi – he intentionally goes to the worst of the worst – and that’s the guy he calls. That’s the guy he invites to follow him. Because Jesus wants to confirm that if he’s not embarrassed to call that guy – if he’s willing to accept Levi, and give him a new life – you can count on Jesus to do the same for you.

So as we close in prayer, let’s thank Jesus for setting his love on people so unworthy, so needy – in order to raise us up and make us well. Let’s pray: