Jesus Is...Unorthodox

Jesus Is…Unorthodox

-In verse 14, Jesus extends an invitation for Levi to follow Him. When Jesus called the first four disciples He ignored rabbinical protocol by choosing the uneducated guys, but here He breaks rabbinical protocol and Jewish social protocol by calling a guy who was immoral, greedy, and perceived as a traitor. Is Jesus just a bad judge of character or He is sending us a message? No one is too far gone or too socially unacceptable for the Gospel. If He called Levi it isn’t inconceivable to think that He’d call you.

-Verses 15 and 16 teach us what it looks like to be a fisher of men. It isn’t a part-time gig that begins and ends at a certain time or starts and finishes after a certain number of hours. It is who a follower of Jesus is all the time. In these verses Jesus is eating with sinners. His social life was structured such that He was able to be a fisher of men simply because of the company He kept. What might prevent this evangelistic approach from succeeding? Being a pansy that hangs out with lost people but won’t talk about Jesus! Don’t think that because you know some lost people and occasionally eat dinner with them that you’ve accomplished something. No one is getting converted because you boldly proclaimed your favorite sports stats. You’ve got to tell people about Jesus.

-In verse 16 Jesus hears the Pharisees ask His disciples why He is hanging out with sinners. What do you make of Jesus’ answer in verse 17?

-Does Jesus’ response mean that the Pharisees are righteous and He didn’t come for them? If not, what does it mean? The phrase “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick,” was a well known proverb that the Pharisees would have been familiar with and considered valid. Jesus adds “I came not to call the righteous but sinners,” employing the term “righteous” as an ironic reference to those who viewed themselves as righteous. Pharisees thought they were pleasing God by their adherence to the Law, not realizing that the “sinner” (i.e. the one who acknowledges his fallen state and inability to keep the law) is more pleasing to God than the legalist who has trick himself into thinking he’s met God’s standard.

It’s thinking cap time!

-Do Jesus’ actions in this text communicate that we should spend time with people who have no relationship with Jesus?

-Do Jesus’ actions in this text communicate that we should not spend time with people who do know Jesus?

-Which group of people should you spend the majority of your time with, Christians or Non-Christians?

Jesus spent large portions of time with His followers and large portions of time calling people who didn’t know Him. This is both and. We need Christian community that edifies us and moves us forward in our relationship with Jesus. The effect of your relationship with Jesus will be a desire to see more people come to know Him. Ultimately, your embrace of the gospel is evidenced by your extension of it.