Wednesday Devo
Scripture:
Mark 2:15-17
15 Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) 16 But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?”
17 When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
15 Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) 16 But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?”
17 When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
Commentary:
2:15–16 To recline at table indicates personal acceptance and cordiality. When dining formally in a home, guests reclined on a couch that stretched around three sides of a room. The host took the central place surrounded by a U-shaped series of tables. The most honored guests reclined on either side of the host, with the guests’ heads toward the tables and their feet toward the wall. Tax collectors and sinners conveys the Pharisaic perspective that both groups disregard the Law of Moses. According to Pharisaic interpretation, Jesus is to keep himself “clean” from such people (see Lev. 10:10; 12:1–15:33). Jesus pursues a third path: personal purity and the fellowship of mercy (see also note on Luke 5:30).
2:17 Jesus likens those who are well to those who are righteous, and those who are sick to sinners; Jesus’ opponents must judge for themselves which ones they are. On account of their lack of mercy, they are in fact “sick” and sinners (see vv. 23–27; 3:1–5; 7:1–15).
2:17 Jesus likens those who are well to those who are righteous, and those who are sick to sinners; Jesus’ opponents must judge for themselves which ones they are. On account of their lack of mercy, they are in fact “sick” and sinners (see vv. 23–27; 3:1–5; 7:1–15).
Questions:
- When it comes to our approach to dealing with our culture, friends and family that reject God's great design, Jesus is our perfect example. He was all grace and all truth. He wasn't either/or, he was both/and. And though we can't do it perfectly, we should strive to be the same. He lived in the perfect balance of that tension. He hung out with people that were very sinful, yet He called them to repent. He took SINNERS to DINNER, but He also wasn't afraid to call a SINNER a SINNER. As Christians, we can fall too far one way or the other. A religious spirit will distance themselves from people that are far from God, while a more casual Christian might affirm sinful behavior in the name of trying to be loving. To which side do you tend to lean? Do you need to be more gracious and loving towards people that aren't like you? Or do you need to take a harder stand for truth with your friends and family?
- Grace AND truth! This principle should shape our lives and relationships. Truth without grace is just mean. Grace without truth is meaningless. But grace WITH truth is medicine. We're all sick with sin and wrong thinking. We need the medicine of grace and truth. We need to be a people of compassion and conviction. Countercultural truth #3 was that Christians extend COMPASSION anchored to CONVICTION and share CONVICTION clothed in COMPASSION. Who in your life needs more grace and compassion from you? Who needs more truth from you? Spend some time praying for these specific situations.
Pray:
- That you would stand on the truth of God's Word.
- That you would seek to reach people in your life with grace and truth.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
4. Can a person be good enough to go to heaven? No. Because Jesus rose from the dead proving He is God, I believe a person is saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
(John 1:12, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 4:1-25, 5:1-2, 6-11, 6:23, 10:1-4, 10:9; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Titus 3:4-7)
(John 1:12, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 4:1-25, 5:1-2, 6-11, 6:23, 10:1-4, 10:9; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Titus 3:4-7)
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