Our sermon text this morning is Mark chapter two, verses 13 through 17. Listen to God’s word. He went out again beside the sea and all the crowd was coming to him and he was teaching them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi, the son of Alpheus sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, follow me. And he rose and followed him.

And as he reclined a table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners? When Jesus heard it, he said to them, those who are well have no need of a physician. Those who are sick, I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.

Thus far God’s word, please be seated. As we have opened up God’s word and now turning to its preaching, let’s pray. Lord our God, you have spoken to us your holy word and your word is truth. Our prayer is that you would open our eyes now that we may behold wondrous things out of your law. Open our ears that we may hear the voice of Christ calling sinners to himself. Open our hearts that we may receive your word with faith and repentance, with humility and joy. By your Holy Spirit, give light to our minds, conviction to our consciences, comfort to our souls and obedience to our wills. Let the word read and preached expose our sin, reveal our Savior, strengthen our faith, and conform us more and more to the image of Christ. May we not be hearers only, but doers of the word. Speak, Lord, for your servants are listening. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Congregation, as we look at the passage before us this morning, earlier this morning when I was having breakfast, dad asked me what I was preaching on and I had a brain freeze, not uncommon. You probably have had your senior moments perhaps, but yes, eventually I had to look it up. Even though I’ve been looking at this and so forth, we get one of those times, but this is a relatively short passage. before us today, but it opens wide a window into the heart of Christ’s saving mission.

Jesus calls Levi. He’s a tax collector from his booth, from his office, and then he sits at table with tax collectors and sinners and the scribes of the Pharisees object to this. Jesus answers with a sentence that explains not only this scene, but the whole of his coming. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners. It’s not simply a story of one man’s conversion. It is a revelation of who Jesus is. He is the sovereign caller. He is the friend of sinners. He is the holy physician. He is the Lord who does not wait for sinners to make themselves clean, but who comes near to cleanse them. by His grace.

It also presses some searching questions on us. Do we ourselves know that we are sick enough to need a physician? Have we risen from the tax booth, as it were, to follow Christ? Are we a church where sinners may come near to the Savior without finding either moral compromise or, fairer say, coldness?

So what we’re gonna see this morning is that Jesus Christ came to call sinners to himself to heal them by his grace and to form them into a holy fellowship of mercy. So notice, if you will, in verses 13 and 14, we see Christ sees and calls a despised sinner.

He went out again beside the sea and all the crowd was coming to him and he was teaching them. And as he passed by, He saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, follow me. And he rose and followed him. Now, Mark begins with Jesus beside the sea.

We are on the north end of the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum. It is where many trade routes would come. So people coming, say, from Babylon or what is modern day Iraq, would follow the fertile crescent around the trade routes would come in through Capernaum. Well, what better place than to set up a tax booth to collect various custom duties and so forth there at this region. And the crowd is there.

Jesus has been teaching by the sea. And notice Mark tells us he was teaching them. We need to remember that Jesus’s ministry is primarily word-centered. His miracles are not entertainment. His healings are not just bare displays of his power. They confirm and they reveal the kingdom that he preaches. And yet, We see the scene narrowing from all the crowd down to one man, Levi. Christ is never lost in the middle and in the multitude. He sees particular centers.

He sees Levi at the tax booth. He sees Zacchaeus up in the tree. He sees blind Bartimaeus by the roadside. He sees the woman at the well. He sees the sheep whom he will call by name. You know, we may be a small congregation and we may feel somewhat small here in Paris and Lamar County, but Christ does not need largeness to do saving work. He sees one center. He calls one man. He opens one home. He fills one table.

He begins works of grace through particular people in ordinary places. So we should pray, Lord, show us one Levi. Give us eyes to see one soul. Help us not to despise small beginnings. When we see Levi, he is sitting at the tax booth. That’s important here. He’s not merely passing by a morally questionable place. Something to understand.

In the Roman world, taxation was familiar. Everywhere you turn, the tax man was there, the collector was there. The Roman world understood tolls and customs and contracts and public resentment towards the collectors. The Romans practiced what was called tax farming. Basically, you would have contractors bid on the collection of customs and duties and tolls for a particular government, in this case the Roman government, but also for the kingdoms and localities there. But they would bid for the contract and the contract was the tolls that would be expected or customs in that region plus a certain percentage that they could collect for themselves for the trouble of carrying out the contract.

But often the case would be that those who received the contracts at times would gouge the people, collect more than what they were supposed to, thus the instruction, collect no more than what you’re supposed to, that Jesus gives, and John also will proclaim. But there’s resentment, anyway, because, you know, if you ever work for the Internal Revenue Service, IRS employees will tell you when people find out you work for the IRS, people kind of take a step back. There’s that attitude. But here, these guys behaved oftentimes criminally. And there were circumstances where the Roman government, if there was enough public outcry against the contractor for an area that they would go in and remove them from the contract and give somebody who’s a bit more honest, or at least not as outrageous.

And so here we see that Levi is sitting there at the tax booth. And the point that Mark is making here is not a political point. Jesus does not attack the tax booth as a nationalist agitator. He doesn’t endorse the corruptions that are associated with it.

He does something deeper. He calls the man and says, follow me. That’s a command, a present imperative. It means not merely take an interest in me, but become my follower and go on following me and do it now. Christ summons Levi into discipleship. And what’s he do? Mark says, and he rose and followed him. This is beautifully brief here. Jesus saw, Jesus spoke, Levi rose, Levi followed him. Well, that in a nutshell is a quick summary of the Bible’s teaching regarding effectual calling. in narrative form. The outward call of the gospel is proclaimed. Repent and believe the gospel. Here it comes from the lips of Christ.

The inward grace of Christ makes Levi willing to get up and to follow Jesus. The Savior who commands also gives power to obey. Now, notice Levi doesn’t reform himself first. He doesn’t improve his reputation first. Christ calls him while he is sitting at the tax booth. This is grace. But grace is not weightless. Levi rises. To follow Christ, he must leave what cannot be carried into discipleship.

His booth represents his old security, his old identity. His old game, his old compromises. What’s your tax booth? What place or practice or resentment or relationship, habit or secret sin has become a seat from which Christ is calling you to rise and to follow him? This text has a direct word to you. Christ came to call sinners. Don’t hide behind excuses. Don’t say, well, I’m not religious enough. Or don’t say, I’ve sinned too greatly. Don’t say, I’ll come later. Don’t say, I’m better than many.

You are sick with sin. You are dead in trespasses. Christ is the physician. You are guilty, but Christ has blood for sinners. You are unable to save yourself, but Christ came to seek and to save the lost. So the question is not whether you’re worthy. You’re not.

The question is whether will you come to the one who receives sinners. Rise from your tax booth, leave your sin, trust Christ and follow him. But notice too, Jesus receives sinners, but he doesn’t leave them seated in sin. He says, follow me. Maybe you’re ashamed and you hear this calm and you think your past is such that, that, that no, no, the grace of God is just not possible. Look, your past may explain where Christ found you, but it need not define where Christ is taking you. Don’t let shame keep you seated at the booth. So what would it mean for you now to rise and follow Christ? What sin must be left? What fear must be faced? What obedience have you delayed?

Christ calls Levi personally and powerfully, but grace does not stop with Levi. The called sinner becomes a witness. The scene moves from the tax booth to the table. We see here in verses 15 and 16 that Christ received sinners and holy mercy, listen to it. And as he reclined a table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. And the scribes and the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?

Now this meal is likely in Levi’s house. Luke tells us that Levi made Jesus a great feast in the house. Levi’s first recorded act after following Jesus is hospitality. He brings Jesus near to the people he knows. See, Levi doesn’t yet have years of training, but he does not yet have a long testimony, but he knows Jesus and he knows other sinners who need him.

Look, our evangelism doesn’t have to begin with a grand program. It may begin with one table, one invitation, one meal, one cup of coffee, one conversation, one neighbor, one family member, one visitor, Maybe you’re tempted to think that your useful years are behind you. But Mark 2 reminds us that the kingdom advances not only through strength and activity, but through witness and prayer and hospitality and grace-shaped relationships.

Yes, you may not be able to do what you once did, but you can still see people whom others overlook. You can still pray for sinners by name. You can still welcome You can still speak of the mercy of the physician. You can still say he called me to ask the Lord for one person to encourage one sinner to pray for one younger believer to strengthen one visitor to welcome one testimony of grace to speak. We’re a small church. Okay. But we can still practice holy hospitality. We can open homes. We can invite neighbors and welcome visitors. We can say, by our life together, come and meet the physician. And notice here, Mark says that many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. Table fellowship in that world is socially significant. To eat with someone expressed welcome, association, and fellowship.

And that is why the scribes are put off by this. They’re offended. They’re not upset merely because Jesus spoke to a sinner. They’re troubled because he shares a meal with many sinners. So this phrase tax collectors and sinners doesn’t merely mean, well, all people are sinners. That is true, but it refers socially to people who are publicly regarded as immoral, unclean, alienated, outside respectable religious life. And Jesus is not ashamed to be near them. But notice his nearness is not compromise. He doesn’t approve their sin. He doesn’t redefine their sin. He does not say, you are well. He draws near to call and heal.

And here’s something we must hold together, what sinners love to separate. Christ is holy, and Christ is merciful. Christ receives sinners, and Christ calls sinners to repentance. Christ comes near, and Christ makes clean. We, as a congregation, must be both holy and welcoming. If we are welcoming without holiness, we become worldly. If we are holy without mercy, we become pharisaic. Christ shows us a better way, holy mercy. But every visitor sense two things among us. God is holy and Christ is merciful.

Maybe you’re hesitant to invite messy people. Tax collectors and sinners carry in truckloads of complications. So do real people. They may not know how to dress. They may not know our customs. They may have tangled marriages and addictions and crude speech and political baggage and moral confusion or no church background. They may be slow to understand. They may make us uncomfortable. They may be lacking in social cleanliness.

But Mark 2 asks us, are we willing to have sinners near us so that they may come near to Christ? Not near us to corrupt the church, not near us to redefine righteousness, not near us so sin may be excused, but near us so they may hear Christ’s call and meet Christ’s mercy. If our church is never made uncomfortable by the nearness of needy sinners, we may be more shaped by Pharisaic caution than by the mission of Christ.

Well, the scribes of the Pharisees jump in. They ask, why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners? You know, they’re concerned with boundary maintenance. They think holiness is preserved chiefly by distance from sinners. And there is, of course, a biblical separation from sin. Psalm 1 blesses a man who does not walk on the counsel of the wicked. Paul warns that bad company ruins good morals. But the Pharisees are confusing separation from sin with contempt for sinners. They see contamination. Jesus sees a mission field. They see scandal. Jesus sees sheep to be gathered. They see people to avoid. Jesus sees sinners to call. Now, this is dangerous for folks who love sound doctrine. We should love sound doctrine.

The church must be grounded in truth. But Mark 2 warns us that doctrinal precision without mercy becomes ugly. Our reformed theology should make us the humblest people in town. If we truly understood it, if we believe in total depravity, we should not be shocked by centers. If we believe in sovereign grace, we should not despair over centers. If we believe in effectual calling, we should pray boldly for centers. If we believe in justification by faith alone, we should welcome repentance centers without requiring them first to become socially polished. Let our Reform faith become evangelistic humility, not cold suspicion. The doctrines of grace should make us gracious.

Now, understand something here. These scribes were not irreligious people. They cared about holiness, scripture, visible obedience, and yet they stood outside the joy of grace. Maybe you’re a respectable church member. Okay. Heed the warning here in this passage. Long familiarity with worship and hymns and catechisms and our reformed language is a great blessing, but it becomes dangerous if it hides our need of mercy. Don’t say, I’m a member. Everything’s well, don’t say, I know doctrine, therefore all is well. Don’t say I’m conservative, therefore all is well. Don’t say I’m not like those people, therefore all is well. We should be the humblest of people, not haughty. A long church membership should deepen our repentance and not dull it.

Well, the scribes are asking a question about Jesus’s conduct here, and he answers by revealing his mission. Verse 17. When he heard it, he said to them, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.

Jesus belongs among the sick. His answer’s simple, it’s brilliant. Sick people need a doctor. Now, here in the original language of the New Testament, Jesus speaks of those who are strong and those who are badly having. So if you come and ask me how it’s been, I might say, well, I’m badly having. Well, those who are sick.

He takes their accusation and he reframes it. They say, Jesus eats with sinners, therefore he’s compromised. Jesus says, a physician belongs among the sick, therefore my presence among sinners reveals my vocation, my calling. See, sin’s not merely a mistake. It’s not merely social brokenness. It’s not merely ignorance. It is spiritual sickness, guilt, corruption, and death. The Old Testament often describes sin in such terms.

Isaiah 1.5, the whole head is sick and the whole heart pain. And yet the Lord reveals himself as healer.

Exodus 15.26, I am the Lord, your healer. And Psalm 103, bless the Lord who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases. Jesus takes this divine role to himself.

He is the great physician. And he heals, how? By being wounded. He doesn’t merely diagnose the disease. He heals it by his own wounds. Isaiah 53 verse five. tells us, but he, speaking of Christ, was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, and with his wounds, we are what? We are healed. So here at Levi’s table, Jesus is socially numbered with sinners. At the cross, he was judicially numbered with transgressors.

Isaiah 53.12, he was numbered with the transgressors. Yet he bore the sin of many. That’s how Christ fulfills this passage. He does not excuse sin. He atones for it. He does not pretend sinners are well. He dies to heal them. He bears the guilt, the curse, the shame of his people, and he rises to give them life. He sends his spirit to renew them.

And if you are in Christ today, Jesus did not excuse your sin, but he bore the full weight of it. My God, my God, why do you forsake me? He atoned for your sin. He didn’t pretend that you were well. He died to heal you. He bears your guilt, your curse, your shame. And he rose again to give you life. And he sent his spirit to make you alive in Him.

So, if you find yourself with this realization of your sickness, your lostness, that you are dead in sins and trespasses before a just and holy God, listen to this passage to understand His intent. Your sickness, your death, is not a reason to stay away from Christ. It is the reason you must come to him. Don’t wait until you feel spiritually impressive. Come sick. Come guilty. Come ashamed. Come weary. Come to the physician.

Christ came not to call the righteous, but sinners. It doesn’t mean that some people are righteous without them and don’t need salvation. Scripture says no one is righteous. No, not one. What he’s doing here, see, is exposing those who think themselves righteous. The righteous are those who imagine their well. The sinners are those who know their need. And that’s a great dividing line in this passage here. Not good people versus bad people, but those who know they’re sick. versus those who think they are well.

Are you weary in the Lord? Make your need an argument in prayer. Lord Jesus, you came for the sick. I am sick. Heal me. You came for sinners. I am a sinner. Have mercy. Maybe you are not yet in Christ. Maybe you’ve been so deep in the weeds, as it were, with your sin and your shame and your guilt, and think, I’m too sinful. Christ came for sinners like you and like me.

Don’t think that somehow you’ve created a situation that is too impossible for the Lord of this universe to solve. You know how arrogant we are sometimes, we think, oh, my sin is too great, therefore God can’t give me life in Him. I’m sorry, but that’s a challenge you’re gonna lose. He is Lord over all. And so the well in their own eyes don’t seek a position, but you see yourself in your sins and admit this sin, but also see your only help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth. In the Lord Jesus Christ, the great physician alone. Rise from your tax booth, leave your sin, trust Christ and follow him.

Now, the Pharisee in all of us notices other sins quickly and our own slowly. The Pharisee in us is offended when grace comes near to people that we find distasteful. Ask yourself, have I forgotten what Christ had to forgive in me? Well, as we look at this passage here, Christ not only calls us to obey, he enables us to obey. He enables us to follow him by his effectual call. Levi rose because Christ called the Savior who commands gives grace to obey. He enables us to leave the tax booth by giving us himself as a greater treasure. Indeed, I count everything as lost the Apostle Paul says in Philippians 3, because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. He enables us to receive sinners without approving sin because he is full of grace and truth.

John 1.14 tells us about him and the word became flesh and dwelt among us and that he is full of grace and truth. He enables us to resist self-righteousness by bringing us again to the cross where all boasting dies.

In Galatians 6.14, far be it for me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. He enables the church to be a hospital for sinners, not a museum for the respectable. So then what does this mean for us, particularly here at faith? We must become a congregation shaped by the physician. We must preach Christ plainly. We don’t first ask, how can we be impressive? We ask, how can we be faithful to the physician?

That means Christ must be at the center. He must be central to everything. Christ crucified, Christ risen, Christ calling sinners, Christ receiving the weary, Christ sanctifying his people, Christ worthy of being followed. It’s all about Jesus, and if it’s not about him, it’s all for naught.

We must also welcome sinners warmly and call sinners clearly. If we are shaped by this passage, we say, come as a sinner, but do not come expecting to keep your sin. Come sick, but come to the physician who heals. Come guilty, but come to the savior who forgives. Come ashamed, but come to the Lord who clothes sinners with his righteousness. Come broken, but come to the one who makes new. Another thing too, Levi’s house, notice here, becomes a place where sinners are brought near to Jesus.

Our homes, our meals, our conversations and invitations may become ordinary instruments of gospel mercy. Every one of us might ask, who is one person I can pray for? Who is one person I can invite? Who is one visitor I can welcome? Who is one discouraged that I can encourage?

Brothers, elders, Christ saw Levi not merely as a category. We must see people, not merely attendance patterns or preferences or problems. What are we failing to see? The quiet widow, the irregular member, the visitor who feels out of place, the ashamed sinner, the person hard to love, the young person quietly drifting, the older saint who feels useless, Shepherds under Christ must look with pastoral eyes.

And for all of us, we must expect Christ to still call sinners. Levi at the tax booth tells us not to despair. Christ can call from places that we least expect. He can save in Paris. He can save in Lamar County. He can save the religious, the irreligious, the ashamed, the hardened, the respectable, the broken, the young, the old. Are we praying for conversions? Are we praying for holy mercy? Are we praying for renewed humility? Are we praying that our church would be a place where sinners meet the physician? So we’ve come face to face in this passage with the mercy and authority of Christ. He sees Levi. He calls Levi. Levi rises. Jesus eats with sinners. The Pharisees complain, and Jesus declares this mission.

Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners. Don’t pretend to be well. Come to the position. Don’t remain seated at the tax booth. Rise and follow. Do not despise sinners Christ may call. Welcome them with holy mercy. Do not boast in respectability. Boast only in the cross. At Levi’s table, Jesus was numbered socially with sinners. At Calvary he was numbered judicially with transgressors. He bore the sin of many, and by his wounds the sick are healed.

So let us be marked by this good news, this gospel, that we are holy, but not cold, welcoming, but not worldly, doctrinally sound, but deeply merciful, small, perhaps a number, but rich in the grace of the Great Physician. Let no one here boasts that he’s well. Let no one here despair that she is sick. Let no one here despise the sinner whom Christ may call. Let no one here remain seated when the Savior says, follow me.

Let’s pray together. Lord our God, as we have heard your word this hour, we ask that you would be at work by your Holy Spirit to Bring those who do not know you to a knowledge of their sickness and their need of a savior, of the need of the great position. You give them life in Christ. If we’ve been full of ourselves, Lord, empty us and make us full of Christ. Help us show compassion and mercy. Help us, Lord, to be both holy and merciful. Lord, in all things, may you work marvelously, mightily in our lives, help us to see over and again how great your grace is, how amazing, how wonderful it is. And we pray this in Jesus’ name. And God’s people say, amen. In response to God’s word, let’s stand and sing 465, marvelous grace of our loving Lord, 465.