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Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them. As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him.Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. Now one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins, or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins."
- Mark 2:13-22
In yesterday's reading, Jesus was again at the house in Capernaum. So many crowded into hear Him speak the word that there was no room, even near the door. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four
men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they
uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they
let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their
faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."
And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their
hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive
sins but God alone?" But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His
spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man
has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say
to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." Immediately he
arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so
that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything
like this!"
Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them. As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him. My study bible notes here: "Levi (Matthew) is the only one of the Twelve with a powerful position in society and presumably an education. He has probably already heard of Jesus. Follow Me is a divine call, a command, not merely a suggestion. Of course, Matthew, like anyone receiving a call, must respond by his own free will." So far in Mark's gospel, we have seen many calls from Christ, initiating what is to be a relationship of service. There are those who come to Him, and those to whom He comes and calls.
Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. My study bible has several notes on this and the following verses. Here, it says, "In dining with sinners, Jesus shows the Kingdom's openness to the outcast, and its destruction of the barrier between sinful men and God. Jesus recognizes these people as a definable group. It is possible to follow Jesus and remain in one's social class; however, friends no longer come first."
And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?" Here, my study bible says, "The teachers of the Law sought to expel evil; Christ comes to transform it. Jesus does not become unclean by contact with the unclean. Rather, His touch makes the unclean clean."
When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." Again, my study bible notes, "Christ comes to save and to heal, not to judge (John 1:17; 3:17). There are righteous people who do dead works (actions which are good in themselves but are motivated by legalism rather than by love) and keep people from God. True righteousness comes through faith and is accompanied by wholesome works. Many Pharisees were masters of dead works; some tax collectors and many sinners would become masters of true righteousness." At the center of salvation is Christ; relationship to Him creates healing and salvation, and this relationship is one of love.
The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. Now one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins, or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins." My study bible notes, "This is not a blanket condemnation of Old Testament traditions, which Christ came to fulfill, not to destroy (Matt. 5:17). Rather, this verse stresses the newness of Christ's teaching. The old and the new cannot mix."
Wine and feasting go with weddings, with the presence of the Bridegroom. Here, Jesus teaches us a metaphor for Himself, as Bridegroom. He is the One whom we await to start the wedding, to engage in the wedding feast. Just as He once was together with His disciples, so we await His second coming, and the great wedding banquet that entails for us a fulfillment of this promise. But in the meantime, we understand who the Bridegroom is, we turn to Him in that relationship that heals and restores. Some call upon Him, and there are those to whom He comes calling, initiating relationship, and calling us out of our comfortable or familiar surroundings, as my study bible points out in a note above. Either way, we enter into something that changes and transforms our lives and ourselves. Jesus also calls Himself Physician in this reading, indicating again someone who initiates a kind of change in us and in our lives, one who prescribes what is best for us, who teaches us where to go and what to do for our own healing. With the Bridegroom there is joy -- and the joy is in the "new wine" of the wedding feast, that which would otherwise burst forth out of old skins and needs new skins to contain it. In this we can see a metaphor for the healing action of the Phyisician, transforming us, and the joy of that new belonging and new relatedness, so ready to burst that it really needs a "new skin" to contain it all. How are you called out of your life, your expectations, and into a new one? How does this make you grow and transform and expand? It is the joy in this expansive life that requires a "new skin" -- one that can expand with the reality that Christ brings. I believe this will be new for each of us, in our own way, that the eternal Christ is always bringing us things that are new, and transforming the past, requiring of us "new skins." How is this relationship of Bridegroom and Physician at work in you, today? Is it ever finished, or does it continue to transform, requiring the new skin that will expand?
Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them. As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him. My study bible notes here: "Levi (Matthew) is the only one of the Twelve with a powerful position in society and presumably an education. He has probably already heard of Jesus. Follow Me is a divine call, a command, not merely a suggestion. Of course, Matthew, like anyone receiving a call, must respond by his own free will." So far in Mark's gospel, we have seen many calls from Christ, initiating what is to be a relationship of service. There are those who come to Him, and those to whom He comes and calls.
Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. My study bible has several notes on this and the following verses. Here, it says, "In dining with sinners, Jesus shows the Kingdom's openness to the outcast, and its destruction of the barrier between sinful men and God. Jesus recognizes these people as a definable group. It is possible to follow Jesus and remain in one's social class; however, friends no longer come first."
And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?" Here, my study bible says, "The teachers of the Law sought to expel evil; Christ comes to transform it. Jesus does not become unclean by contact with the unclean. Rather, His touch makes the unclean clean."
When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." Again, my study bible notes, "Christ comes to save and to heal, not to judge (John 1:17; 3:17). There are righteous people who do dead works (actions which are good in themselves but are motivated by legalism rather than by love) and keep people from God. True righteousness comes through faith and is accompanied by wholesome works. Many Pharisees were masters of dead works; some tax collectors and many sinners would become masters of true righteousness." At the center of salvation is Christ; relationship to Him creates healing and salvation, and this relationship is one of love.
The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. Now one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins, or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins." My study bible notes, "This is not a blanket condemnation of Old Testament traditions, which Christ came to fulfill, not to destroy (Matt. 5:17). Rather, this verse stresses the newness of Christ's teaching. The old and the new cannot mix."
Wine and feasting go with weddings, with the presence of the Bridegroom. Here, Jesus teaches us a metaphor for Himself, as Bridegroom. He is the One whom we await to start the wedding, to engage in the wedding feast. Just as He once was together with His disciples, so we await His second coming, and the great wedding banquet that entails for us a fulfillment of this promise. But in the meantime, we understand who the Bridegroom is, we turn to Him in that relationship that heals and restores. Some call upon Him, and there are those to whom He comes calling, initiating relationship, and calling us out of our comfortable or familiar surroundings, as my study bible points out in a note above. Either way, we enter into something that changes and transforms our lives and ourselves. Jesus also calls Himself Physician in this reading, indicating again someone who initiates a kind of change in us and in our lives, one who prescribes what is best for us, who teaches us where to go and what to do for our own healing. With the Bridegroom there is joy -- and the joy is in the "new wine" of the wedding feast, that which would otherwise burst forth out of old skins and needs new skins to contain it. In this we can see a metaphor for the healing action of the Phyisician, transforming us, and the joy of that new belonging and new relatedness, so ready to burst that it really needs a "new skin" to contain it all. How are you called out of your life, your expectations, and into a new one? How does this make you grow and transform and expand? It is the joy in this expansive life that requires a "new skin" -- one that can expand with the reality that Christ brings. I believe this will be new for each of us, in our own way, that the eternal Christ is always bringing us things that are new, and transforming the past, requiring of us "new skins." How is this relationship of Bridegroom and Physician at work in you, today? Is it ever finished, or does it continue to transform, requiring the new skin that will expand?
