Jesus Was Just Different #4 Series

Great Lessons from the Life of Christ #4

Jesus Was Just Different

(Mark 2:13-3:6)

If I asked you, or any group of Christians to describe Jesus, what would I hear - I would hear words like gracious, loving, compassionate, perfect.

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Do you think anyone would describe Jesus as scandalous, or contentious, or egregious? Read the gospels - that is exactly the way the religious folks in the first century would have described Jesus, because it seemed that everywhere He went a scandal ensued, a problem arose.

Of course, His followers were accused of the same thing. In Acts 17 we are told that they “turned the world upside down.” – the truth is they were trying to turn it right side up, but when you challenge the moral and religious culture of your day as they did, there will always be problems.

I have read and re-read Mark 2:13 – 3:6, and there are a series of events that take place over a seemingly series of days, all of which involve Jesus and each of which result in a controversy and a clash with the religious crowd – because the religious crowd have a real issue with Jesus and what He is doing.

Bottom line – everywhere Jesus went, a scandal seemed to follow. And here are the four things I see in this text, and while this will be a broad overview of this text, there are just some things that are obvious and are lessons for us.

• Jesus chose people that no one else would have chosen. (This one we have already seen, but we have to mention it again).

• Jesus hung out with folks that religious people or leaders would not have hung out with.

• Jesus challenged the religious customs and traditions of His day.

• Jesus often offended the religious crowd in order to meet the needs of others.

We will cover a lot of ground in this text, but there is a picture painted of Jesus in these events that we need to see and apply to our lives.

Jesus did choose people no one else would have chosen - He chose Matthew.

We have already seen this in the choosing of Peter, Andrew, James and John, but even more so now in the choosing of Matthew.

Before looking at His choosing Matthew, let me ask a simple question: What is a disciple of Jesus? We use the word Christian much more than the word “disciple,” but that word disciple is the word most often used to describe followers of Jesus.

Vs. 14 - Jesus said to Matthew “follow Me” – that is exactly what a disciple is – one who follows Jesus – one who decides, who commits, resolves to be like, act like, live like, love like, talk like, serve like Jesus.

Matthew becomes a follower – but when you realize who he is, he is a follower most would not have chosen, because of what he does for a living. Matthew is a tax collector…a man who collected money for the Roman government. In the eyes of Jews a traitor. In the eyes of everyone else, a crook. Rome just wanted their money and gave certain men the power to collect it – how a tax collector got it or how much extra he charged was of no concern to Rome.

Here is what I want to say – Jesus was not concerned about who Matthew had been or who he was. Following Jesus is all about who you want to be and who you will become. That has never and will never change. For each of us – following Jesus is about who we become…about who we will allow Him to change us into. Has nothing to do with your past.

Two of my favorite verses and least favorite verses are I John 4:4 & II Corinthians 3:18 – I John 4:4 says “Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world.” I would like to use satan or the pressures of the world to explain to you why I’m less like Jesus than I should be, but this verse tells me I have the power within me to become like Jesus – I have God in me.

And II Corinthians 3:18 tells me how to become like Jesus – “but we all with unveiled face, beholding in a glass the glory of the Lord are transformed into His same image.” I become like Jesus by looking at Jesus – by taking my focus off the things of this world and focusing on Him.

And while you past may affect you, Jesus would say to you - it does not have to define you.

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Jesus chose Matthew – one with a horrible reputation and one hated by his countrymen - and so directed and channeled his life that eventually he would write one of the four gospel accounts that today, over two thousand years later tells the story of Jesus and impacts the world.