True Religion Mark 2:13-17NLT
Back in the 1980’s, the Minnesota Twins had this description of the game of baseball in their program:
“You have two sides, one out in the field, and one in.
Each man that's on the side that's in, goes out and when he's OUT he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out. When 3 men are out, the side that's out comes in and the side that's been in, goes out and tries to get those coming in… out. When both sides have been in and out 9 times including the not outs, that's the end of the game.” Baseball can be a confusing game. There are so many rules to understand that it can be hard on new players. Finally the program stated, “If children only see baseball as a bunch of rules that everyone knows but them, it is easy for them to get discouraged and just quit. And then the program stated, “It’s better just to play the game, you’ll soon pick up all the right rules. (Steve Ridgell)
Mark 2:13-17NLT Then Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to him. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him. 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.”
What was Jesus’ first and only stipulation for those He called? Follow Me!
The Pharisees of Jesus' day of course died long ago, but their spirit lives on in congregations across the land within the 21st century. How can we recognize if we have become like the Pharisees, and what did Jesus teach us about what we need to know to avoid becoming like those men?
One scholar noted: “The Pharisees’ attitude (was) derived from… the false assumption that true religion was a solemn, joyless affair…”
Verse 13 say’s, Jesus taught the crowds.
What did He teach? As you read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John you quickly find out what Jesus taught and what He was about.
He taught, Pureness, Simplicity, Love, Giving, Living- without partiality, Touching the broken, Forgiveness, Hope, Miracles, Prayer, Faith, Jesus taught living in God’s Kingdom now~Experiencing Jesus’ way of life now.
Verse 14TM Strolling along, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, at his work collecting taxes. Jesus said, “Come along with me.” He came.
Levi, also called Matthew was Jewish, but he collected taxes for Rome. The Jews hated tax collectors. They had a reputation for taking more than they needed in order to add to their own wealth. Sometimes true religion will call you to leave the old and go with the new, that's exactly what Matthew did.
If you had to describe the Bible with one word, what would you say? I would say, Love~ Yes, it’s a book of love.
Erma Bombeck, tells about a little boy at church with his mother. He was a good little boy, quiet and well behaved. He didn’t cause any problems. But every once in a while he would stand up in the pew, turn around look at the people behind him and smile at them. His smile was infectious, and soon everybody behind him was starting to smile back at him, too.
It was all going fine until the mother realized what the little boy was doing. When she did, she grabbed him by his ear and twisted it a bit told him to sit down and remember that he was in church.
Then he started sniffling and crying, and she turned to him and said, "That’s better.”
Is that the perception you have of church, and maybe the body of Christ? Sad, boring, and joyless?
Mark 2:15LB That night Levi invited his fellow tax collectors and many other notorious sinners to be his dinner guests so that they could meet Jesus and his disciples. (There were many men of this type among the crowds that followed him.)
In our text this morning, this Pharisaical attitude was that religion should be solemn and joyless. It showed up in at least 4 rules they tried to impose on Jesus and His disciples. Those 4 rules were:
Rule #1 – you can’t eat with sinners
Rule #2 – you can’t eat food when we (the Pharisees) say you should fast
Rule #3 – you can’t pick grain out of the field to chew on during the Sabbath
Rule #4 – you can’t help someone who’s hurting on the Sabbath
Now all of these rules were man-made; Not one of them was based directly out of Scripture.
God’s Law did say you shouldn’t work on the Sabbath day, but the Pharisees were uncomfortable with the fact that God’s Law didn’t spell out what “work” was to their satisfaction. So they came up with their own personal list of 1521 ways you would be breaking the Sabbath:
• If a person walked more than 750 yards, he broke the Sabbath.
• A Jew couldn’t tie a knot or kill fleas or flies on the Sabbath.
• A Jew couldn’t wear a heavy coat because if he took it off and had to carry it, he was working.
A woman wasn’t allowed to look in the mirror because she might see a gray hair and pull it out – which would have been reaping.
Mark 2:16TM The religion scholars and Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company and lit into his disciples: “What kind of example is this, acting cozy with the riffraff?”
I’m going to list a 5 things Jesus Christ was and presently is about.
1. The religion of Christ is one of relationship.
He wants you to surrender everything~ I Peter 5:7NLT Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
2. The religion of Christ is all about purity.
Jesus loves the pure in heart, pure motives, pure thoughts, pure love without hypocrisy.
Matthew 5:1-3NKJB And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
3. The religion of Christ is all about Love.
Matthew 5:43-47NLT “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47 If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.
4. The religion of Christ is one of sincerity.
Matthew 5:4-10NLT God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. 6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. 7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. 9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. 10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
5. The religion of Christ is for sinners to receive forgiveness.
Going back to the text, Mark 2:17TM Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I’m here inviting the sin-sick, not the spiritually-fit.”
These verses sum-up the way Jesus desires believers to live. Matthew 11:28-30TM Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
Come to Me.
Get away with Me.
Walk with Me.
Work with Me.
Watch how I do it.
Learn grace.
Keep company with Me.
In closing, there are pants called “True Religion”, There are groups that offer true religion, Educators, and philosophers that offer True Religion; however, Jesus paid the ultimate price to give everyone True Religion and it begins with relationship.
Benediction.
