to the gospel of Mark chapter 2. Mark chapter 2 and verse 11. Let's read verse 10. But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins, he saith to the sick of the palsy, I say unto thee, Arise, take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all, insomuch that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. And he went forth again by the seaside, and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the receipt of custom, And he said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him. And it came to pass that as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples. For there were many, and they followed him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick, I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. It struck me when the religious hierarchy, the scribes and the Pharisees, marveled that Jesus ate with publicans and sinners. This man eats with publicans and sinners. And they charged him with that in a derogatory fashion. I want to preach tonight, as we observe the Lord's Supper, just a simple message entitled, This Man Eateth with Publicans and Sinners. Jesus had just healed a leper and also a man who was crippled with the palsy and was unable to do for himself. In fact, others had to bring the man to Jesus and they brought him through the roof. And what amazed me about this is the cooperation of those men here in Mark chapter 2. Each one held a corner. They brought the man to Jesus. And what astounds me about this is what Jesus did when they brought the man to Him. It says in verse 2, And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door And notice, and he preached the word unto them. This man, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the living word of God. He is the word that became flesh. John said that. We beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth. He is the Word of God, come to communicate salvation. But this man preached the Word unto them. Jesus preached the Word. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. And that man who was palsy, terrible disease, it crippled him It caused him not to be able to even walk or fend for himself. And in a miraculous way, just merely by the Word of Jesus Christ, he told the man, and this was powerful, because this man, the Lord Jesus Christ, is demonstrating that he has the power not just to heal physically, but also spiritually. Because He told the man, thy sins arise, take up thy bed. But before He even said that, He's demonstrating to them that He has the power to forgive sins. This man, the Lord Jesus Christ. And then, as He taught there in verse after this miracle. And I wonder just what it would have been like to see that. To see this man, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, who came to seek and to save that which was lost, to see Him, just by the Word of His power, say, arise, take up thy bed, and walk. Because in essence, when He calls us by His grace, He brings us out of death and darkness and depravity and we are unable in and of ourselves to rise up, but He calls us. And He forgives us. And He cleanses us. But how miraculous it must have been to see Jesus Christ speak the Word and a man is healed from all appearances. He didn't even touch this man. All he did was say, arise, take up thy bed and go thy way into thy house. And it says immediately. I mean, I'd love to see Benny Hinn do this, these fake healers of our day. This happened instantaneously. Immediately. And people were amazed. They saw the Son of Man do a miracle before their very eyes, healing a man physically and demonstrating His healing power spiritually as well because He has the power to forgive sins. And He went by the seaside, it said in verse 13, and all the multitude came to Him. And again, what does He do? He preaches a word to them. He taught them. He taught them the Word of God. And then as he passed by, he saw Levi, otherwise known as Matthew, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him. Now this was a powerful call. If you understand what a publican was, he was one of the most despised individuals among the Jews, because he was a Jew that collected taxes for the Romans. And the way that he made his money, he collected whatever the Roman tax was, and then he charged them over. And whatever he could gather over, he made his money at the expense of his own countrymen by charging them more than the tax was. And many of them were wealthy. And they were notorious for ripping people off. The Lord Jesus Christ sees a man that everybody despises. Who everybody considered the very lowest of the low. And He called him. And He called this man out of darkness into His marvelous light. And there was no resistance whatsoever. Levi didn't ask him any questions. He did not question the call of Christ. It merely says, Jesus said, follow me, and he arose and followed him. This man, has the power to change the lives of the very worst sinners, the dregs of society, people that are looked down upon. He has the power to transform their lives forever. I'm one of them. Thank God, I'm not an IRS agent, I'm not a tax collector, but I was the lowest of the low when the Lord saved me. And then I see this man's humility and compassion, the Lord Jesus Christ. He sat with people that nobody else wanted to sit with. It says it came to pass that as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus. I lost my place here. Many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and His disciples, for there were many, and they followed Him. It just struck me. We're talking about the very Son of God, Jesus Christ. God, manifest in the flesh, was willing to eat. with publicans and sinners, those that the religious world of their day completely rejected. And Jesus sat with them and ate with them. And when the scribes, those were people who copied the scriptures, and the Pharisees who were the very strictest and most legalistic sect who follow the ceremonial law to the T. When they saw Jesus doing this, they were amazed that somebody who was teaching the Word of God, who was proclaiming himself to be the Messiah, the one who was healing multitudes, walking on the water, feeding multitudes, this guy, this man is eating Republicans and sinners? And it made me think how thankful I am that the Lord is with us tonight. As we observe the Lord's Supper, we're here as sinners who've been saved by His grace who had been called out of darkness into His marvelous light, this man who came from heaven, was born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, fulfilled all the law, and then at the cross He bore our sins in His body, He suffered in our stead. The wrath of God was poured out upon Him. He died. He shed His blood. He gave His all. This man gave everything for publicans and sinners like you and me. Then He rose from the dead. He saved our souls. and He called us to salvation, and He also called us to be members of His church, of His body, and led us, and directed us, and His Spirit moved upon us to submit to the ordinance of Baptist baptism. And tonight, we have the privilege of eating the bread and drinking the wine commemorating this man, the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. And I love the way that Jesus answered His critics. He really didn't even try to defend Him eating with publicans and sinners. But rather, He looks right at these legalistic, high-brow Pharisees And he said, they that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. See, the Pharisees and the scribes, they thought that they were whole, that they didn't need the salvation in Christ Jesus. And he tells them right to their face, I didn't come to save people like you. I came to save people who saw how wicked they were, who had a change of mind about their sin, about their condition, and turned to the physician, the Lord Jesus Christ, the only one who's able to heal their souls. I love the way that Jesus explain that to the Pharisees. And how does all this relate to our observance tonight? Well, we were like the lepers, the crippled, the publicans, and sinners. We all come from different backgrounds, but we share something in common with them, and it's sin. And thankfully, the great physician opened our heart, showed us what we were, and saved our souls. And just like Jesus healed the leper, and healed the palsied man, and called Matthew from a life of disgrace and depravity as a publican, and a sinner. That's exactly what Jesus has done. He's made a miraculous change in our lives. He is the great physician who's healed our souls. And tonight, He has allowed us the singular privilege to gather in His name, to observe an ordinance that He instituted in the first church during his earthly ministry, and that true New Testament churches have been observing in every century from the time that Jesus started the first church, and we're in that holy succession of churches that have carried out the Great Commission, who have preached the gospel, and who have kept the ordinances, And tonight we have the honor, as we break bread and as we drink the wine, to remember what great things God has done in Jesus Christ. So let our focus be entirely upon this man, the God-man, who has condescended to sup to fellowship with sinners like you and me. And how it ought to humble our hearts to think that our God loves us with that kind of compassion to be willing to fellowship with publicans and sinners. May God give us grace tonight to think deeply upon our great Lord, remember His sufferings, His death, His resurrection, and His soon coming. All the members would get in the middle of the church