Please take your copy of God's Word and open with me to Mark's Gospel. We're going to be in chapter 2, verses 13 through 17. You may have a subtitle. Mine here is Jesus calls Levi. And indeed, that's what we will be reading about and what I will be preaching on. Of course, it's not just Levi's calling, but the fallout that ensues. So if you would please stand now as we hear the very word of God addressing us. He, that is Jesus, 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. 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? And when Jesus 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. Let's now pray together. Lord, what a glorious word we have here. This is good news for us. And indeed, we come thirsty and needy and weary and burdened. Lord, please open our eyes, unstop our ears, help us to hear this good word afresh. Help us to rest in you through hearing this good word and all of this for our joy and for your glory. Amen. Please be seated. This evening's sermon is entitled, Messiah on a Rescue Mission. Messiah on a Rescue Mission. And what we're going to see is that Jesus came, and he came in a very particular way, namely calling the worst. and all of this to show everyone, all of us, that He is the best. So we're going to see who He calls, who He uses, and then something of the call itself. Well, before we go any further, some background, some historical cultural background. For those who are not familiar, the class of tax collector was, I guess you could say, held a very special place in the hearts of the average Jew in the day of Jesus. That place in the hearts of Jews was one of particular contempt and disdain and derision. You could hardly think of a class of person that could possibly be more hated than the tax collector. And this was for a number of reasons. The way that the Roman Empire levied its taxes was they divided the empire up into regions for taxing purposes and then they would hold essentially an auction. And to the highest bidder would go the right or privilege of being the taxing authority. And the highest bidder would then have that place. They would then carry, of course, the weight of the Roman government, the backing thereof, to levy taxes of multiple sorts, income, commerce, Really, when it came right down to it, there was perhaps the letter of the law, but in practice, a tax collector could pretty much, he was judge, jury, and executioner, essentially. So he could hold up a caravan and essentially make them dump out all their goods, He could enumerate their value according to his whims and levy a tax right there on the spot. And if that tax were, say, to be beyond the means of the person, then the tax collector would come up with... They were well known for this. They would have all sorts of schemes. They would say things like, well, If you can't pay in full, I'll loan you the money at such and such interest. And so essentially they were serial thieves that had the backing of the Roman government. And of course, not only that, but just picture if we had perhaps overlords here in America. political military overlords. Pick your flavor. Say we went to war with China and we lost, and let's say you had turncoat Americans that decided to collect taxes on behalf of the Chinese Empire. I think we wouldn't have to use our imaginations too hard to think that these people would have a particular, they'd have a special place in our hearts. But then you also have not only a political military machine to whom you're being taxed to death, in some cases literally, but it was also a religious deal. that your tax money was going towards, essentially, the Caesar, a different religion. And so, in every respect, the taxes themselves were an offense. The manner in which they were collected and levied were unjust. And so this is why, as a rule, the entire class of Jews turned tax collector were excommunicated. They were not allowed in the synagogues as a rule. Again, I think the Jew would have a much easier time loving a prostitute or a thief that was not working essentially on behalf of the Roman government. These people were the worst of the worst. And so you can then picture yourself, Jesus, now by the Sea of Galilee, as he has done before, and he is teaching, and we're not sure if he's teaching as he's walking, perhaps using various objects as lessons, as object lessons abound, or perhaps he would teach and then move down the shoreline a little ways, teach some more. But either way, as he's moving around the Sea of Galilee, he crosses or passes by this tax booth. And this is where at least the first three verses here play out. He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to Him. By this point, of course, Jesus is popular enough. He knows that when He goes out, what's gonna happen. And so He's going out intentionally, and He's going to teach, and they are ready hearers. And Peter, through his scribe Mark, says that as Jesus passed by, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax booth. And so it would have been the most unimaginable thing to hear Jesus say, follow me. Now, this is not the first time we have heard these words from Jesus' mouth, but before it was fishermen to whom he gave the imperative, the command, follow me. But by this point, Jesus' authority has been established. But we have the very same result as in the calling of Simon and Andrew, James and John, Peter says that he rose and followed him. Now, Wallace, the eminent Greek grammarian, points out that in this call of Jesus, there is a, it's a call not to a one-time event, but rather it's a call to an ongoing following of Him. So it's not just follow me for a season, it's not just follow me today, but it's follow me as a manner of practice going forward. And so this is the call that comes to the most unlikely of characters. Jesus is picking at this point, really he has been. It's not just at this point, but he's picking the runs of the litter. If anybody were to launch a religious movement, you would think they would assemble some sort of a dream team, right? You would interview the, The Pharisees, the scribes of the Pharisees, you would look for the most learned, the most well-read, the most reputable, the best preachers in the synagogues. That's who you would assemble. But not the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He goes first after fishermen. not exactly a type of person by profession known for their astute learning. Now they would have been respected for their work, but they were not. They had no religious authority. They had no, really no credentials, no credibility. And yet Jesus calls fishermen. But of course, his dream team just keeps getting better. By the time we're done, I guess you could probably say that Jesus had assembled quite the motley crew. You might even say a dirty dozen. And with the likes of somebody like Matthew, this tax collector. Then what you have So that is something of who Christ uses to build up his church. He's using this dirty dozen. He's using the most unlikely. And I'm grateful, brother, that you asked that we pray for the elders. Christ builds his church not upon those who are accomplished, not those who are especially wise or brilliant, not the people who you would expect, but Christ chooses as officers of his church, a motley crew, people who are not the brightest, not the most well-learned, the unlikely people. Look at the Apostle Paul to see that Christ builds his church using men who were guilty of every transgression of the law imaginable. That's who Christ is using to build his church. And then to top it off, Jesus reclines at table with Matthew and those who keep company with the likes of Matthew. Matthew's friends, which probably were not many to begin with, but those that he did call friends, you can imagine were probably the outcasts of Jewish society. So fellow tax collectors and then, yes, those who may have been the modern-day equivalent of drug dealers and the prostitutes and just the out-and-out, the people who had no scruples. They were beyond even trying to keep up an aura of holiness or righteousness. They pretty much just said, I'm okay with being cut off from the main of this Jewish society. I'll consort with the dregs of society. That's who's there. These are those who Jesus reclines with at Matthew's table. Sinners and tax collectors. And of course, the Pharisees, the scribes of the Pharisees, so a subset of Pharisees, are not here witnessing the meal firsthand, but they, being on the outside, and we're going to see this, of course, through the gospel more and more, but they grumble to his disciples. And really, this question is not a question so much as an accusation. They say, why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners? Now, their logic is not entirely off. There is an idea here of will and water do not go together. The holy and the unholy, the righteous and the unrighteous, do not go together. There's an impulse there that has some element of truth. But really, again, this is an accusation. And here's what's under the hood. Their first premise is righteous people don't eat with unrighteous people. Their second premise is that tax collectors are the most unrighteous. And so the allegation that they're bringing to the disciples is Jesus is most unrighteous by engaging in this kind of activity. And of course, there's an unstated and very false premise. It need not exist for their argument here, but that is that we, the scribes of the Pharisees, are righteous. If Jesus were to dine with us, we would have no issue. We wouldn't have an oil and water issue. Jesus could be unpolluted in our company. And as often the custom, Jesus, perhaps saving his disciples from too much more of an awkward conversation, he jumps in and answers these vipers. And Jesus does so. with the most profound observation, or statement rather. He says, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came, not to call the righteous, but sinners. Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick do have need of a physician. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." So some observations here, this is really the essence of the text. This is what Peter was keen to get to. Everything else is a setup for this glorious declaration by Jesus. So our first observation is that Jesus is claiming to be the physician. He's saying, I am the physician. The question was, why is Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners? Not some third party. Why is Jesus? That's the question that comes to the disciples. And in Jesus' answer, he equates the sick with sinners. He says, I came for sinners. Not somebody else. I came for sinners, says Jesus. Not that guy over there, but me. I am the physician. But of course, this observation here, it's well established, this is again old ground, the authority of Jesus Christ. The fact that He is the physician, not any old physician, no ordinary physician, but the Messiah Himself. This is what he is saying, among other things. So it's more than this, but it's not less than this, that he is the one who came to save, to forgive. He is the Messiah. He is the physician. Second, Jesus did not come to simply pluck up the best. He did not swoop down toward earth to gather to himself a good people. And this, friends, brothers and sisters, is what separates every single religion on the face of the earth with biblical, living Christianity. This is true religion. Jesus did not come down to swoop up, to pluck up all the good ones. The Son of God had to come to this earth as the good physician for the needy, for sinners, for the least, the last, the lost, for the truly vile, for the wretched. This is true religion. That man cannot reconcile himself to God on his own merits and then God just does a final reckoning and says, good, not good, good, no. The essence of true religion is that Jesus looks down upon a people and sees nothing but wickedness, nothing but fallen humanity, nothing but sin, death, shame. And he comes with the answers. He is the great physician. He comes to do a healing work, a restoring work, a saving work. He comes to forgive sinners. The question for you and the question for me is, how do I view myself? Am I sick? Am I spiritually dead? Or do you view yourself as that person who God would, he'll be fortunate to pluck me up and have me with him, because I'm that good. It's preposterous, of course, to think that, but you and I, we're prone to wander. We're prone to fall into that way of thinking. I know it's true for me. I fall into a way of thinking of, I'm good enough, or if I'm not, I'm gonna work hard enough. That is wrong in every way, as opposed to looking to the great physician. our Messiah who's on a rescue mission. That is the only place, that is our only hope. So you can either answer the question, am I sick or am I well? How do I stand in relationship to my creator? There's only two ways to answer that question. Either I'm fine or I'm not fine. Either I need Jesus or he's lucky to have me. Those are the only two ways to answer that question. Third observation, tax collectors and sinners are not beyond forgiveness. They are not beyond forgiveness. And therefore, this really is the worst in the society. And so by extension, there's nobody beyond the forgiveness of the Messiah who's on a rescue mission. So who's a candidate for forgiveness? Again, the sick. So who's sick? Well, there's those who know it, like Levi, Matthew, Levi, the tax collector, and even those who don't. Brothers and sisters, when God comes, He can take a person who is dead set in their self-righteousness and He can reveal to them by the power of the Holy Spirit their own self-righteousness and the folly thereof. Praise God that He comes to reconcile even the self-righteous. So he comes for those who know they're sick and those who don't. He comes for the weak and he comes for the strong. Of course, he has to humble the strong because it's the strong. He comes for the rich and the poor, the prince and the pauper. The Countess of Huntington, a title held by Selina Hastings, she lived 1707 through 1791, said, blessed be God that it does not say in 1 Corinthians 1 verse 26, not many of you were wise according to worldly standards. Not many were powerful and not many were of noble birth. And you know what she said? She said, blessed be God, it does not say any mighty. any noble, but it says many mighty and many noble. I owe my salvation to the letter M. That the Messiah that came on a rescue mission, he came for the worst of the worst, but he came even for literal royalty. That had God said, that none of you were noble. She would have no hope. But indeed, Christ comes. He is able to save to the uttermost every single person. Now, who does God normally delight to save? Well, we heard right there from Paul in 1 Corinthians, not many of you were wise according to worldly standards. Not many were powerful and not many were of noble birth. Brothers and sisters, it's God's normal way of dealing with fallen humanity. It's his pattern to go after the worst. God actually tells Israel, reminds Israel over and over and over again, Israel, why did I choose you? It's not because you were big that I chose you, O Israel, but it's precisely because you were small. Israel, why did I choose you? No, it's not because you were powerful, but it's precisely because you were small and insignificant. Israel, why did I choose you? Was it because you are righteous? Was it because you were upright before the perfect holy law of God, which I gave you? No. No, I chose you, Israel, precisely because you are stiff-necked and rebellious. That's why I chose you, Israel. Why did God delight to use somebody of the likes of the apostle Paul? the chief of sinners. God delights to use the last and the least and the lost, the dregs of society, those who are not wise according to worldly standards, so that it is all to the praise of his glorious grace. The world does not look at it, at the at the church, at the kingdom of God, of God here on Earth and say, you know what? That group of people, they're definitely where they're at because they're smarter than everybody else. Or man, they just, I'm reminded of, sometimes you see it as a bumper sticker, God, please save me from your followers. Crass, probably not fair or entirely accurate, but there's a certain sense in which it's very accurate. God help the world, even at the hands of an elder, a Christian. We're in and of ourselves, certainly not the moral upper crust. And I think we know that. Now, praise be to God. And this is where it's not entirely true nor fair. God really is working to conform His people into His image and likeness. So much of the offense is not a justified offense. Oftentimes Christians do things that somebody else takes as an offense. But there's no offense in God's eyes that the offense that's been taken is just Anyways, but the point again is that we're not the moral upper crust who God has come after as a normal. Sure, that happens. You have somebody who by worldly standards is a really good person and God can save that person too. But in the normal course of things, Christians as a whole, he comes after the vile, the reprehensible, those who are guilty of the worst. So if you answered earlier, I'm not fine, or praise be to God, I wasn't fine. Now I'm fine because Christ has reconciled me back to God. But if you answered, I'm not fine, or perhaps I wasn't, the next question may be, did Christ come for me? Many struggle with that question. Am I beyond the forgiveness of God? Is there something that I have done where I have outrun God's either ability or His willingness to forgive me? Well, your answer again is right here in this passage. It's in God's working and dealing with the likes of King David or the Apostle Paul. If you see yourself as perhaps out of reach of God's forgiveness, I'm here to tell you, based on the authority of the word of God, that nobody is beyond his reach. Nobody. Our fourth and final observation is that Jesus came. There was action. He came and specifically to call. We see his purpose there. And he came to call sinners. And though this is around the corner, I'll go there. He called to call sinners to repentance. Some of the parallel accounts record Jesus saying that he came to call sinners to repentance. My question, of course, is why else would there be a call? It doesn't say, Jesus came to chill out with sinners. This is sometimes popular. People like to say, oh yeah, Jesus was, he was, you know, he was tight with sinners. He really, and of course, the idea being put forward is that Jesus came, he really liked to hang out with sinners, and he had no challenging nor hard words for them whatsoever. No, that's not what we see in the Word. Yes, He dines, He reclines at table with sinners, but to call them to repentance. That's why Jesus came. He didn't come to accept sinners right where they're at. He came to call them to repentance. To say, turn from your sin and come and live according to how I designed you to flourish. Press into me. He called them to delight in Him, to realize their chief end, to glorify and enjoy Him. So He came to call them from their sin unto knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, and all of these things. He does why? To the praise of his glorious grace. Because God gets the glory. When he uses the least, the last, and the lost, when he uses the dregs of society, he gets the glory. It's ironic that the scribes of the Pharisees are thinking, ah, you know, notches down, ah, he's dining with sinners. Oh, not so fast. This is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords who has the authority, who has a willingness, a desire to forgive sinners. He alone has the power, the compassion, the desire, the wisdom, and the action to forgive sinners, calling them to repentance. So, brothers and sisters, Jesus came. Why? He came to call the worst, the worst of the worst. Why? To show that He is indeed the very, very best. And this, brothers and sisters, is great, great news. Let's pray. Lord, indeed, not many of us were wise according to worldly standards. And yet you took mercy upon us. And you did this, Lord, not because we were of the moral upper crust, not because of anything you foresaw in us that was good or praiseworthy, but but only because you loved us. Oh, what love, oh, Lord. Lord, if there are any here tonight that have not experienced, not known the love of you, the Father, through through the call of your son, Jesus Christ, Lord, please. by the power of your Holy Spirit, work on that person, work on that man or woman, that boy or girl. Help them, Lord, to see where they are at in relationship to you. Help them, Lord, to see their sin for what it is and to come crying out to you, the only one who can save. Lord, may each and every one of us this evening rest our heads on our pillows, confident that you are a good and gracious Savior, not for other people, but for us. Yes, for other people too, but may each of us be able to say that Christ died for me. We ask this for the glory of Christ. Amen.