Hello, dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Today, let us explore the scene where Jesus spends time with tax collectors and sinners at Levi’s house:
And when the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, “He is eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners!”
— Mark 2:16
In the previous verse, we see that after Matthew was called by Jesus, he was so excited that he invited everyone he knew to join him at his house to meet Jesus. The people were amazed by what Jesus had done, and they came to listen to His teachings. Jesus preached to the tax collectors and sinners who had gathered, showing no partiality.
However, among the crowd, there was a unique group—the scribes of the Pharisees. The scribes were a special sect within the Pharisees.
The Pharisees were a group of about 6,000 Jews formed during the intertestamental period. They were traditionalists, radically dedicated to the Mosaic Law, and were known for their separatist traditions. To avoid breaking the Law of Moses, they added traditional rules and regulations to prevent people from violating God’s commands. Unfortunately, in doing so, they fell into legalism. Instead of submitting to the Word of God, they upheld their traditions over God’s Word. Jesus addressed this problem:
And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?”
— Matthew 15:3
The scribes mentioned in Mark’s narrative were individuals trained from childhood to make copies of the Old Testament scrolls, as well as to teach and translate the Law of Moses. They could be likened to modern-day preachers and teachers of the Bible.
We see similarities today, with some legalistic preachers who consider traditional values more authoritative than the Word of God. These individuals often hold onto tradition for appearances’ sake, even when their practices contradict the Bible.
One common practice in Jesus’ day was to regard the Pharisees with great honor for the sake of appearances. The Pharisees would walk around, demanding respectful greetings and the highest forms of honor. They saw themselves as self-righteous, believing they were holier than they actually were.
This attitude is still present today. Some preachers demand to be addressed with titles such as “Father,” “Prophet,” “Man of God,” or “Apostle.” Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for embracing such practices:
But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called instructors; for One is your Instructor, that is, Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant.
— Matthew 23:8-11
Instead of practicing humility and leading by example, some exhibit self-exaltation, self-centeredness, and pride. These were the very men who had gathered in Matthew’s house. Even in the presence of Jesus, they couldn’t stop themselves from mocking and grumbling about His association with tax collectors and sinners. Mark tells us they said:
“He is eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners!”
The word “sinners” here refers to “irreligious Jews”—people who did not actively participate in Jewish religious practices. The Pharisees considered themselves holy because they followed religious laws, but they missed the main point Jesus wanted them to see: It is impossible for man to attain righteousness on his own. This is the point Paul later emphasizes to Titus:
He saved us, not by works which we did in righteousness, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.
— Titus 3:5
In their grumbling and mocking, the scribes missed the truth that no one is righteous by their own efforts. Despite their outward acts of righteousness, the reality remained:
They have all turned aside, together they have become worthless;
There is no one who does good, not even one.
— Psalm 14:3
Unfortunately, this is the state we are all in before coming to Jesus. The Pharisees thought they were better than the tax collectors and sinners, but in Jesus’ eyes, all of them were in the same category—tax collectors and sinners.
This scenario still happens today. Even as believers, when we find ourselves among those whom the world considers “the worst of the worst,” we easily forget that we were once the same before coming to Christ. Like the Pharisees, we can act with partiality, thinking we attained righteousness through our own good works or inherent goodness. We forget that we were once dead in sin and transgression.
Jesus’ act of eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners had a specific purpose. He wasn’t merely having fun or hanging out with them. His mission was to seek and save those in need of salvation:
And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “Those who are healthy do not have need for a physician, but only those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
— Mark 2:17
Jesus drew a dividing line between those who were healthy and those who were sick. He was essentially telling the Pharisees that if they thought of themselves as healthy, they didn’t need Him, because He came for those who recognized their need for help. Since the scribes considered themselves righteous, they saw no need for Jesus in their lives—this was their tragic downfall.
This false assurance can arise in our lives too. Sometimes, we think we are holier than others or righteous because of our own works. This is a dangerous place to be. Salvation comes with the realization that we cannot save ourselves—we need a Savior.
Praise be to God, who sent His only begotten Son, so that those granted repentance could place their faith in Christ and be saved.
I pray this Word reminds us that we cannot save ourselves. It is only through Christ’s righteousness, imputed to us by faith, that we are saved.
Grace to you.
Leave a Reply