Title: Grace of Salvation overflowing to sinners
Contents
Bible Text: Mark 2:13-17
The grace of salvation overflowing to sinners
Dear saints,
What does it mean to say, 'Grace overflows with sinners'?
Many people think that “grace is only given to the righteous.”
But that's a bad idea. Grace also comes to sinners.
Moreover, to say “graciousness abounds to sinners” means “any sinner who comes before Jesus has more than enough forgiveness for his or her sins.”
Even if their sins are red as scarlet and black as ink,
When you come before Jesus, your sins become as white snow, more than enough for your sins to be forgiven.
This is why our Lord speaks clearly in today's text.
“I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners”
Dear saints,
These words clearly prove that the grace that overflows to sinners is truly limitless.
Because his calling is not to inflict rebuke or punishment, but to give grace.
In this sense, “Levi, the tax collector,” who was called by Jesus, shows anew the greatness of God’s grace and the possibilities that are generally hidden from humans.
The fact that a publican is “called” may seem plain.
But the intention of the revelation contained therein is exceedingly great, and it has the power to inspire infinite encouragement in the souls who find it.
There are many in this world who are sitting in customs or buried in the den of crime, with the potential and potential to be used with great honor for God.
Levi was just one of them.
Formalism Religion! People who claim to be clean in their legalistic religion will look down on them based on their outward appearance. But the Lord saw the treasure buried in it.
Legalism and idolatry seek to manufacture ready-made products, but Christianity is a religion that creates with the potential God gives. In every person created in the image of God there is a seed that can grow to the full measure of Christ.
Today's text is a dramatic contrast between the Lord who sees this, a human who has restored the image of God by the Lord, and the people who live a closed life without seeing this possibility. is trying to make you aware of
Therefore, today we would like to examine the lesson that today's verse gives us under the title, “The grace of salvation that overflows to sinners.”
1. Why do you eat with sinners?
Dear saints,
In the Bible, we see many instances of Pharisees coming together with Sadducees.
The Pharisees were the patriarchs who produced many scribes,
The Sadducees are a sect that produces priests and temple administrators.
The Pharisees and Sadducees are not close friends.
Between them there are insurmountable ideological barriers and ditches.
So they were also growling with each other.
In order to put Jesus in a corner, they gathered each other's ingenuity and gathered physical strength. In short, we united for need. In condemning the tax collector Levi, they had one voice.
As we know, tax collectors were treated like robbers and prostitutes. Publicans were also forbidden to stand as witnesses in court. Publicans were forbidden from entering the synagogue as well as the temple. They were also treated like unclean animals or unclean objects.
This was because the Jews thought that paying taxes to people was in itself disrespectful to Jehovah God, and that tax collectors religiously trade with Gentiles and politically benefit the enemy country.
And above all else, forcing and collecting taxes on money-loving Jews only fueled their hatred and contempt.
On the other hand, he who should have become a priest or a rabbi becomes a tax collector and sits at the customs office and humbly collects money, revealing the depraved depravity of human beings who were originally created with dignity. In the image of Levi, the Lord saw the cross-section of the entire human race that had departed from God. Levi also sought to lead a good and godly life.
As such, there are two paths for every human being.
One way is to become desperate, to turn to reality, and to admit sin and live.
The other way is the hypocritical way of making up your own laws and forms and living under your own standards for being righteous.
This Levi who appears in today's text has chosen the former path.
Then the scribes asked the disciples, “Why do you eat with sinners?”
Dear saints,
There is a saying, “If you hit a pillar, the beam will sound”. As he asked his disciples, but the answer came from Jesus, this question was nothing more than a question of “See and hear Jesus.”
With this question, they planned to put Jesus, the four disciples, and all the Levites together and put them in a corner. Because they are a powerful class, they thought that this group of criminals could only be “examined”.
2. A doctor is useless to a healthy person.
Realizing that the scribes' questions were ultimately aimed at him, the Lord confronts them with an outright answer.
“Those who are healthy do not need a doctor, but those who are sick.”
In other words, “you healthy people do not need a healer like me, but those sick and wounded need a healer like me”. In this way, Jesus recognizes them as healthy people as it contains a satirical meaning.
Outwardly, the 'scribes' are healthy people.
In other words, they are not as filthy as the people of the earth (the common people), they are as bright as they are by observing the chastity etiquette, and they are not people who live through hardships, so there is no way that age spots will appear on their faces. Born into good living conditions, I studied a lot, worked in court cases, and ran a law school that nurtures juniors, and my income was decent.
Even though they were under Roman rule, only they were living well, so they always interpreted laws against the weak in order to make this healthy society structurally unshakable and protect their vested interests.
So they condemned tax collectors and powerless prostitutes who had no choice but to make a living, and made them continue to be sinners.
3. Follow me!
On the other hand, Levi's call, the tax collector, is nothing less than a pardon given by the powerful Jesus.
“I will forgive your sins”
Dear saints,
Jesus declared, “From now on you can sit down at the table with me.”
And “you can accompany me wherever you go”.
In this sense, the command to “follow me” is meaningful.
Even if someone insults you or points a finger at you, it means, “Don’t worry about it.”
Because of this declaration of Jesus, there were some people who pointed their fingers at Paul on the road to Damascus after he repented, but Paul was able to overcome it.
The tax collector Levi has nothing to be ashamed of now.
The tax collector Levi's job was to walk in the way of Jesus.
Accordingly, unlike those who oppress others through strong social control and stand tall by themselves, he wanted to devote himself to the task of touching and healing the pain and sickness of others, making him a new person, and giving hope.
Unlike self-proclaimed righteous people who put “righteousness” at the forefront and actually lead their dreams of success and prosperity (social control), I wanted to become a disciple who plays a part in pardoning and pardoning the oppressed. Likewise, we should not look down on sinners in all areas.
“I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners”
We must become such Christians who embody the truth of the Lord's words in the field of life.
Now I would like to end my speech.
Why are we losing the power of the gospel?
And why is there no power in evangelism to the neighbors?
It is because we treat people with preconceived notions and prejudices, and we cannot treat them with the heart of the Lord.
However, if we look through the eyes of the Lord, we can see the bright possibilities of tomorrow even in the eyes of our neighbors who seem displeased.
Therefore, we must help our neighbors to feel and experience the love of Jesus by serving them with the love of the Lord and the heart of the Lord.
Maybe I'm the prodigal son in the house before we get our neighbors back like the prodigal son. Henry Nowen made this confession.
“While I served my neighbors, I was the prodigal son. I was the prodigal.”
That's right.
When we are renewed, our family will be renewed, and when we are renewed, the church and nation will be renewed, our evangelism to our neighbors will experience the power, and a wonderful work of revival will take place.
I bless you in the name of the Lord to become the heroes of this history.