Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Can Anyone Follow Jesus? | New Testament | Mark 2

Episode Date: October 2, 2023

Who do you know that seems the most unlikely to follow Jesus? Should they lose hope? Is there anyone too far from God? What kind of people make up the God's kingdom? In today's episode, Keith looks at Mark 2 to share encouragement for sinners. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Join the TMBT community in reading the entire New Testament in one year. Get your FREE reading plan here. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter@TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Mark 2

Welcome to 10 Minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Keith Simon. We are going to the New Testament, and we find ourselves today in Mark Chapter 2. The book gets its name from the author, a man named John Mark. And I think this passage that we're going to look at today might have been the author Mark's favorite passage in this entire book. To help you understand why that might be the case, I want to tell you a little bit about Mark. His mother, Mary, was one of the earliest Christians. When the church first started, it used to meet at her

house. When Peter was arrested and put in prison, Acts 12 tells us that the believers gathered in Mary's house to pray. So Mark saw authentic Christianity lived out in front of him. He saw all the early disciples obey God at great cost to themselves. He heard them pray. He saw their love and devotion to Jesus. Not only was Mark's mom a Christian, but so was his older cousin Barnabas. Barnabas is mentioned in acts as one of the wealthier church members that sold at least part of his possessions to share with those in need. When Paul became a Christian and all the other Christians were afraid of him, it was Barnabas who took Paul under his wing and helped him. Mark came from an amazing family, and he became a believer and a member of the church. When Barnabas and Paul were appointed to lead

a mission to plant churches, they took John Mark along with them as a helper. He traveled with them and saw many people come to faith. And God did amazing things on that mission. missionary journey. So it's somewhat surprising when we read in the book of Acts that somewhere in the middle of that missionary journey, Mark left the team. The Bible's not clear on why he left, but it is clear that it wasn't a good move on his part. Maybe he was afraid of the upcoming persecution. Maybe he was tired of being a helper and in a moment of pride he wanted a more prominent role. Maybe he was unwilling to deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Jesus. We aren't sure why, but we do know that it wasn't a good thing. Paul called him a deserter. In their moment of need, Mark had left. Mark had been

exposed to a lot of truth, but he'd walked away from it. The next time Paul and Barnabas set out on a missionary journey, Mark wanted to join them. Barnabas was willing to give him a second chance, but Paul would have none of it. He didn't want any quitters on his team. The Bible tells us that this led to a sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas. They ended up splitting up and going on separate mission trips. Since Barnabas was Mark's cousin and mentor, maybe that's why he took Mark along with him. What would Mark do this time? Would he prove faithful? We don't know the story, but we do know how the story ended. Mark had changed. In fact, Paul is very complimentary of him. In the last book in the New Testament that Paul wrote, he said this, get Mark and bring him with you

because he is helpful to me in my ministry. So Mark knew what it was to fall away from God, and to be welcomed back, both by God and church leaders. He knew what it was like to feel far from God and to experience God's grace and forgiveness. That's why I think Mark 2 might have been Mark's favorite passage in this gospel, because in it we're going to see Jesus extend grace to sinners like him. He extends grace to someone far from God. Maybe it reminded Mark of how God had forgiven him.

Well, Mark chapter 2 tells us the story of an unlikely follower of Jesus. If you or a friend or family member have ever felt far from God, you're going to be encouraged by the story of Levi. We'll pick it up in verse 13. Once again, Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw Levi, son of Alfeas, sitting at the tax collector's booth. Follow me, Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. This Levi is the same person that wrote the gospel of Matthew, so he kind of had to be.

two names, Levi and Matthew. Verse 15. While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners? On hearing this, Jesus said to them, It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. So a little historical background. Rome ruled Israel and required everyone to pay steep taxes to fund the Roman government.

The tax collectors were Jews who had sold out to Rome and were willing to do the empire's dirty work by collecting taxes from the citizens. For that reason, they were hated by their fellow Jews. The religious literature of the age lumped tax collectors in with thieves and murder. a Jew who collected taxes was disqualified as a judge or even to be a witness in court. They were expelled from the synagogue. They were a disgrace to their family. All the religious schools said it was okay to lie to tax collectors. So up to this point, the first four disciples that Jesus had called were fishermen. Levi, or Matthew, is the fifth, and he's a tax collector. The fishermen were

very ordinary common people, but the tax collector was despised. And Levi didn't see Jesus out. No, Jesus sought him out. And I only to notice that Levi responded to Jesus by following him. That's always the proper response of seeing who Jesus is. Now, part of following Jesus is sharing his love for others. And Levi gets that. And that's why he invites Jesus to a dinner party along with his friends and coworkers. When Jesus joins Levi for dinner at his house, he meets many tax collectors and sinners. Now, sinners in your Bible is probably in quotation marks, because it doesn't just mean sinners in general. Everyone is a sinner. But by putting it in quotation marks, he's referring to a certain group of people. These are prostitutes and other outcasts, people who are on the margins of society, people not

in the mainstream. When Jesus called Levi, it was a signal to other tax collectors and sinners that there was hope for people like them. It was a signal that Jesus was interested in them. and it says that many followed Jesus. So how does this passage apply to us? Well, first, Jesus came to establish a church of unlikely followers. In his book, The Kingdom of God, Tony Campalo relates a story that he experienced one late night in Hawaii. He said he walked in to what you would call a greasy spoon and sat down at the

counter waiting to be served. And there was a really big guy who came out from behind the counter and said, What do you want? And Tony Campalo said, well, I wanted a cup of coffee and a donut. So this server gave him a cup of coffee and a donut. And Tony Campalo is sitting there munching on that donut and sipping on his coffee. And at this point, it's like 3.30 in the morning. The door the diner swings open and in March's eight or nine provocative, boisterous prostitutes. He said it was a small place and they sat on both sides of him.

And they talked in loud voices. and their language was very crude. Tony Campalo is this pastor and seminary professor, and he said he just felt completely out of place. He was thinking about getting up and leaving when he heard one of the prostitutes say, tomorrow's my birthday, I'm going to be 39. One of her friends responded in a nasty tone. Oh, what do you want from me, a birthday party? What do you want? You want us to get a cake and sing happy birthday? Come on, said the woman. Why do you have to be so mean? I just was telling you, that's all. Why do you have to put me down?

I was just telling you it was going to be my birthday. I don't want anything from you. I mean, why should you give me a birthday party? I've never had a birthday party my whole life. Why should I have one now? Tony Campalo said when he heard that, he made a decision. He sat there and waited until all the women left, and then he called over the big guy from behind the counter

and said, do they come in every night? Yeah, he said, every night. And Tony Campalo asked the name of the woman. and whose birthday it was going to be. And the guy said, well, that's Agnes. She comes in every night. Why do you want to know? Well, because I heard that tomorrow is her birthday.

What do you say that you and I do something about that? What do you say we throw her a birthday party? The big server started to smile and said, that's great. I like that idea. So he called to his wife who was doing the cooking in the back room. And he said, hey, come out here. This guy's got a great idea. Tomorrow's Agnes's birthday.

And this guy wants to throw a birthday party. So his wife comes out and says, man, you know, Agnes is one of those people who's really nice and kind, but nobody does anything for her. So Campalo said, okay, look, if it's okay with you, I'm going to come back here at this time tomorrow night. We're going to decorate the place. I'll get a birthday cake. And the big guy, his name was Harry. He said, no, I'm making the birthday cake. So at 2.30 in the morning the next day, he comes back in with all these decorations.

And he hangs up and they say, happy birthday, Agnes. The whole place was decorated and looking good. He said somehow word must have gotten out on the street that we were going to have a birthday party for this woman, Agnes, because by 315, every prostitute in Honolulu was in the place. He said it was wall-to-wall prostitutes and him. Then at 3.30 on the dot, the door of the diner swung open, and in came Agnes.

And when she walked in, everybody screamed, Happy birthday. Campalo said that he's never seen a person so surprised. As everyone saying happy birthday to her, her eyes moistened with tears. Harry, the big server, told her to blow out all the candles on the cake. And then he handed her a knife and said, cut the cake, Agnes. We all want some cake. Agnes looked down on the cake and said, look, Harry, if it's okay with you, could I just keep this cake a little while?

I mean, if it's all right with you, do we have to eat her right now? Harry said, sure. If you want to keep the cake, keep the cake. Take it home if you want. Agnes said, okay, I'll be right back. and she took the cake and she took it home. While she was gone, everybody was quiet. And so Campalo said,

what do you think? Should we pray? He said, looking back on it now, it seems a little strange for a seminary professor to be leading a prayer meeting with a bunch of prostitutes in a diner in Honolulu at 3.30 in the morning.

But then it felt just like the right thing to do. So I prayed for Agnes. I prayed for her salvation. I prayed that her life would be changed and that God would be good to her. When I finished, Harry leaned over the counter and with a trace of Osilini his voice said, Hey, you never told me you were a preacher?

What kind of church do you belong to? Campalo said it was one of those moments when just the right words came. He said, I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for whores at 3.30 in the morning. Harry waited for a moment, and then he sneered. He said, no, you don't. There's no church like that.

If there was, I'd join it. I'd join a church like that. Wouldn't we all? Wouldn't we all like to join a church that throws a birthday parties for horrors at 3.30 in the morning? Well, that's the kind of church that Jesus came to create, a church of tax collectors, prostitutes, and every other kind of sinner. Jesus came to establish a church made up of those who are spiritually sick, not healthy,

for sinners, not the righteous. How do you see people? This story gives us two different ways to see people in our lives. We can either see them as a doctor or as a judge. The Pharisees, they see Levi and his friends and all these tax collectors and outcasts through the eyes of a judge. They criticize and condemn. But Jesus sees these same people through the eyes of a doctor.

He sees their true sickness, and he compares himself to a doctor who can bring healing. Do you have the eyes of a doctor or a judge? Do you see people through the eyes of Jesus or the eyes of the Pharisees? Let's suppose that at school each day, there's a student in your class that seems socially out of touch. Maybe it's because she's socially awkward, or maybe she doesn't do well in school, or maybe she dresses in a way that reveals that she's hopelessly out of style. Whatever the reason, this person doesn't have friends. She doesn't have a group she connects with.

She doesn't sit with anyone at lunch. She doesn't talk to many people in the hallway. She keeps to herself. What do you do? She's not like you. It's obvious that you don't have much in common, if anything at all. Should you try to be friendly or just keep a safe distance and ignore her like everyone else does? What if you said hi to her in class?

What if you asked her if she understands the homework? asked her what she's doing on the weekend. What if you asked her if she wanted to eat lunch with you in the cafeteria? School is often a place where images everything and befriending the friendless might ding your reputation a little bit. People might think you're weird for taking an interest in her. So why do it? Well, because with the eyes of a doctor, you see the person no one else sees,

and you care about the hurts that no one else seems to care about. The eyes of a doctor see hurts that only God can heal. Or maybe there's a man at work that everyone shakes their head at. His life is falling apart. Maybe it's because of a divorce or being irresponsible with his finances. Maybe he's a deadbeat dad who has children from a couple of marriages but doesn't pay his child support. Or maybe there's a very successful guy in your neighborhood.

He's one of those guys who always talks about himself. And in every story, you notice that he's always the hero. He comes out looking good. Anyway, his arrogance and self-centered put up walls that keep people away. Or maybe your office has a softball team. They're trying to get you to play, but you're reluctant because of the group, is a little wild. They drink too much. They tell dirty jokes and married people flirt in a way that makes you uncomfortable. What do you do in those situations? Well, what did Jesus do? Do we have eyes of a judge

that tend to separate ourselves from people that aren't like us? Do we accuse and condemn? Do we get offended by their sin? But what if we had the eyes of a doctor? When we have eyes like Jesus, we see people like he does. We move toward them, not away from them. We know that at their core we are like them. Like us, they have hurts that only God can heal. In life, we can have the eyes of a judge or we can have the eyes of a doctor. The eyes of a judge see a socially awkward girl, a deadbeat dad, an arrogant businessman, and a foul-mouthed team. And they leave us thinking, why have anything to do with them? The eyes of a doctor see the hurts that only God can heal. They look at all those same people and see people that God loves. Let's have the eyes of Jesus.