Rescuing the Perishing

Take your Bibles. Turn to Mark chapter two. Mark chapter two. Alright. Mark chapter two.

Rescuing the Perishing or Seeking the Lost. That is title of the message today. It's found primarily in Mark two thirteen through 17. So, we're going to begin reading in verse 13 just in a moment. Mark chapter two and beginning in verse 13.

And he went forth again by the seaside and all the multitude resorted unto him, that is Jesus, and he taught them. And as he passed by, he he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the receipt of custom, a tax collector's office, and said unto him, follow me. And he arose and followed him. And it came to pass that as Jesus sat at meat, at a meal in his, that is Levi's house, many publicans, other tax collectors, and sinners can 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. They that are sick. I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. Let's go to the Lord in prayer.

Dear heavenly father, thank you Lord for this wonderful day. This opportunity to praise your name, to look into your word. We pray that Christ would be magnified in our midst today. We pray that souls will be open and brought to a savior. We pray Lord that your holy spirit would do a mighty work as your as your word goes forth this morning.

In Jesus name, amen. Christ came into this world to seek and to save that which was lost. He didn't come into this world to save that which was already saved. He didn't come into this world to find that which was already found. He came into this world to seek and to save that which was lost.

He came not into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved, John three seventeen. In this passage, Christ is dealing with the response of the Pharisees and other pious people, scribes for instance, he mentions, in their society who questioned why Christ was sharing a meal with known sinners. Why was Christ sharing a meal in the home with this rabble of society? Why would he do that? That just confounded them.

And Jesus had an apt response and one which I think we need to hear to this morning for several reasons. But first, let's step back and let's look at our our setting and get to understand the people in the setting a little more because that's important to our understanding of this passage of scripture. First, Christ had extended an invitation to Levi, more widely known as Matthew. Matthew, the writer of the first gospel in our New Testament was also known as Levi. He extended an invitation to Levi, Matthew, to follow him.

That is to join Christ's group of disciples. So, of all the people, Christ asked to be his disciples, Levi was one. In the end, there were 12 close knit group of disciples that followed him and Levi was among them. Kind of odd that he would have chosen Levi. Levi responded quite to the amazement of many because when Christ said, come follow me, what did Levi do?

Well, he he stood right up and he walked right away from his tax office and he followed Jesus. I mean, he didn't say, well, wait till the end of the day when, you know, I'm done or or maybe next week or, well, when tax season is over, then I'll follow you. Now, he just stood right up and off he went and never looked back. That is the story today. A decision which is indicated to be final from that point forward.

Now, while Jesus may have had previous contact with Levi, that contact was not recorded. This is the first record of his speaking to Levi. And oddly enough, he just drops everything and leaves and that's it. Back to the tax collector issue for a moment. Everybody who loves their tax collector, raise your hand.

No. I'm just kidding. Don't do that. Alright. Levi was most likely a Jew of the tribe of Levi, thus the name Levi, making him a Levite.

The Levites were a tribe of people that God gave the responsibility of helping the priests with the tabernacle in the temple and the service of worship in the nation of Israel. The priests were descendants of Aaron who was also a Levite. And as such, this man, this who is now a tax collector and will become a disciple of Jesus Christ was probably trained to a certain extent as a young person to assist with this work. Not particularly a lucrative business. So instead, Levi chose to work for who?

Caesar. Made a lot more money working for Caesar than you did working for God. And so somewhere along Levi's life as a youth, he decided he would be better off to serve Caesar than to serve his people or his God. Being a tax collector implied a few things about Levi before becoming a disciple of Christ. Number one, Levi was likely greedy and likely a thief.

Tax collectors were known as such. They were greedy by nature because they chose money over everything else. Because the only real reason to be a tax collector was for the what? For the money. It wasn't for the fame and a good reputation because in Israel, to be a tax collector did not bring you anything.

Nobody liked the tax collector. And most of them were thieves because they used their position and power and authority to extort more money from people than Rome required. And so not only did they take the taxes that were required, they took more than was necessary from people, sometimes that threat from Rome to fill their own what? To fill their own pockets. Levi was not particularly concerned about his people or his heritage or he would not have abandoned them to work for Roman Caesar.

Levi was not particularly a religious man. Now, you say, well, that was kinda obvious. Well, look at his, you know, character flaws. He was greedy, didn't particularly pious man who was possibly a thief but we're not just talking about that. We're talking about this.

His choice of occupation alienated him from the public worship of the God of Israel. He wasn't allowed. In the temple grounds because of his traitorous job, because of choosing to serve money over God, because of choosing to serve Rome over Israel. He was not welcome in the house of the Lord. He was probably not welcome in the synagogue.

His choice of occupation alienated him, not only from his people but from the worship, public worship of his God. Levi was not concerned so much with the opinion of others since he was scorned by his people for his decision and I am sure they did not hide it from him. He wasn't well liked. But evidently, it didn't matter all that much, at least not for a time. What mattered was what?

The money. Because if you wanted to live in luxury in Israel, there was one sure way to do it, and that was become a tax collector for Rome. So both the invitation of Christ and the response of Levi were both quite surprising. Sometimes we read over this passage of scripture and we just read it. Well, Christ comes to Levi, says follow me.

Levi does. Oh, but this is this is highly this is more unusual than the calling of the fishermen on the Sea Of Galilee. This isn't a man who was, a religious man. This wasn't a man of faith. This wasn't a man of, who was part of the society.

He was an outcast and in many people's eyes, a traitor. Why would Christ make such an offer to a tax collector? A traitor to his own people. A man who indicated by his actions, he really didn't care much for his people or their God. Why would Levi make such a hasty decision to follow?

I mean, he just jumps up and boom, he's gone. Left his job behind. Is that an easy thing to do? Just, oh, I'm I'm no, it's not an easy thing to do at all. He just jumps up and leaves.

Why did Levi never look back from that decision? When we're not given direct answers to these questions, albeit we can infer some possible answers from our text and from the life and ministry of Christ and from Levi. First of all, why did Christ off make an offer to a tax collector? Well, when we meet Levi, that's who he is to us, to Israel. He was a tax collector.

To Jesus, he was his sheep. And his sheep hear his voice and they what? And that's what he did. You see, Israel only saw a tax collector, a cheat, a trader. Jesus saw sheep.

He saw a man in need. He saw a man that he knew something about that nobody else did. He saw a man he created. Christ being the creator as well as the savior of mankind knew Matthew long before Matthew knew Christ. He being God made him for such a time and purpose as this.

And despite Levi's rebellion and sin, God was preparing him for the day when Christ would stop in front of his booth and say, Levi, follow me. And he would respond in faith and do that very thing. Christ knew that despite all appearances, Matthew was a man of faith who would respond in such a way when invited by Christ at the appointed time, when he was ready, his heart opened wide and he received that message which many refused. And he left what he was doing to follow Messiah of Israel. The one he spent an entire book writing about to convince his people, the Jews, that Jesus was indeed their Messiah.

Ever wonder why Matthew begins with a genealogy that traces Christ back to David and Abraham and then quotes from the Old Testament several times in just the first few chapters? It's because Matthew who came to know Christ as his savior and his messiah wanted the rest of Israel to know about the one who had so changed his life and his eternity and who was their Messiah too. Why did cross Christ make this offer? Well, he knew something about Matthew that nobody else did and he had a purpose and he was preparing Matthew even before he stepped in front of that booth that day. Why did Matthew leave so hastily?

Well, again, it may have seemed hasty in our text, but I I would guess that God had been working on Matthew for a while. Though it doesn't record any contact between Christ and Levi before this this moment in time, it's likely that Levi, Matthew, had been listening to Christ from a distance and God had been working. So when the invitation was given, he responded in faith. I was nine years old when I came to Christ. That's younger than many of you that are here today, but I grew up in church.

I remember at the age of four and five and six and seven and eight hearing the gospel. It was familiar to me. If you would have asked me at the age of eight years old the gospel, I probably could have told you. But I wasn't yet ready until that Sunday evening when I was nine years old and the invitation was given. And God pried the my fingers off the back of that pew.

And I walked down that aisle. And I prayed from my heart and asked Jesus to be my Lord and savior. It was that day that I was ready and I received Christ. There are some of you that God worked on for years. And one day, your eyes were opened and the invitation came.

It may not have been from a pulpit. Most importantly, it was from the savior. It may have been in the quiet of your own your own home or in your own car, but you you knew that you needed a savior. And you knew that Jesus was that savior. And you bowed your heart and your head and you called out to him in faith because of what he did on the cross to save you, to save your soul.

This was that day it would seem for Matthew. He was prepared. He was ready. When Christ called, he what? He went.

Why did he never look back? Well, again, Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me. I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Praise God. I do not have to keep my soul. I do not have to keep my salvation. The scriptures tell me that Christ is keeping it for me, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time, who will never leave or forsake me, whose love I cannot be separated from. I thank the Lord that all those who respond in faith to him, who become his children, who are born again believers in Christ Jesus, are born into eternal life and they shall what?

Never perish. Well, what about those who who make a profession of faith and then just a few days, weeks, months, years abandon it and never look back? Well, I have to I have to go with the scriptures and I have to go with the promise of God. Now, first of all, I'm not their judge. I can't see their heart.

Who can? God can. But know this, Jesus said, those who profess me before men will I profess my father in heaven, and those who deny me before men will I deny before my father in heaven. And those who seem to have made a profession of faith but turn back and deny the Lord who bought them never truly want, never truly knew him. But at the same time, don't be too quick to judge because there's many a Christian who's hit a rough patch and God brought them back.

Why? Because they were they were his. They did mean what they said, and they were born again into his family. And he's not gonna lose his children to this world. Jesus thanked the father that he had not lost any of those that the father had given truly to him.

Again, Matthew's immediate response, he left behind his lucrative occupation And he held a feast for Jesus. And he invited his acquaintances that they might meet who? That they might meet the savior of the world, that they might meet the Messiah of Israel, the one who was real and true. You know, it may very well have been that that Matthew turned his back on the Jewish religion because of all the hypocrites that he perceived. Are there hypocrites today?

Yeah, there's plenty of them. A lot of religious people, some of them with the title Baptist beside their name. Lot of religious people, they come and they they dress nice and they sit and they sing and and they go through the motions on Sunday, but the rest of the week, they don't look any different from the rest of the world. Those who are around them know that in their home, at work, in their neighborhood, and so many people are turned off by religion because people practice people preach but they don't what? They don't practice what they preach.

But Matthew saw something different in who? In Jesus. He was real. He was someone that was not a hypocrite. He was someone in whom Matthew could trust.

Can people see Jesus today? Not physically, but they can see Jesus in you and how badly they need to see him. To see that he, God, Jesus is real to who? To us. That we're not just dishing out platitudes.

And we're not just condemning and judging everybody else. But that we are people who truly love Jesus. That we are his children who truly care about honoring him and pleasing him and following his word. That will make a profound difference in their lives as we share the gospel of Jesus Christ with them. That made a difference in Levi's life as he saw something different than he was used to seeing.

Someone who simply didn't write him off because he was a what? A tax collector. Somebody who didn't just hate him because of his job. Somebody cared about him. And so he invited his acquaintances to a meal to meet Jesus.

Well, who were Matthew's acquaintances? Well, they were also outcasts. They were sinners, so called. They were the unclean of society. They were those of ill repute that nobody else would invite into their home.

So they kind of got together themselves. They they socialized among themselves. And it was an odd group of people, wealthy tax collectors, drunks, prostitutes, thieves. These were Matthew's friends because these were those that accepted him. And so these were the ones that came to his house and met Jesus.

They were the ignored and scorned by Hebrew society. They were sinners while others who at least publicly kept the rules were not considered so, but they were. But they weren't considered so. Ever talk to some person and say, hey, do you know Jesus? Are you a sinner in need of a savior?

And they say, I'm not a sinner. What are they basing that on? I'm not a sinner. Well, they're basing that on that they're better than who? Than somebody else that they define as a sinner.

I'm not in jail. I haven't killed anybody. I don't steal my neighbor's money. I don't do this. I don't do that.

Therefore, I'm not a what? I'm not a sinner. I go to church every now and then. I'm pretty nice to my neighbor. I'm not a sinner.

Well, that's what some others who were looking on thought. The people Jesus eat were eating with, they were sinners. But the religious crowd that's about to come to Jesus and talk to him, in their eyes, they were not what? They were not sinners. They were they were the good people.

They were the holy people. They were the righteous people. They weren't sinners like like those people over there. And that was a problem. A problem for who?

A problem for them. But the people, Levi's friends, they showed up. These were those Levi's friends who were considered beyond help because they had chosen a life of waywardness and rebellion to the Lord and the law. Because they did not seem to care about the worship or the public worship of God enough to clean up their act. At least that's how they were perceived by the non sinners.

These were the ones Levi invited to his house to get to know Christ and they showed up. These Jesus ministered to and did not scorn. These were the ones who openly admitted their scandalous behavior. They weren't denying who they were or what they were or what they did. Everybody knew it.

They admitted it. And that admission was important when it's coupled with repentance and faith. Many of these who came that day, it says, follow Jesus which means they believe they were saved and they were changed forever. John one eleven and twelve says this, he came unto his own and his own received and not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name.

He came unto his own. In this case, that's the religious crowd. And they didn't wanna have anything to do with him. But as many as many sinners who receive him for their salvation and forgiveness, He makes children of God. As many as believe and trust in his name.

Upon being asked by the religious crowd as to why Christ was hanging out with this rabble, these people who defiled him, he answered in verse 17. Look in verse 17 again. When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, they that are whole have need of the physician, but they that are sick but 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, to have a change of heart and a change of direction, an eternal one through faith in Christ. Jesus said, I've not come to help those who don't need help.

I've come to help those who need help. If you're well, you don't call for the physician to come or in this case, go to the hospital. Physician's not going to come to you. But the sick call for the physician because they have a need. They need help.

Such is the case here. What did he mean? He meant that sinners, those lost in their sin, addicted to destructive substances, who for money sell themselves, who are clearly corrupt in their morality, who are traitors to their people and their faith, are in need of his saving power to redeem them from themselves, are in need of his forgiveness and cleansing from their sins, are in need are in need of rescuing from the power of Satan, are in need of being radically changed in their lives and their hearts, who are in need of hope. These are the people that heard what Jesus had to say. These are the people to whom he ministered here because they knew they were what?

They knew they were sinners and they were in need. And so they came to hear the spiritual physician who could make them well and whole because the religious system had failed them. It hadn't fixed them and they had completely abandoned it. But they saw in Jesus someone who indeed had the power to change them forever. The answer to your need is not found in religion.

The answer to your need is found in Jesus. We don't follow a list of rules. We follow a person, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, to whom we have entrusted our soul. And I pray you have done the same because whether you know it or not, you are a sinner in need of a savior. Whether the Pharisees and the scribes knew it or not, they were in the same boat as everybody else.

They just couldn't what? They couldn't see it or they weren't willing to admit it. These people needed his help, his salvation, lest they should remain consumed in their sin and on a path which led to destruction. And Christ spent the majority of his time ministering to these downtrodden souls. Those who were obviously lost in sin, those who were obviously in need of rescue, those who like the prodigal son selfishly took all they could for them selves and blew it on things that were passing away and now had what?

Nothing. Those who were hopeless and depressed and had given up on life, who saw a glimmer of hope in a person named Jesus Christ. These were the people that Jesus spent most of his time with because these are the people that came to him. These are the people that open up their ears and their hearts to him because there was something they knew they were missing. They were the lost and Jesus taught and healed and freed them.

They were the lost ones upon whom he showered tremendous compassion. Those who would admit and face and repent of their sins, he would forgive and welcome. Like the paralytic who was lowered down in front of Jesus in Capernaum by his four friends. And the first thing Jesus said, son, your sins are what? Forgiven.

Because more than a broken body needing healed, a broken soul needed to be healed and forgiven and Jesus could do that. Like the woman caught in adultery adultery who was drugged before Christ. And Jesus said, go and sin no more. Like another tax collector who named Zacchaeus. Remember Zacchaeus?

If you're, I don't know if some of you are my age and older, you probably heard a little song called Zacchaeus was a wee little man and a wee little man was he. He climbed up in a sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see and as the savior passed that way, he looked up in the tree and he said, Zacchaeus, you come down for I'm going to your house today for I'm going to your house today. Anybody remember that song? Alright. Few of you.

Alright. Good. It it isn't one of the top 40 on the Christian station today. Nonetheless, it's a song that more people need to know because it's a song that tells us about a story from scripture about another tax collector who wanted so much to see and to hear Jesus. He climbed up in a tree that he might have a vantage point in the crowd and Jesus saw him because Jesus knew him before Zacchaeus knew Jesus.

Jesus knew Zacchaeus. He was unbeknownst to Zacchaeus. Jesus was headed to his house already. Look, if you would, in Luke chapter seven. Turn, if you would, over to Luke chapter seven.

Luke chapter seven and verse verse 37. And behold a woman in the city which was a sinner. This is Luke seven thirty seven. I'm gonna read a few verses so don't have it on the screen there. Have the reference.

There's the reference for you. And behold a woman in the city which was a sinner. Again, everybody, all of them were sinners, but she was part of this, you know, nasty, out fast, filthy group that everybody called sinners. Behold a woman in the city which was a sinner. When she knew that Jesus sat at meat at the at a meal in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at his feet and behind him weeping and began to wash his feet with her tears and did wipe them with the hairs of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with ointment.

Now, when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself saying, this man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him for she is a sinner. Again, the Pharisee indicating he doesn't think he is a sinner, she is a sinner. Verse 40, and Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. Simon's not expecting this. He thinks Jesus ought to have something to say unto her, but instead Jesus is saying something to him in rebuke here.

Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee and he saith and he saith, master, say on, there was a certain creditor which had two debtors. The one owed 500p to the other 50. By the way, notice both of them owed something. Okay? And when they had nothing to pay, both of them couldn't pay.

He frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Jesus said unto the to Simon, thou hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman and he said unto Simon, seest thou this woman?

I entered into thine house. Thou gavest me no water for my feet to to wash his feet. But she hath washed my feet with tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss, but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.

Wherefore I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven. For she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, thy sins are forgiven. Pharisee didn't want to have anything to do with her. She was a sinner.

She was a promiscuous woman. She's probably known in the community to be such. But she knew that the person sitting in that room could change her life, could forgive her sin. She knew that the person sitting in that room that is Jesus was a man of compassion unlike the Pharisee who wanted to have nothing to do with her. And it changed her life forever.

She was a sinner in need of a savior, and guess what? She found one. The issue was not the guilt of these people versus the religious crowd, but the acknowledgment of that guilt. In Luke chapter 13, just a few pages over, in Luke 13, we read this, thirteen one, and there were present at that season, some that told him of the Galileans. Those whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

There's a group of people in Galilee who probably rebelled against Caesar, and Pilate had just slaughtered them all. And Jesus answering said unto them, suppose ye that all these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans because they suffered such things? I tell you, nay or no, but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or also, those 18 upon whom the Tower Of Siloam fell and slew them. Think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem.

I tell you nay, but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. What was Jesus saying? You look at these people that these terrible tragedies happened to and you decide in your heart, well, they deserved it. That's why they died. And this was a common understanding of the Jews in the day.

If something terrible happened to you, well, that was God smiting you because you deserved it because you were a terrible person. Jesus said, you better look to yourself because unless you repent, you will also likewise what? Perish. That is die in your sins. And forfeit any chance at heaven.

Christ's point was the same as here. They were all sinners as Paul would later frankly declare in Romans three twenty three, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The problem is not that some are on. The problem is that some are unwilling to face up to it, to admit, and to repent of it. And if that be the case, they, no matter how they compare themselves to, how they compare to others, are still sinners in need of a savior, in need of rescuing from the penalty and power of sin, and should they reject it, they pass up the opportunity for heaven.

The Pharisees and scribes couldn't or wouldn't see like see this like many today and so refuse treatment and help and rescue because, hey, they don't what? They don't need it. They fight off Christ rather than welcoming him. Whether they be rich or poor, whether they be powerful or powerless, the books will be opened. We're told in Revelation 20.

The dead will be judged according to their works and not one of them will be found innocent. The only way of escape from a place called the Lake Of Fire is to have your name written in the what? In the lamb's book of life. How do you get that? Well, you accept Jesus Christ as the Lord and savior of your life, To save you from your sin and to redeem your soul and to do for you what nobody else can and that which you desperately need.

You're not good enough. You haven't done enough good deeds. You never will. You can't clean up your act enough because the Bible says even our good works, righteousnesses, righteousnesses are as filthy rags before him. There's only one who can cleanse your soul, forgive your sin, that is Jesus Christ.

If you will humbly receive him as the Lord and savior of your life. He is the only way. Jesus spoke in Rome, John three to a man named Nicodemus. Nicodemus wasn't one of these sinners. He was a leader of the Pharisees.

He was a teacher of the law and Nicodemus came to Jesus at night because he was concerned. Something wasn't right in his heart, in his life, and he came to Jesus and before Nicodemus opened his mouth, Jesus said, except a man be born again, he shall not enter the kingdom of God. Unless he's born of the spirit. Then, he goes on to explain, how are you born of the spirit? For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

So, you see there are few lessons here this morning to learn. Number one, sinners need a savior. Are you a sinner? Are you in need of a savior? Number two, we are all sinners.

So, the answer to that is yes. Praise God. I'm a redeemed sinner. I'm a forgiven sinner. Are you?

Have you come to Christ in faith? Are you trying to get there by being religious or good or whatever the case may be? Only those willing to admit their sin can receive forgiveness and we need to be more like Jesus in our compassion and attempts to reach others for Christ. We need to not be so quick to write off some in our society or walk on the other side of the street like the priest and Levi with the in the story of the Good Samaritan. Because it might be that like Levi, today is the appointed day and you are the appointed messenger.

You may talk to a 100 or a thousand before one is that person who will come to Christ that day. You may plant a 100 seeds that come to fruition that you will not see until you walk on the shores of heaven. But don't give up. Don't be hard don't get hardened in your heart. Be the messenger of good news to all.

But it must begin with you. Have we become proud in our hearts? Sort of like the Pharisees. Have we forgotten what we were before we came to Christ? Have we or do you this morning need a savior?

Have you received his invitation and respond as Levi did or are you still lost in sin because you're too proud to see it or admit it or humbly receive it? Receive Christ's offer today. Will you come just as you are and trust him to change who you are? No longer a tax collector, no longer a prostitute, no longer a thief, but a child of the king. Let's pray.

Dear God, thank you Lord for all that you've done for us. Lord, forgive us for our pride and forgive us of passing by too often too many people who we determine were just not worth our time or or beyond hope. When they very well may be the ones whose hearts you have prepared Lord, I pray if there be one here today who's yet to receive Christ as savior as we sing this hymn of invitation this morning that they would come. That we might show them from God's word how to be saved and know it. But that is the all important decision for each one of us.

We pray, Lord, that they would not let this invitation pass them by today. In Jesus' name, do pray. Amen.