A dinner invitation, and Jesus’ acceptance of it, became very problematic! In Mark 2:13–22 we find Jesus describing the purpose of his work. His words give profound comfort to us sinners.
Sinners join in a dinner with Jesus. The healthy do not need a doctor. The fact that Jesus called Levi (better known as Matthew, see Mathew 9:9–13; Mark 3:16–18) was bad enough. But the dinner invitation which Jesus accepted put him in association with Levi’s colleagues, tax collectors and “sinners.” Given both the tactics of the revenue collectors, and their association with the oppressive Roman rulers, Levi came from a questionable background. Yet Jesus was willing to accept the invitation to a meal with Levi and his friends. This is the first use of the term “Pharisees” in Mark’s Gospel. It was composed of followers of a group known as the Hasidim, 2nd century, B.C., that focused on personal and national holiness. In addition to emphasizing God’s Law, they added human regulations as fences. Dinner in the home of one associated with tax collectors or sinners could contaminate, because the food might be from a source that had not been tithed—even if the Levitical dietary regulations were followed. Mark describes a growing conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees, see his criticism of their practice in Mark 7:5–13. They could focus on minutiae of human regulations, but their criticism of Jesus soon moved beyond verbal opposition to plotting his death, see Mark 2:24 and 3:6.
Religion for the Pharisees became one of salvation by good works. As the Pharisees looked to their own righteousness, they saw no need for the righteousness of Christ. Thus Jesus uses a proverbial saying about a doctor. He is needed, not by the healthy, but by the sick. Don’t miss the note of irony here—none are more invalid than those who refuse to recognize their illness and seek a remedy. Jesus’ criticism of the Pharisees summons us to look at our own hearts and attitudes. It is easy to be critical of those who have been guilty of sins that we consider “worse” than our sins. The church can sometimes be a very unforgiving place, at least for those who have been guilty of socially unacceptable sins. We tend to have a little pharisee in our hearts. And we even can be proud of not being hypocrites!
“Where he [Jesus] called to himself those who are weary and heavy laden, tax collectors and sinners, and promises them rest, he says of the Pharisees that their righteousness is insufficient (Matt. 5:20; Luke 18:14), that prostitutes and tax collectors will enter the kingdom of heaven ahead of them (Matt. 8:11; 21:31). Similarly, the apostles taught that all people sinners and and that all need the forgiving love of the Father, redemption by Christ, the renewal of the Holy Spirit….”
Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 3, p. 79
Jesus calls sinners to himself. Those Christ calls come to recognize that they are sinners. Appreciate that this is not just an abstract term, but grasp that we have offended our holy God. Our sin has grieved him. It contradicts his character. Recognize that you have failed to meet, not just the incredibly detailed standards of the Pharisees, but you have missed God’s mark. Understand your inability to remedy the situation yourself. See your need for God’s grace. Newton’s hymn: “”Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved.” Appreciate what Christ has done in the place of sinners, appreciate what he has done in your place, and entrust yourself to him.
“Christ… came to quicken the dead, to justify the guilty and condemned, to wash those who were polluted and full of uncleanness, to rescue the lost from hell, to clothe with his glory those who were covered with shame, to renew to a blessed immortality those who were debased by disgusting vices. If… we remember that this was the reason why he took upon him our flesh, why he shed his blood, why he offered the sacrifice of his death, why he descended even to hell, we will never think it strange that he should gather to salvation those who have been the worst of men.”
John Calvin, Harmony of the Gospels
Christ’s call includes a summons to repent, see Mark 1:15. Repentance means turning from your sinful ways, whether the open, unpopular sins of the tax collectors and their ilk, or the more subtle, socially more acceptable sins of the Pharisees. Repentance involves curbing your temper, taming your tongue, stopping cheating, reigning in lust, overcoming laziness, etc. God’s grace triumphs. Grace turned Levi from his unscrupulous life-style. Grace called Paul from Pharisaical self-righteousness. Grace can reach you in the particular sins with which you struggle. God’s grace, and his grace alone enables you to see yourself as truly needing Jesus, not just as a visiting rabbi, but as a Savior who died and rose for you.
Rejoice in Christ’s presence. Rejoice because the bridegroom is present! Some fasted. The Pharisees added to the one day of fasting commanded in Leviticus many additional fasts, as you learn from the “prayer” of he Pharisee in Luke 18:11–12. Often this became a relatively public matter in order that others could know that they were fasting, Matthew 6:16. The disciples of John the Baptist also fasted (perhaps because of the imprisonment or death of John?). The fact that Jesus and his disciples did not fast was noticeable enough to raise comment and questions. Jesus is the bridegroom. The wedding guests (his disciples, all of his followers) are with him. That is no place for fasting or mourning. The background of the imagery Jesus uses is the picture frequently drawn in the Prophets, that the Lord is the husband of his bride, Israel. The response to the presence of the groom ought to be thankfulness, rejoicing, and even feasting. The Lord has come, bringing salvation for his people. The coming of the messianic King is a time for feasting, not only for Israel, but for the nations as well, Isaiah 25.
There are times to fast — so do it right! Some fasting was appropriate. The one commanded day of fasting in the Old Testament was the Day of Atonement, Leviticus 23:27ff. We have examples in the Old and New Testaments of fasting in connection with times of repentance or special prayer. Christ does not condemn fasting as such. Jesus does say that fasting will be appropriate when the bridegroom will be taken from them—and fasting will be appropriate then. Although the term, “bridegroom,” is not a messianic title here, Jesus is apparently making a veiled reference to his death. The disciples would mourn at that point, and fasting would be part of that. Isaiah 58:3–5 condemns a certain kind of fasting. Christ gives instruction about fasting in Matthew 6:16–18, but does not not tell you not to fast. It is clear that he does not treat it as something that is used to earn favor with God, which is the way it is sometimes treated, even today. The fact that Jesus instructs you about fasting implies that there is a place for it, even if we tend to forget that. Fasting is not earning favor with God. Rather, it is a time for prayer, for pouring out your heart to God, a time of being so focused on him that you temporarily step aside from the ordinary and important work of preparing food and eating.
You live in the new age — so feast and fast. The new time has arrived. In the groom’s presence, fasting was inappropriate, was even impossible. Both parables make the point that the new has replaced the old. New cloth will shrink, and a patch of new material on an old garment is inappropriate. New wine, as it fermented, required new wine skins. To cling to the old when the new has come simply would not fit. It would not be appropriate. Though it was not wrong for John’s disciples to grieve the death of that prophet, they needed to recognize, as John had, that the One who came after him was much greater than his forerunner.
“John the Baptist’s way of life and that of his disciples is still entirely directed to that of the preparation for the coming of the kingdom, especially to that of judgment (fasting and prayer), whereas Jesus’ disciples may live in the joyful certainty of the break-through of the great time of salvation and may behave accordingly, because of their belonging to him.”
Herman Ridderbos, The Coming of the Kingdom, p. 51
Christ’s coming makes the age new. The incarnation was an earthshaking event. The public ministry of Christ, culminating in his suffering, death, resurrection, ascension, and Pentecost, inaugurated the new age. The redemptive work of Christ is reason for thanksgiving and praise. The ceremonies of the Old Testament, together with the distance between God and the worshiper, have ended. The new has come. Yet there are times to fast, even in this new age. This side of heaven there continues to be tension between our present life and the glorious new life, into which we have, in principle, entered. Our lives are still marked by struggle against sin, by suffering, by times of special intercession to God. It is right for Christians to fast appropriately. Notice what the leaders of the church in Antioch are doing when the Holy Spirit calls Paul and Barnabas to begin their missionary work, Acts 13:1–3.
But our basic, fundamental outlook, our default position, is one of joy. That is a joy that can be present even in suffering and loss. It is an attitude of thanksgiving and praise for what God has done and is doing in Jesus Christ. If the disciples could properly rejoice because Christ was present with them, how much more can we, who have the fuller presence of Christ through his indwelling Holy Spirit. Your life needs to reflect the joy of the new work of God in Christ, but that reflection needs to be directed outward in service to God, rather than turning inward into a self-congratulatory mode.
God sees your heart this morning–and the sins with which you struggle. Repent of them, including the sins of hypocrisy, and entrust yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ. As one who knows him, continue to do so daily.