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.
Continue reading “Who Comes to Dinner?”
