Mark 2:13-3:6: Jesus calls Levi and has Dinner with Sinners

The Rev. Dr. Burnell Eckardt, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Kewanee, IL, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Mark 2:12-3:6.

Jesus calls the tax collector Levi to follow him, and Levi hosts a dinner for Jesus with many other sinners. When questioned by Pharisees for associating with such people, Jesus declares he has come for the sick, not the righteous. He is then questioned for allowing his disciples to pluck grain on the Sabbath to eat. Jesus responds by declaring himself the Lord of the Sabbath. Entering the synagogue on another Sabbath, Jesus heals a man's withered hand as the Pharisees watch to accuse him of unlawful action. Angered by Jesus' disregard for tradition, the Pharisees begin plotting with the Herodians how they might destroy him.

Beneath the fast-paced action of Jesus' ministry in the Gospel of Mark lies a profound theological message: we are all in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. Though Jesus performs mighty deeds and calls people to repent, they repeatedly fail to understand his true identity and mission. Even his disciples abandon him in his darkest hour. Yet Jesus willingly suffers and dies on the cross as a ransom for many, accomplishing what we could not do ourselves - securing our justification before God. Mark presents Jesus not just as a miracle worker but as the divine Savior whose atoning sacrifice makes salvation possible for lost sinners.