Daily Devotional for Thursday 25th April
Making Holy
From here Mark records growing conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees. On the surface it is conflict over the observance of ritual practice: eating kosher, fasting and Sabbath-keeping. Underneath are real questions: Who is this Jesus? Why has He come? What authority does He have to act and speak in this way? Jesus came with new teaching, a threat to those who had a vested interest in the way things were. The poor had nothing to lose and so sought out Jesus– the pious Jews had everything to lose.
The Pharisees seek righteousness through teaching obedience to the Law; Jesus seeks righteousness through teaching obedience to His commands. Jesus’ approach to holiness was to engage with as many unholy people as possible. So in today’s passage we see Jesus eating with Levi and ‘sinners.’ Levi was probably a customs officer, charging tariffs on goods in transit. The taxes would have been paid to Herod Antipas, since Galilee was not yet under direct Roman rule. The tax collector determined his own mark-up. He could frisk people and search their property. So it’s not hard to see why they were so hated and despised.
The scrupulous Pharisees were scandalised at the company Jesus kept. Why does He keep company with such scum (literally, v 16)? Jesus replies with a proverb common in the ancient Mediterranean: ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor’ (v 17). The same thing is happening here as when Jesus reached out to touch and heal the man suffering from leprosy we saw earlier in chapter one – Jesus, far from fearing contamination from the sick, reaches out and touches them. The ‘infection’ is the other way round!
Time to reflect…
Are you involved in this ministry of Jesus to the ‘unholy’? Do you stand up for His way of life and share it? Or do you avoid this ministry? If so, why?
Pause to pray…
Merciful Father, we are all sinners and outcasts. So thank you for loving us so much that you sent Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins so we can be in relationship with you. Amen
