Mark 2:15

Mar 2:15 And it *happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him.
When we study this verse it should always be noted that Jesus was seated in the home of one of the most despised of people, a Tax Collector working for the enemy of Judea and all of Israel. To top that there were likely people there that never attended synagogue on the Sabbath and no righteous man would ever associate with such sinners. This is an important point because the Religious Leaders and the Scribes stuck very closely to their interpretation of the Law. We must be very careful to never become like them. The Christian has not been saved to be inside some exclusive club, Matt. 28:18-20, we were saved to be a primary influence on the world.
Mar 2:16 When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, "Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?"
The one thing I'm most stricken by is the approach of these religious leaders in dealing with their perceived wrong doing. Instead of going to the one perpetuating the perceived offense to God and correcting Him they went behind His back, as is the manor of all back bitters and gossip mongers. In Matthew 18:15 we are instructed to go straight to our brother first. This teaching is not something new Jesus brought into the light of scripture, in Leviticus 17:18,19 we find this same teaching in the Law.
Mar 2:17 And hearing this, Jesus *said to them, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
It is taught that Jesus used the logic of a common parable of the day to make His point here. It is certainly logical and the problem of thinking ourselves righteous is still prevalent today. We find folks that are busy in the church, paying their tithes and making offerings above their tithe that because of their good works have forgotten that they need the savior. Every Jew knew that they needed the Messiah but, like many Jews and people naming the name of Jesus today, they relied and rely on their good works to get them into Heaven. They have forgotten, then and now, that Father Abraham was saved by faith, there was no law then.
Mar 2:18 John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and they *came and *said to Him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"
Mar 2:19 And Jesus said to them, "While the bridegroom is with them, the attendants of the bridegroom cannot fast, can they? So long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
Mar 2:20 "But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.
If I were a religious zealot this question would be a logical thing to ask. This first illustration, used by Jesus is full of logic of the practical nature. The attendants and friends of the Bridegroom are not there to depress him and fasting is done in sorrow. In verse 20 Jesus was being prophetic and indeed, as good as it is to be saved, but when comparing the time the disciples spent and the time we will spend with Jesus to any other time in history who could be sorrowful in the pressence of God?
Mar 2:21 "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results.
Mar 2:22 "No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins."
Most people here in the US, today, do not relate well to these two examples of practicality. Of the wineskins I am also at a loss. In the case of repaired clothing, however, I grew up in a world of hand-me-down and used or recycled garments. If you have a well worn pair of jeans and have worn a hole in the seat of them, you do not patch them with a newer piece of cloth because it will shrink in the wash and when you put them on you are in danger when you arise from being seated. There is a really good chance everyone will know the condition and the color of your undergarments.
Mar 2:23 And it happened that He was passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain.
Mar 2:24 The Pharisees were saying to Him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"
It has been taught to me that the Jewish people in Israel, in some part, are still very concerned with the Mosaic Law to such a point that they will not even use an elevator on the Sabbath because they would need to depress the button to operate the machine.
Mar 2:25 And He *said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry;
Mar 2:26 how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?"
Even in the days of Jesus, men knew of David being God's man and they knew that in spite of the Law that David and his men had eaten the consecrated bread. They were also aware that God had continued to bless David and his men, showing no disapproval of the act.
Mar 2:27 Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
Mar 2:28 "So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."
Our LORD makes it very clear that the day of rest was for man's benefit and in the next verse goes on to declare Himself to be God.

 

... I can qualify my statement. I have been in the position of being prominently involved in church government. I will tell you that while I am called to be a teacher/evangelist, I have not been called to the pastorate. I, in the past, have been a member of a congregation that had fifty thousand dollars invested in long term CDs. The Deacon, primarily responsible for this investment, refused to allow cashing these investments for the furtherance of Missions, for the expansion of the facilities in order to grow the membership with more lost souls or for any other cause until full maturity.
... This same Deacon explained to me the utter foolishness of a faith pledge made by my wife and I to the furtherance of the gospel. I will mention that we had not the means to pay the pledge but that we took God at His word to pour out a blessing that we could not contain for our faithfulness and I weill tell you that He did that and has not ceased to pour out that blessing almost 18 years later.
... During my involvement in Church Government I had folks that told me how much money they tithed and just why I should listen t what they had to say. I will never be involved in the governing of the business of God's people again because I learned more about some people than I ever bargained for.
... Over the past nineteen years I have taken note of membership surveys by the Barum Group and others and I have learned more than I ever wanted to know there. I am aware that on any Sunday there are, in the Church Universal, less than three persons in any given hundred that believe the basic tenants of Christianity. Just here in the US that puts those that truly believe a well below 1/2 of 1 per cent.
... In the past ten years of my teaching and evangelizing on the bulletin boards around the world I have heard every lame excuse that I believe a man can dream up for why this or that person is going to Heaven and every one of them boils down to good works. The most common boils down to their good out weighs their bad points and second is how much moey they have paid the church.
... Never get me wrong, I am not opposed to good works but neither will they save you. You see, if you raise fifty thousand for the church that can be a good thing...unless you believe it gives yu the position of control or maybe because you thik God will look at what you did and give you a free pass, even though you refused the offer Jesus paid for n the cross.
... Thank you fr your comment but I'm left to pray that you never learn what I have learned.