Devotional: Jesus spends time with sinners

Jesus spends time with sinners

Table Talk: When society creates outcasts, Jesus still embraces the outcast.
Read Mark 2:13-17
Learning activities for children: https://freesundayschoolcurriculum.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/5/0/12503916/lesson_19_jesus_calls_matthew.pdf

13 He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. 14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.15 And as he reclined at a table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Say: Jesus often did shocking things, like making a tax collector one of His disciples. In Jesus' day, tax collectors had a reputation for not being honest or fair. To show his love for everyone, Jesus called Levi (Matthew) to be one of His closest friends, one of His twelve disciples. Levi followed Jesus and reciprocated by introducing Jesus to some of His closest friends, all viewed as outcasts in their society. Eating around a table was an intimate act in Jesus’ day, reserved mostly for family. The scribes and Pharisees believed they were better than the “sinners.” Jesus believed all sinners, including the scribes and Pharisees, were sick and needed His forgiveness.

Ask: Did you notice an interesting phrase in verse fifteen? “…for there were many (sinners) who followed Him (Jesus). Why did sinners follow Jesus?
Do sinners follow Jesus today? If yes, how do they follow Him?
Let’s answer the question of the Pharisees: Why did Jesus eat with tax collectors and sinners?
Are sinners following our family, wanting to know the Jesus in our lives?

Pray: Lord, we recognize that everyone in our family is a sinner. Thank you that you provided the Only Way to forgive our sins. Help us to love sinners, embrace sinners, and share our lives with sinners. Lord, we pray that people will follow the Jesus who is at the center of our family.

Ministry activity for the week: Pray for the outcast.
Make a list of people groups who are considered outcasts in our society. Pray that your family would be not only a blessing to them but also a gospel witness to them.