Main Passage: Mark 2:13-3:21

Memory Verse

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.”

Mark 2:17

Devotion

We are creatures of habit. We often have our own ideas of how things should be. We go to church expecting a certain order of events. We even have a pretty good idea of what the average Christian is supposed to look like. In Jesus’ day people had their ideas too. Everyone expected that Jesus’ disciples would follow certain rules and act a certain way. The group known as the Pharisees were particularly good at pointing out all the things that they thought the disciples were doing wrong. In this story people notice that the disciples of Jesus do not fast like the Pharisees or the disciples of John. Jesus wasn’t in the business of doing things like everyone else. Jesus is Lord and he came to do something new. Being Lord means that you get to make the rules. For Jesus’ disciples there was no need to fast in order to focus on God. When the disciples were eating they were getting to share a meal with God himself. How amazing is that? And when it comes to meals, most of the people didn’t like who Jesus was eating with either. The incredible thing about God is that he came to earth and became a man to save sinners like us. In sharing a meal with sinners, Jesus was demonstrating what he was and is all about. Jesus is about forgiveness and love. We are offered a seat at the table where none of us truly belong. But God loved us so much that he made a way for us to sit at the table with him and share a meal.

Questions to Ponder

Have you ever felt pressure do things someone else's way?
Do you ever feel like everyone else should do things they way you do them?
Do you ever take time to just be with Jesus and share a meal with him?
When was the last time you paused to thank God for your salvation and the fact Jesus died for you while you were still a sinner?