Trey H. Little

Sermon Text:  Mark 2: 13-17

January 30, 2011

Albany, Texas

“Follow Me to the Doctor”

Please open your Bibles to Mark 2: 13-17. 

As you do so, allow me to give you a little context into what we are about to hear. 

Listen now to the word of God.

            Play along with me—When you are hungry you should?—EAT.  When you are thirsty you should?—DRINK.  When you are low on fuel you should go to the?—GAS STATION.  When you are sick you should go to the?—DOCTOR.  Easy enough, right?  How about this one—When you die, people will saaaay?  Not quite as easy, right?  It is difficult to put a lifetime into a brief statement.

One of the last classes I took in Seminary was a class called “Entry Into Ministry.”  I will never forget, in the first week of the course no less, we were assigned to write our own obituaries.  In 500 words or less we were to reflect on what we hoped would be said of us and our vocation.  Then, we were to discuss how we might go about setting goals and leading a life that could produce the obituaries we had written.  I took that course in 2003 and I have no recollection of what my obituary said! 

What do you want written in your obituary?  Or how about this one:  What do you want written on you tombstone?  It’s difficult to put a lifetime into a brief statement—but I believe thinking about what that statement might say can influence a lifetime.

As I meditated on Mark 2: 13-17—I began to think about a few brief statements.  Statements such as, “Follow Me.”  And, “Levi got up and followed him.”  And, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and “sinners?”  And finally, “It’s not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick.”  

Each of these statements says something about someone’s life.

First, let’s consider the statement “Follow me.”  Jesus commanded Levi to follow him.  The statement suggests that Jesus was confident in who He was and how He could impact people’s lives.  Jesus was a leader.  He sought people out.  He was a teacher; He was a healer; He was ‘counter cultural’; people wanted to be around Him; people were both threatened by Him and freed by Him.  Jesus saw potential in others—even those who were considered outcasts.  Jesus desired to be followed.  Jesus provided a new way of life.  Jesus was not influenced by what others thought about Him but instead He lived to be an influence.  “Follow me”—there is something very comforting and yet very energizing about that statement. 

Second, let’s consider the statement “Levi got up and followed him.”  Levi was a tax collector—he made a handsome living off of other people’s taxes.  Most likely, his reputation was not a good one—in fact, he was probably hated by many.  Most likely he would be described as a person who valued money more than reputation or respectability.  Given the prominent location of his tax booth—many would have known Levi—(Capernaum was a customs post on the caravan route between Damascus to the northeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the west)—and Levi would have collected taxes from the citizens of this region as well as from merchants passing through town.  And yet, in the midst of all the comforts of a lucrative vocation and lifestyle—when Jesus called—Levi got up and went. 

By all accounts—Jesus and Levi were complete opposites and yet the command of one and the obedience of another would forever change what would be written about each.  Levi walked away from his booth—into a life of acceptance.  Levi quickly went from being a man of “collecting” to a man of “giving.”  And now, he was asking others to FOLLOW—he even threw a dinner party and asked other outcasts and “sinners” to join him—not for dinner but so they too could have an opportunity to meet the One who changed his life and would change theirs as well. When Levi “got up and followed” he realized that a spiritual fortune was worth much more than a material fortune.  \

Third, let’s consider the statement:  “Why does he eat with tax collectors and “sinners?”  The Pharisees were self-righteous “rules” police.  They believed they had it all figured out.  They believed it was their way or the highway.  Their job was to teach the Scriptures and the Law and to protect against anyone’s willful defiance.  They saw themselves as righteous and everyone else as sinners.  Therefore, when Jesus decided to keep company with outcasts and “sinners” they didn’t know what to say or do.  They wondered why a man who claimed to be God would stoop to the level of the poor, unlearned, common everyday sinners.  Why would He associate with broken people?  Why would He want to be in relationship with people who didn’t get it right all the time?  Why would He care to invest in the lives of people who weren’t perfect?    

 To which Jesus said:  “It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

The answer to the Pharisees “Why’s?” is because that is who Jesus is.  Jesus came to HEAL.  He is The Doctor.  Outcasts and “sinners”—tax-collectors and preachers—school teachers and ranchers—housewives and students—people like you and me can “get up and follow Him” by accepting His grace and sharing His grace with others OR we can sit in our “self-righteous” seats and question why we should associate with lost and broken people.     

Friends, our stories are still being written.  And so I wonder, what do you hope will be said about you?  What statement do you hope will be said about the people of MMPC? 

Will people say more about our spiritual successes or financial successes?  Will people recall the number of times we invited “sinners” and “outcasts” to dinner or what we served for dinner?  Will people talk about the company we kept—because they admired our commitment to reaching the lost?  Will people say we were “good” people or people who did “good?”  Will people elaborate on the evidence of Christ in our lives or wonder if we really knew Him?  Will people be thankful for our witness in their lives?  Will there be ministries that will outlive us because of our financial vision to invest in the work of the Kingdom?  If people followed us—would they be led to The Great Physician?

I am reminded of the true story of a young minister in Oklahoma who went to a small, though long-standing, church in hopes of really reviving the ministry of it.  He had stars in his eyes and great hopes for the future.  He thought he could turn it around.  And he gave it his best effort and his best shot week after week.

Finally, he had one last idea, and it seemed to work.  He announced in the local newspaper on Saturday that the church had died, and on Sunday afternoon there would be a funeral service at the church itself, and all who wished could attend.  For the first time in his years there the place was packed.  In fact, people were standing outside looking through the window to see this most unusual funeral service for the church.

To their shock, because most of them got there twenty or thirty minutes early to get a seat, there was a casket down front smothered with flowers.  He told the people as soon as the eulogy was finished they could pass by and view the remains of the dearly beloved that they were putting to rest that day.  They could hardly wait until he finished the eulogy.  He slowly opened the casket, pushed the flowers aside, and people filed by, one by one, to look in.  However, as they left—they did so a bit sheepishly because inside the casket the pastor had placed a large mirror.  As they walked by, they saw the church that had died.

Friends, that’s not us, is it!  We don’t want people coming here to witness death we want people coming here to experience LIFE.  But you know what, I don’t want to look in the mirror and wonder which one I exhibited—how about you?

So here is a closing thought.  I don’t know if it would work in an obituary.  It would be quite a statement on a tombstone.  It may even make a difference in The Albany News.  But there is no doubt in my mind that if the sum of our lives and mission could be in a single statement—a statement people would remember hearing us say over and over again—I would choose:  “Follow me to The Doctor.”

Think about it.  

AMEN