Mark 2

I'm finally caught up. All three seasons of Battlestar Galactica, the 4 hour pilot, and BSG:Razor, all watched and thoroughly enjoyed. It is easy to see why so many people watch it and I am really looking forward to the final season. Although, how convenient is it that there is a Cylon in the most important positions in the fleet. The XO? The President's assistant? The Chief Engineer? Starbuck's husband? This stretches credibility a tad but I guess it's not exciting if it's some low level muckity-muck.

II Jesus continues to heal; call disciples; teach
A. vs 1-17 Jesus heals the paralytic that is lowered through the roof
1. vs 1-5 Jesus travels to Capernaum; a paralytic's friends lower him through the roof where Jesus is teaching
2. vs 6-7 Other teachers of the law take offensive to Jesus telling the paralytic that his sins are forgiven
3. vs 8-12 Jesus proves His authority to forgive sins by healing the paralytic
B. vs 13-17 Jesus calls Levi (Matthew)
1. vs 13-14 Jesus calls Levi out of the tax collectors booth
2. vs 15-17 Matthew gives a dinner for Jesus and invites his tax collector friends
C. vs 18-22 Jesus explains why His disciples are not fasting
1. vs 18-20 His disciples won't fast until He leaves them
2. vs 21-22 Do not put a new patch on old cloth or new wine in old wineskins
D. vs 23-28 Jesus explains why it is OK for His disciples to pick grain on the Sabbath
1. vs 23-24 The disciple pick grain and offend the Pharasees
2. vs 25-26 Jesus gives the example of David eating the shewbread to justify His disciples actions
3. vs 27-28 Jesus explains that the Sabbath is meant to serve man, not the other way around

On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Mark 2:17

This verse is interesting to me because the Bible makes it so clear in other places that there is "none righteous, no not one". If Jesus came to deal with sinners He certainly came to the right place, but who are these righteous people He is referring to? This has to mean that He is calling the ones who think they are sinners as opposed to those why think they are righteous. This illustrates how deadly the sin of pride is. It is pride that blinds us to our own sinfulness and keeps us from rightly assessing ourselves by His standards. This why it is so important when sharing your faith to show people where they stand in relationship to the Law of God. This helps break through the wall of pride and shows people the depth of sin they wallow in. We all think we are good people because we measure ourselves by the standard of other "good" people. When put next to these people I don't look so bad, but when measured against the law I see I'm not even close. I might as well try jumping to the moon or swimming to the bottom of the deepest part of the Pacific. When I see myself in this light, as a sinner in desperate need of God's grace, that's when He calls me, that's when I can hear His voice.