In the Gospel of Mark Chapter two. We have lots of drama. Jesus heals of paralytic that’s let down through the roof. And he asks the question, which is easier to say? Rise up and walk. All your sins be forgiven. And this creates all kinds of issues. Then he eats on the Sabbath, and they’re all upset about what he’s doing on the Sabbath.
And he calls himself the Lord of the Sabbath. But kind of couched in the middle of this chapter is the calling of the disciple. Matthew, listen to what it says. He went out again by the sea and all the multitude came to him. And he began to teach them. And he passed by. And he saw Levi, the son of Alpheus, sitting at the tax office.
And he said to him, Follow me. So he arose and he followed him. See, Matthew was a Jew and a tax collector. So he was a traitor to his own people. The way the tax system work is complicated, but they could garnish a lot from their own people and live a very wealthy life. Here’s Matthew. He’s got all the money, but he’s got no friends.
And deep inside, I think his conscience, his heart is driving him crazy. Jesus comes by, he looks at Matthew, and he’s just says two words. Follow me. And Matthew leaves it all behind and he begins to follow. So here’s my point. What I want to bring out in the chapter is there’s people all around us. Some of them look like they’ve got everything, but they don’t. Some of them have no friends, but they have a lot of stuff. Jesus wants to use you and me to say to all kinds of people in all kinds of situations the rich, the poor, the middle class, wherever they might be. Come. Follow Jesus. And you might be surprised what they’ll do. I think everyone was surprised, including Jesus disciples, that he picked Matthew.
I know. I was surprised that he picked me. You’re probably surprised he picked you. Don’t ever count anyone out because Jesus says to everyone who will hear me, come follow me.