Sharper Iron — The Gospel in Action: Follow the Friend of Sinners

Rev. Zelwyn Heide, pastor at St. Peter Lutheran Church in Hannover, ND and Zion Lutheran Church in New Salem, ND, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Mark 2:13-17.

Crowds continue to flock to Jesus as He goes to the Sea of Galilee with the purpose of calling Levi to be His disciple. Levi, also known as Matthew, is a tax collector, a seemingly unlikely choice due to the bad reputation rightly earned by men in that profession. Yet Jesus takes the initiative in calling Levi. His short command, “Follow me,” is effective and does what Jesus intends. In celebration, Levi invites Jesus to his house for a feast, where Jesus eats with other tax collectors and sinners. Such table fellowship was offensive to the Pharisees, who had a reputation of being stringent in their pursuit of holiness according to the unwritten rules of the Law. Jesus reminds them that He eats with sinners because that is precisely the people He has come to save. In that truth, He extends the urgent invitation to the Pharisees and to all to recognize their own sin and follow Jesus as the Savior.

“The Gospel in Action” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the Gospel according to St. Mark. The Evangelist hits the ground running with the very first verse of his Gospel account, and he never lets up the pace. As one deed of Jesus comes right after another, always paired with His authoritative Word, St. Mark proclaims the good news that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, revealed conclusively by His death on the cross.

Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God’s Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen.

Sharper Iron is underwritten by Lutheran Church Extension Fund, where your investments help support the work of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Visit lcef.org.

Mark 2:13-17

Jesus Calls Levi

¹³He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. ¹⁴And 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.

¹⁵And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. ¹⁶And the scribes of^[a] the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat^[b] with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹⁷And 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.”

Footnotes

Mark 2:16 Some manuscripts and
Mark 2:16 Some manuscripts add and drink

English Standard Version (ESV)

Rev. Timothy Appel

Although a mathematics degree may not be incredibly helpful to (proudly born-and-raised Texan) Rev. Timothy Appel while hosting Sharper Iron, his love of CFW Walther and the season of Easter will come in handy. His Call is shepherding the flock at Faith Lutheran Church in Godfrey, Illinois, and he’s also husband to wife Kristin and dad to their growing basketball team of children. When he’s not carrying out pastoral duties, you may find him reading “The Lord of the Rings,” snacking on Reese’s peanut butter cups, playing dominoes with his boys, or studying up on Texas history (including Sam Houston, of course).