Luke 5:12-6:16

The Centrality of Faith in

the Old Testament
The Patriarchal Religion
"The religion of the Old
Testament is obviously as
fundamentally a religion of faith
as is that of the New Testament.
--- ... the
religion of
Israel was a
religion of
faith ... not
merely
because faith
was more
consciously its
foundation,
but because its
very essence
conSisted in
faith, and this
faith was the
same radical
self-comrnitment
to God, not merely as the highest
good of the holy soul, but as the
gracious Savior of the sinner,
which m.eets us as the
characteristiC feamre of the
religion ~ the New Testament.
The entire patriarchal narrative is
s ~ t forth with the de"sign and effect
of exhibiting the life of the
servants of God as a life of faith ....
--- .. .faith was for them (the
patriarchs) the precondition of all
obedience. The patriarchal
religion is .... characteristically
described as a walk 'with God'; its
peculiarity consisted preCisely in
tl?-e orderip.g 0' life. by entire trust
in God, and it expressed itself in
conduct growing out of this trust,
Gen. 3:20; 4:1; 6:22; 7:5; 8:18;
12:4; 17: 23; 21:12,16. The
righteousness of the patriarchal
age was thus but the manifestation
in life of an entire
self-commitment to God, in
unwavering trust in His
promises." - Warfield, pg. 406f.
The Mosaic Religion
"The piety of the Old
Testament thus began with faith.
And though, when the stage of the
law was reached, the emphasis
might seem to be thrown rather
on the obedience of faith, what
has been called 'faith in action,'
yet the giving of the law does not
mark a fundamental change in the
religion of Israel, but only a new
stage in its orderly development.
--- It (the giving of the law) is
therefore grounded upon the
promise, and it grounds the whole
religious life of Israel in the grace
of the covenant of God, Exod.
20:2. It is only because Israel are
the children of God, and God has
sanctified them unto Himself and
chosen them to be a peculiar
people unto Him, Deut. 14: 1, that
He proceeds to frame them by His
law for His special rreasure, Exod.
19:5. Faith, therefore, does not
: .. ~ THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon ~ April, 1996
appear as one of the precepts. of
the law, nor as the virtue superior
to its precepts, nor yet as a
substitute for keeping them; IT,
(FAITH) LIES BEHIND THE LAW
AS ITS PRESUPPOSITION."-
Warfield, pg. 407.
The Definition of Faith in
the Old Testament .
Faith in the Old Testament is
"a reverential, Exod. 14:31; Num.
14:11; 20:12, and loving'faith,
which rests on the strong basis of
firm and unshaken conviction of
the might and grace of the
covenant God and of the '
trustworthiness
of all His
words, and
exhibits itself
in confident
trust in
Jehovah and
unwavering
expectation of
the fulfillment
of, no doubt,
all His
, promises, but
more
especially of
His promise
of salvation,
and in consequent faithful and
exclusive adherence to Him. In
one word, it (faith) consists in an
utter commitment of oneself to
Jehovah, with confident trust in
Him as guide and savior, and
assured expectation of His
promised salvation."- Warfield,
pg.410.
The Doctrine of Saving Faith
FIRST, "faith is not merely
belief on the part of man, but
rather God's work in man's life,
Rom. 10:17 ... ."- Rushdoony,
SALVATION AND GODLY RULE,
pg.290.
SECOND, "faithrecogIi.izesat
once its condemnation in God's
sight, because faitn assents to
God's law and the judgment of
that law. As Bellamy declared,
'Saving faith consists in looking to
free grace, through Jesus Christ,
for salvation; thus viewing God's
law, and your own case, as they
really be; and he that dlus
believes, shall be saved.'""
Rushdoony, pg. 290.
THIRD, "faith is saying Amen
to Christ and His salvation; it
means accepting the verdict of
death on ourselves
trust, reliance, or dependence on
Jesus Christ, the great Mediator,
his satisfaction and merits,
mediation and intercession, which
the humbled sinner has, whereby
he is emboldened to return home
to God in hopes of acceptance,
and is encouraged to look to and
tl1lst in God through him for that
complete salvation which is
offered in the gospel. --- Faith
emboldens the heart ... begets new
courage, lays the foundation for a
new kind of hope--"a hope
springing entirely from a new
Justifying faith is a saving grace,
wrought in the heart of the sinner,
by the Spirit and Word of God,
whereby he, being convinced of
his sin and misery, and of the
disability in himself and all other
creatures to recover him out of his
lost condition, not only assents to
the tl1lth of the promise of the
gospel, but receives and rests
upon Christ and His righteousness
therein held forth, for pardon of
sin, and for the accepting and
accounting of his person righteous
in the sight of God for
salvation. "
which the law
pronounces to
lawbreakers, and
accepting the atoning
work of Christ as our
vicarious substitute. It
means also the response
of gratitude in the forms
of works of law, the
obedience of faith, as the
"Jesus was alienated from God on
the cross and suffered and died
Conclusion
If the Son of Man,
and He alone, has the
divine authority on
earth to forgive all the
sins of everyone who
places his faith in Him
under the condemnation of sin, as
the Substitute for all those who
tru6t in Him for 6alvation."
means of setting forth God's
kingdom. Leon Morris says of
faith: 'Central to the New
Testament is the thought that God
sent His Son to be the Savior of
the world. Chrtst accomplished
man's salvation by dying an
atoning death on Calvary'S cross.
Faith is the attitude whereby a
man abandons all reliance in his
own efforts to obtain salvation, be
they deeds of piety, of ethical
gqodness, or anything else. It is
the attitude of complete trust in
Christ, of reliance on Him alone
for all that salvation means."'"
Rushdoony,pg.414.
FOURTH, "faith .. .is more than
belief, and more than knowledge:
it is a God"given life and boldness,
When it is reduced to an act of
will or an act of intellect, it is
made man-centered and weak, or,
rather, invalid. --- Bellamy
stressed this factor, writing:
'Saving faith consists in that entire
foundation. -- Faith in Christ
emboldens the heart to look to
and trust in the free grace of God
through Him, for all things that
just such a poor sinner wants
(lacks)."- Rushdoony, pg. 290.
FIFTH, "this boldness of faith
lies in the assurance of being
forgiven and accepted by God in
Jesus Christ, Rom. 8:1.. .. When
we know that we are THE
FORGIVEN, that we have been
released from the prison-house of
sin and guilt and the totality of
death, then we are empowered by
the holy boldness of faith. A basic
aspect of this holy boldness is the
exercise of dominion; another
aspect of it is the exercise of
forgiveness."- Rushdoony, pg.
291. .
The Nature of True
Saving Faitlt According to the
Westminster Larger Catechism
Question 72.
"What is justifying faith? A.
as his Lord and Savior,
then you have warrant
to believe that if you believe in
Him, He will forgive you and
bring God into your life. If you
are not yet a believer in Jesus,
then your sins are alienating you
from God and have placed you
under His condemnation. Jesus
was alienated from God on the
cross and suffered and died under
the condemnation of sin, as the
Substitute for all those who tlUSl
in Him for salvation. Repent of
your sins. Trust in Him as your
Lord and Savior.
. If you are a believer, praise
God forthe constant forgiveness
of your every sin that continues to
come into your life, with all its
healing power, as you trust in
Christ for continued salvation
from sin. IJohn 1:9 says, "If we
keep on confessing our Sil1.5, He is
faithful and just to keep on forgiVing
us our sins, and to heep on cleansing
us from all unrighteousness.
April, 1996 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 5
(5:27-28) The Demands of the
Sovereignty ofJesus on
His Disciples
The Attentive Look of
Jesus at Levi
"And after that He went out,
and noticed.a tax-gatherer named
Levi .. .. "1 The Greek for "noticed"
denotes "looked at
contemplated," . .often also
denoting enjoyment in looking at
that person, Lk. 7:24;Jn. 1:14,
;n, 38; IJn. 1:1. Asj!'SUs looked
at the man, he looke4
disgrace extended to his family."-
Lane on MARK, pg. 102.
The Unmerited
Kindness ofJesus
In the choice of Levi,
(Matthew), into the
kingdom-family of Christ, and to
the office of Apostle, we have a .
striking illustration of the sheer
grace of jesus Christ. "It was the
intention of Christ to choose
simple and ignorant persons of
that rank, in order to cast down
dramatic response. Not ,only does
this reveal to us thatjesus' word is
a powerful word, able to move a
man to abandon his entire life and
to surrender himself totally to the
will and command of Jesus; Jesus'
word is also a sovereign ward,
because, in choosing His apostles,
"He ... summoned those whom He
Himself wanted, and they came to
Him," Mk. 3:13. Moreover, .
disciples did not become diSCiples
by their own free choice, but by
the calling ofJesus. "The Gospels
into hiS very being and
read his true character.
The Identity of Levi
Levi was another
name of Matthew, Mat.
9:9; 10:3; Mk. 3:18; Lk.
6:15; Acts 1:13, Other
of the apostles had two
names,jn. 11:16; Mat.
"Levi hears Christ's call with the ears
of his heart, and Christ then draws
him into the closest personal
relationship with Himself. Everything
depends on Jesus' sovereign word of
grace to this unclean man."
state that
the fact of
becoming ilcliscipJe or
being adiscipler
depends on jesus'
sovereign deciSion, and
not on the free choice
of individuals who are
especially drawn to
Him. This is shown in
10:3; Mk. 3:18; Lk.
6:14. His father was Alphaeus,
not to be confused with the father
ofjallles the Less, Mk. 3:18;
15:40.
Levi (Matthew) was a
tax"collector. In fact when jesus
found him, he was Sitting at his
desk at the tax-collector's toll
booth located in Capernaut:n. He
was a jewish tax-collector in the
service of Herod Antipas. Such
bureaucrats were detested by
everyOl1e and were cqnsidered t)w
vilest of human beings. "The
practice ofleasing the customs
duty of a district at a 'fixed sum
encouraged gross oppression by
tax officers anxious to secure as
large a profit as possible. When a
jew entered the customs service,
he was regarded' as an outcast
from society: he was disqualified
as a judge or a witnesS in a court
session, was excotnmunicated
from the synagogue, and in the
eyes of the community his
'the wisdom of the world: I Cor.
2:6. But this publican, who
followed an occupation little
esteemed and involved in many
abuses, was selected for additional
reasons, that he might be an
example of Christ's undeserved
goodness, and might show in his
person that the calling of all of us
depends, not on the merits' of our
own righteousness, but on His
pure kindness. Matthew,
therefore, was not only a wimess
and preacher, but Was also a proof
and illustration of the grace
exhibited in Christ."- Calvin
The Power in the
Word of Jesus
The Power and Sovereignty
in the Word of Jesus
"And He said to him, 'Follow
Me. '" Mankind has always been
impressed with the brevity and
urgency ofJesus' call of Levi to
discipleship; and with the total
and immediate obedience of Levi's
6 mE COUNSEL of Chalcedon April, 1996
all stories concerning
the call of a disciple, Mk. 1 :15f;
2:14f; Lk. 5:lf;jn. 1:35f."-
Bornkamm, Jesus of Nazareth, pg.
145. "Not that all in whose ears
He utters His voice afe equally .
affected in their hearts: but in this
man Christ intended ta give a .'
remarkable example, that we
might know that his calling was
not from man."- Calvin
The Demand of DiSCipleship
in the Word ofjesus
The Greek word for :'follow"is
AKOLOUTHEO, the ordinary
word for the intellectual; moral
and religious follOwing of
someone or something. In the
O.T., God's people were
forbidden to "follow" or "go after"
other gods, Judg. 2:12; Dt. 4:3;
jer. 11:10, beci3,use it was
considered spiritual adultery,
Hosea 1:2; 2.:7. Rather, God's
people were to "follow" or "go
after" Jehovah, Deut. 1;6.
"Following" God was "walking in
God's revealed ways," Deut. 5:30.
The focus of this incident is on
the Master who calls Levi to
discipleship. Levi hears Christ's
call with the ears of his heart, and
Christ then draws him into the
closest personal relationship with
Himself. Everything depends on
Jesus' sovereign word of grace to
this unclean man. Jesus calls Levi
"to abandon everything and, in
the first instance quite literally, to
follow Jesus from place to place,"
(Bornkamm, pg. 146) , as His
disciple. What He demands from
His apostles, He demands from all
His disciples: "to repent in light
of the coming \<ingdom of God.
To abandon everything and follow
the summons, Lk. 14: 16f, to sell
everything for the one precious
pearl, Mat. 13:45. --- The
Kingdom of God is the sole
foundation ofjesus' call to follow
Him. It imposes upon the
disciples a SPECIAL TASK, a
SPECIAL DESTINY, but also
grants them a SPECIAL
PROMISE."- Bornkamm, pg. 147f.
The command to follow Jesus
is the demand for complete
self-surrender to the will ofJesus.
When Christ calls a person to
follow Him, a "great joy,
surpassing all measure, seizes a
man, ... carries him away,
penetrates his inmost being,
subjugates his mind. All else
seems valueless compare<! with
that surpassing worth. No price is '
too great to pay. The unreserved
surrender of what is most l u ~ h l e
becomes a matter of course. The
decisive thing in the twin parable
(of the discovelY of the pearl of
great price and the treasure in the
field) is not what the two men
give up, but the reason for their
doing so; the overwhelming
experience of the splendor of their
discovery. Thus it is with the
Kingdom of God. The effect of
the joyful news is overpowering; it
fills the heart with gladness; it
makes life's whole aim the
consummation of the divine
community and produces the
most whole-hearted
self-sacrifice."- ]. Jeremias, The
Message of the Parables of]esus,
pg.20l.
In the N.T., God's people are
called to "go after," or "follow"
Jesus Christ with a total,
all-inclusive and all-exclusive
commitment to Him as .Lord and
Savior. Luke 9:57-62 gives us
three cases which teach us what
following Jesus in daily
discipleship implies: (1). Utter
self-denial; (2). Immediate
obedience in givingJesus'
program priority over family
duties; and (3). Undivided
allegiance and loyalty.
The Unqualified Response of
Levi to the Word of] esus
"And He left evelything behind,
and rose up and began to follow
Him." Surely with the command
to follow Him, Jesus explained
why he was calling Levi and on
what conditions; so that when He
did call him, Levi immediately got
up from his desk, left his job and
income, (in an orderly way, of
course) , and began traveling with
Jesus, as one of the Twelve
Apostles, fellowshipping with
Him, learning from Him, and
sharing in His ministry. He left
his lucrative business trusting that
God in Chrisi would provide for
his needs.
"This must have meant a
considerable sacrifice, for tax
collectors were normally wealthy.
Matthew (Levi) must have been
the richest of the apostles. We
should not miss the quiet heroism
involved in this. If following Jesus
had not worked out for the
fishermen, they could have
returned to their trade without
difficulty. But when Levi walked
out of his job he was through.
They would surely never take
back a man who had simply
abandoned his tax office. His
following of Jesus was a final
commitment."- Leon Morris
Conclusion
The call of Levi (Matthew) by
Jesus is a revelation of the divine
sovereignty of Jesus. It shows us
how the Son of Man buHds His
great kingdom in this world.
There were many other people in
Capemaum, yet Christ sovereignly
called Levi to follow Him. This
call was totally unthought of and
unsought by Levi, who was busy
at his thievery as a tax-collector
when Christ came to him. The
call to discipleship is prevenient,
i.e., it comes before our decision
to be a disciple; and when it
comes, it brings with it irresistible
divine power, convicting us of our
sin and misery, enlightening our .
minds in the knowledge of Christ,
and renewing our will, that we
might freely receive Christ as He
is offered to us. We choose Christ
because He first chose us. He
called us and, hearing His voice in
. our hearts, we followed. He
turned us, and we turned away
from our sins to Him. He spoke
His omnipotence into our
spiritually dead and morally
enslaved li"es, and we came to
new life and faith in Him, Eph.
l:l9f.
The call of Christ is also
graciously condescending, i.e. , it
is totally undeserved and
unmerited. Christ chose an evil
and despised tax-collec.tor to be
His friend and disciple. And it
April, 1996 f THE COUNSEL of ChalcedoD f 7
was sublimely simple. "He said to
him, 'Follow Me."'Christ spoke
and levi followed. It was not
luke who said it, nor was it
anyone of the apostles. HE said!
"It is not my preaching, or your
pre ... ching, or an archbishop's ,
preaching, that can save souls; it is
'HE said,' and it is when the Lord
Jesus Christ, by the pivine Spirit,
says to a man, 'Follow Me,' .that
then the decisive work is done.
Did He not say to the primeval
darkness, 'Ught be!' and light was;
and God, the Omnipotent and
Eternal, has but to speak to man,
and a ,like result will follow. ---
That is the way of salvation;
Christ bids thee, whilst thou art at
thy sin, leave it, and thou leavest
it. He bids thee trust Him, and
thou dost trust Him; and trusting
Him thou art saved .. .. " - Charles
Spurgeon, Metropolitan
Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 42, pg.
571.
Finally, the call of Christ to
discipleship is' immediately
effective. Christ called and Levi
immediately responded. "The call
of Matthew (Levi) was the call of
effecnialgrace. 'Where the word
of the king is, there is power;' and
Jesus Christ spoke to MattheW the
word of THE: king. --- And ) .
preaching to you in His name; we
do NOT say, 'Dear friend, do be
converted, if you will;' but we say,
Thus saith the Lord: 'believe on
the lord Jesus Christ and thou
shalt be saved;' and with that
command goes the power of the
word of a King, and so' sinners are
saved."- Spurgeon', pg. 573.
(5:29-32) The Sovereignty of
Jesus in the Choice of His Friends
The Literary Form pf this Story
There are three parts to this
story, a tripartite form shared with
at least six other Gospel stories,
Mk. 2:1; Mk. 2:23f; Mt. 12:22f;
Mt. 21:15f; lk. 11:37f: Lk. l3:1Of.
FIRST, Jesus performs a radical
action; SECOND, th" Pharisees' or
scribes protest His action; and
THIRD, Jesus makes a
pronouncement that silences
them. "This form, with its direct,
dramatic presentation, was well
suited to emphasize the startling
character of the Kingdom of God
which broke in, step by step, as
Jesus and those around Him
performed their task. The FIRST
PART of the form described an
action performed on some defmite
occasion .... The MIDDLE PART
of the form, the protest issued in
the form of a challenge, assumes
that Jesus and His disciples ought
to behave as the scribes do.
Because Jesus is judged as
essentially belonging to the same
camp as His remonstrants, His
actions appear offensive to them.
The THIRD MEMBER of the form,
the silencihg of the remonstrants,
confirms this observation. Jesus
justifies His action by addUcing a
traditional proverb which His
opponents recognize as valid, ...
Jesus starts from the same baSis as
do His antagonists; if He did not,
He would be unable to silence
them. Where He differs from
them is in His interpretation of
the teaching adduced. The
THIRD MEMBER of the form
describes the defeat of the scribes
by an argument resting upon a
basis they acknOWledge. It is the
FIRST PART of this form, Jesus'
radical action, which brings into
focus the theologicaliy significant'
elements in this incident. To the
scribes Jesus' conduct was
offensive'because it was improper
for a teacher of the Law to share
meal fellowship with outcast and
ignorant common p.eople. Jesus':
action was actually more
8 TilE COUNSEL of Chalcedon April, 1996
revolutionary than they could
imagine. When Jesus shared meal
fellowship with the tax officials
and the common people, it was .
the Messiah who was sitting with
sinners."- Lane on MARK
The.Feast for Jesus with
Tax-collectors and Sinners
, The Feast ofJoy
It was an exhilarating thing for
Levi to Jorsake everything to
follow He "took the step
not in a spirit of grim resignation
but with banners flying. He had
no regrets, but on the contrary
gathered ;a large company' for 'a
great feast' in celebratiofl .... "-
Leon Morris: He also wanted to
introduce some of his friends and
associates to his new Lord,
because "a convened man will not
wish to go to heaven alone."-j.c.
Ryle
"Instead of feeling sorry at
leaving hiS well-paying business
and acting 'as though he was
making a sacrifice for Jesus, Levi
feels the opposite way; like
celebrating the event of his call by
Jesus. He must have had wealth to
own a houSe that was .
enough' to 'accommodate such a
crowd at a feast.... "- Lenski , .
The Feast for JesliS
Luke put' on thiS expensive
banquet for hiS many friends ahd
associateS, Mk. 2:15, to honor
Jesus a.nd to introduce them to
Him. "So :filled with deep, inner "
delight Was he that he " " '
immediately arranged a feast in
honor of the One whom he
considered his Benefactor!"-
Hendriksen
The F e4St of all Abundance
of rood and
Levi's party is called "a great
banquet", ,"}v:ith reference, not, to
the multitude of guests; but to the
abundanct! and magnificence of
' the provisions: for we know that
ChriSt did not practice such
austerity, as not to allow himself
to be sometimes entertained more
splendidly by the rich, provided
that there were no superfluity."- J.
Calvin
The Feast for Sinners
At Luke's big reception for
Jesus, "there was a great crowd of
tax-gatherers and other people
who were reclining at table with
them. And the Pharisees
Why Were They There?
Levi had invited these people
to hiS banquet with the hopes iliat
"Jesus might free them from their
sins and bring them to lead
different lives." - Lenski. They
knew why they had been invited.
"They had no illusions such as
that Jesus was justifying them and
making himself one of them. It
was Jesus who had complete
control of the situation and kept
control while doing His necessary
and blessed work upon them.
whom they looked upon with
disgust as unclean. They were
"grumbling at His disciples,"
saying, "WhY do you eat and
drink with the tax-gatherers and
sinners?" "Over against the
Pharisaic idea of salvation by
segregation Jesus sets up the new
principle of salvation by
association. - W. Manson in
Geldenhuys. However, the
difference between Jesus and the
Pharisees was far more than a
difference of strategy or of
and their scribes began
grumbling at His diSciples,
saying, 'Why do you eat
and drink with the
tax-gatherers and
sinners?'"- vss, 30-31.
Who were these
"tax-gatherers and
sinners"? Why were they
"The Pharieeee underetood
that what Jeeue wae doing at
thie banql,Jet of einnere wae a
blow at the foundation of the;'
minutiae of practice. The
Pharisees understood that
what Jesus was doing at
this banquet of sinners
was a blow at the
foundation of their very
existence and their
theology.
there? Why was Jesus
associating so closely with
them?
Who Were They?
The "tax-gatherers" were Levi's
wealthy business associates, all of
whom were collaborators with the'
Roman enemy and bureaucrats of
the despiSed Herod, The Jews
regarded them "as outcasts and
outrageous sinners."- Geldenhuys.
The term "sinnersll in verse 31
"cannot be understood in the
generally accepted sense of
'transgressors of the moral law of
God' since Mark (Luke) would
then have written 'tax officers and
OTHER sinners. ' ThiS term is
technical in this context for a class
of people who were regarded by
the Pharisees as inferior because
they showed no interest in the
scribal tradition. -- The
designation 'sinners' as used by
the scribes is roughly equivalent
to 'outcasts."'- Lane
very exietence and their
theology."
These Pharisees and
scribes had a heritage,
theology and ethics of
which they were proud
and to which they were
zealously devoted, inspite
This was no mere social gathering
in which Jesus tried to win the
favor of these men by associating
with them.' - Lenksi
This was not Levi's farewell
dinner for his associates. Rather,
it was the opposite. Levi dOeS pot
want to bid farewell to these
people, rather he "wants them to
join him in the new life to which
Jesus had brought him."- Lenski.
In no way was Jesus' presence at
Levi's banquet for "tax-gatherers
and simlers" an expression of HiS
condoning or sympathizing with
their sinful activities.
The Slwch and Rebuke of
the Scribes and Pharisees
"The Pharisees and their
scribes" were shocked and
offended that Jesus was
asSOciating with these people
of the most severe persecution.
They were deeply devoted to the
Mosaic Law and the commentary
on that Law passed down by
scribal tradition. It governed all
their social relationships. One of
the fundamentals of their system
was the distinction between those
who followed their traditions as
zealous as they and those who did
not, i.e., the "righteous" and the
"sinners." "Sinners" must be
segregated from the "righteous'
because they were not as good,
holy and righteous as those Who
followed their twditions. To
integrate with sinners is to be
made unclean by their presence.
"In their banquets the Pharisees
attempted to maintain an
exclusive fellowship in order to
avoid ritual impurity from contact
with others who maintained the
April, 1996 t THE COillolSJ;:L of Chalcedo!l 9.
traditions less strictly. They ' '
considered it disgraceful for one
of therr teachers to recline'at table
with ihose unversed in the Law,
and jeSus' diSregard of
time-honored custom offended
them."- Lane
The Answer' of Jesus JUSti]Jing
His Presence at the Feast
-; : . ', .' ,
Jesus the insinuation
anti,answers
for Himself. His
answer is self-evident and
not those who
are wdl who need a physician, but
those,.tyho are sick. I have not come
to call righteous men but sinners to
,
The Proverb
Jesus silenced His critics with a
traditional proverb, forms of
which occur ,in Jewish and
non-Jewish literature: it would be
riditulous arid evil for a doctor to
stliyaway from his patients who
are siCk-and who need his
attention and cure. So with Jesus
and sinners. The mission of this
diVine"hutIlan Savior is to seek
and to save those who are lost in
sin. In fact; He is the Divine ,
Physicianiinca,mate', for it is
Jehovah Who' says, "I, the LORD, '
amybur Healer," Exod.15:26.
. The Scribe's
" ,' of Themselves
The "RJghteous" and "Sinners"
For the moment Jesus is
willing to 1)se the distinction of
the Pharisees.and scribes between
the "righteous" and "sinners," and
takes these experts in the Law at
their own estimation of
themselves as He
then identifies Himself and His
ministry with the outcasts and
"sinners;" excluding the (selH
"righteous" scribes from His
saving mission. "Those who in
their self-complacency imagine
themselves to be righteous and
spirituaJ\y healthy will have no
part in the salvation brought by
Him. But those who know
themselves as sinners will find
that He has come to call and heal
them. In His attitude towards
sinners Jesus was quite different
from the Jewish religious leaders
who thought it beneath their
dignity to mix with sinners and to
seek to save them." - Gelderihuys
The Error of the Scribes
"It is evident from Christ's
reply that the scribes erred in two
ways: they did not take into .
account the office of Christ; and,
while they spared their own vices,
they proudly despised all others.
-- Hypocrites, being satisfied and
intoxicated with a foolish
confidence in their own
righteousness, do not consider the
purpose for which Christ was sent
into the world, and do not
acknowledge the depth of evils in
which the human race is plunged,
or the dreadful wrath and curse of
God which lies on 'all, or, the
accumulated load of viceS which '
weighs them down. The
consequence is, thartheyare too
stupid to feel the miseries of men"
or to think of a remedy." - calvin
The Rebuke of the Scribes and
the Hollowness .of Their Claim
"The very way ,in whiCh the
argument is put shatters the
supposition that these Phatisees
and scribes were really 'righteous',
(DIKAIOI), able to stand before
God's judgment bar, 1:6,.l7."-
Lenski. In 16:15 Jesus tells the
Pharisees: "You are those who justify
yourselves if! the Sight of men, but
God knows your hearts;for that
which is highly esteemed among men
is detestable in the Sight of God .
"Those who are truly righteous
Iii * niECOUNSELofthalcedon t April, 1996
have God's verdict in their favor;
they are acquitted from all guilt
and pronounced just. These men
are' not righteous in this sense but
only in the sense that THEY
US.URPED TIiEJUDGE'S
THRONE and pronounced
themselves just even as criminals
to this day ,all themselves quite
innocent, 'Jesus makes these men
feel that 'their claimt6
righteousness shuts their mouths
when they complain abOut the
help Jesus is offering to
unrighteous sinners, whom they
only despised. And it is, thus that
the hollowness of their oWn claim
becomes apparent Could they
really be. righteous, i,e" before
God's judgment bar, when they
mew' no mercy for sinners and
railed at the mercifulPl1ysician
wh9.1abaredaIIlohg those ,,(ho,
to these Pharisees ,
themselves, so s,orety needed his
help? Wethus'S!!e how this reply
otjC'lusto these Pharisees and .
theitscribeswas .AMASTERFuL
EFfORT'TO!<EACB THEIR
t0NSClPNCE At;'iD HEART,' for
thef wereevenwqrse 5iimers thai)
those whom they c:Iespised,"" '.

. ',' is the first' 'time LUKe links bne
nartative,io 'another, by using- the words,
",Aildafte'r ,mat He 'Went Mark
more onehis link; 2:13,14.
'loFQr dinner sr;enes in Luke's Gospel
see7:36,9;12f; 10;38f; 11;37; 14;1;
19:1; 24;30, 41[
llThfs in no way to iqJ.ply that Jesus
believed the basic goodrtess of man. "
He understood that man was basiCally -
evil as a fallen sinrter, Ma,t. 7;11; LI<.
11:13; Lk. 18:20; Mat. 1,9;17; Mk. 10:18."
"'AU these'
show 'is based aria
view which denies'to the man pril\cipa\ly
the attribute and, characterizes
him rather as as a sinner, a 'debtor
before. God."" Ridderbos. Ihe Comi"g of
the Kingdom, pg. 222.