Christ Centered Ministry

(Mark 2:1-17)

By

Shelby G. Floyd

Every system must have a center. The center of our solar system is the sun. At one time it was thought that the earth was the center, but Copernicus and other philosophers proved that the sun is the center of our system. Our system is heliocentric and not geocentric. In like manner the center of the Christian system is Jesus Christ. Everything orbits and revolves around him. He is the sun of righteousness that arose with healing in his wings: “But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves” (Malachi 4: 2).

In the gospel according to Mark we have the record of four men that brought a man on a stretcher to a house where Christ was preaching the word. There were so many people in this house that the four men could not bring the man on the stretcher through the door. But they would not let anything keep them from bringing this man to Christ. They were very creative. They got up on the roof and broke the tiles loose and let the man down into the room were Christ was preaching.

From this story we shall illustrate how we can bring people to Christ. In order to accomplish this we must have a Christ centered ministry in every congregation of God's people. Christ is the center and everything must be contingent upon him.

The first thing we notice is that Christ came back to his hometown where he had spent a lot of his time: “A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home” (Mark. 2:1 NIV).

There are four cities that revolve around the life of Christ. First, he was born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem is known for being the birthplace of Christ. Secondly, his family moved to Nazareth while he was very young. This city did not have a very good reputation. "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Nazareth was the city where Christ was brought up and where his family went to the Jewish synagogue to worship. Here he heard the scriptures read, he heard commentary on the word and here he worshiped God the father. Capernaum is the third city in the life of Christ. In one place Capernaum is said to be "his own city" (Matthew 9:1). This is the city that he spent a lot of time in when he started preaching the gospel in the Galilean ministry. In this city and the surrounding towns he did most of his work. And then of course the fourth city is Jerusalem, where he was nailed to the cross and resurrected three days later. This is also the city were the church began and where Christ was vindicated by the spirit of God working through the apostles. And so Bethlehem, Nazareth, Capernaum, and Jerusalem are the four cities in the life and times of Christ.

Notice that the text says that Christ came home. Capernaum was the home of Christ. What this suggests to us concerning a Christ centered ministry is that we must look to the city and the community in which we live to do the work of Christ. In the city and community there will be all kinds of people that we can attract to Christ.

In our case the city would be Indianapolis and the surrounding towns and communities. But mainly our sphere of influence will be the southwest and the southeast quadrant of Indianapolis and the surrounding communities. Realistically, we should realize that people are not going to drive from the northeast and northwest quadrant of Indianapolis to the far south side to be a part of our crowd.

So, when we start thinking about a Christ centered ministry, we must consider the largest geographical area from which we can draw people to Christ and the church. Therefore, we must conclude that the area from which we must draw people will be the south side of Indianapolis, Greenwood, Center Grove, Bargersville, and a few areas farther out. These are the areas where people would be within a normal driving distance to come to the worship, Bible studies and devotionals of the Heartland congregation.

Now at Capernaum there were people from all walks of life: professional people, government employees, soldiers, farmers, fishermen, tradesmen, rich and poor alike, young people and old people. There were people both that were interested and not interested in spiritual things.

Why is all of this important? Because this lesson will illustrate how a Christ centered ministry works.

The City

The first square represents Indianapolis and the surrounding areas on the Southside—the largest area we can target for our ministry. So as we think of the ministries of the Heartland congregation, think of Indianapolis, the south side, and the surrounding communities and towns. This is the area from which we will draw a crowd and members. The great crowd of people in the house at Capernaum where Jesus was preaching the word was from Capernaum and the surrounding communities.

The Crowd

Next, notice the second square will represent the crowd that is drawn from the city and community.

If we expect to have a ministry for Christ, then we must have a crowd of people come out to hear the word. In the text in Mark we read of a crowd of people in someone's house. We need to open up our houses for devotionals, Bible studies, and Christian fellowship. Who ever made their house available to Christ had really networked because they had a crowd of people there to hear the word of God. They had a "full house" (Mark 2: 1-12). We all need to work harder to bring out a crowd of people whether it is in our house or our worship on the Lord’s Day.

Notice that after Christ had healed a man with the palsy and had sent him on his way, he went out by the Sea of Galilee and taught a great crowd of people gathered there. “Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them” (Mark 2:13 NIV). The crowd was attracted to Christ and I think people are attracted to Christ today. That is the reason Christ must be the center of the Christian system and the center of our hearts. People who have good hearts and want to do the right thing are naturally attracted to Jesus Christ.

Why was there such a big crowd in the house at Capernaum and why was there such a big crowd by the shore of the Galilean Lake? Sometimes people will be a part of the crowd out of curiosity. Some people may attend our worship because they want to know what we are all about. Some may become a part of our crowd out of compassion. They may have heard that the church is reaching out to those who are suffering and they want to be a part of that compassion. Others may be in the crowd because they are interested in the message. There is power in the gospel. (Romans 1: 16-17). Some may even be a part of the crowd for selfish reasons—what they can receive for themselves. Remember, many who came out in the crowd to hear Christ were only interested in "the loaves and fishes." Therefore, there will be different motivations for people to be a part of the crowd and there may even be some who want their sins to be forgiven. But it is important to have a crowd of people to hear the word of God in a Christ centered ministry. Why is this so important? When there is a crowd of people to hear the gospel, it is likely there will be several who will repent of their sins, confess their faith in Christ, and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins (Acts 2: 36-42). A crowd is important because every person in that crowd is someone who has been made in the image of God and they need to have their sins remitted.

In our next graphic, the third square will represent a congregation of God's people.

The Congregation

The church is made up of those who make a commitment to obey the gospel and live for Christ. Notice the commitment which some in the crowd made to follow Christ and be his disciples: “As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. ‘Follow me,’ Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him” (Mark 2:14 NIV). We usually refer to Levi as Matthew Levi, the one who wrote the first book of the New Testament. Matthew Levi represents for us today those who are in the church. Christ was actually preparing a congregation of people to enter the church on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1-2). The church was not established until the day of Pentecost as recorded an Acts chapter two. This was the beginning of the church of Christ (Acts 2: 41, 47). Jesus was preparing the people who would enter the church on Pentecost and one of the first to be invited to follow him was Matthew Levi the tax collector. It is certain that Matthew Levi already had heard Christ’s message and knew something about his claims. He had been in the crowd before and heard him preach. He left all and followed the Lord. This is important because the church is made up of those who will obey and follow Christ (Hebrews 5:8-9).

When we begin to read the opening chapters of Acts of apostles, we discover that there were about 120 people that Jesus had gathered from various walks of life. They were in an upper room praying and waiting for the day of Pentecost and the beginning of the church. The church or the congregation is made up of those who have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. In our crowd we will have those who have obeyed the gospel and have become members of the body of Christ—the church (Ephesians 1: 22-23; 1 Corinthians 12: 13). These are the ones who believe, and are baptized and belong to Christ. Baptism is the culminating act that moves a person from the crowd into the church. “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mk. 16:16 NIV).

In every crowd for worship there are those who are members and non-members of the church. If a congregation is going to have an evangelistic Christ centered ministry there should be 20 to 25 percent of each crowd who are not members of the church. If this is not the case, then the members of the church are not doing the work of Christ as well as we should. We must go out in the city and community looking, teaching, inviting people to come and be a part of the crowd each Lord’s day. We will have a large number of non-Christians each week if we care about people like the four men who carried the palsied man to hear Christ preach. "Our work is cut out for us."

Now let us notice that within the congregation there can be those who are zealous and those who are initially committed, but who have become lukewarm an inactive. Our goal as a congregation therefore should be to have every member committed and involved in the various ministries of the church (1 Corinthians 15:58).

The Committed

Let us notice the commitment of Matthew Levi as indicated in our text: “While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and ‘sinners’ were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him” (Mark 2:15 NIV). Matthew Levi was initially committed to the point that he left all and followed Christ. That is equal to those today that believe in Christ, repent of their sins, confess Christ publicly, and are baptized into Christ and the church (Acts 2: 36-47; 1 Corinthians 12: 13). This is the initial commitment that each one of us makes when we become a Christian. But notice that Matthew Levi advanced beyond his initial commitment to the point that he prepares a great meal in his house in which he invites a great crowd of people to come and hear Christ. It may have taken several days to plan this dinner and invite all of these people, but the point is that Matthew Levi went to work for Christ. Matthew was committed to the point that he got busy and invited Jesus to come to his house and also he invited a great crowd of people to come and hear Christ. He was bringing a crowd of people out of the community so there would be people there who were subject to this gospel when Jesus would enter his house to teach and preach. Matthew Levi was committed and we are to be committed. This is the kind of commitment that Paul had in mind when he wrote to the church at Rome:

Romans 12:1-2

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.

NIV

This is the kind of commitment that Matthew Levi had and the kind that we must have. Matthew Levi worked hard to have a crowd of people in his house to hear Christ.

Therefore, every member of this congregation should not be content to just be a member. But we should want to commit and contribute to the ministries of this church by being involved in the work. Commitment means you will support the church with your prayers, financial support, and your involvement. You will respond to the truth of God's Word and you will be serious about the truth being performed in your life. The result of Matthew Levi's commitment was a new crowd of people to hear Christ minister the word of God. We should have a new crowd each Sunday. This means that there will be people visiting that we have never seen before. We must increase the number in the congregation who are seriously committed to Christ.

The Core

Next, from our chart you will notice that within the committed there is a core group of people who will always be faithful through thick and thin. You can always depend upon them. Notice that the core is drawn from the committed, the committed are drawn from the congregation, the congregation is drawn from the crowd, and the crowd is drawn from the city and community. Every congregation that is active will have a core group who is always steadfast. Let us notice this core group from our text:

While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.

Mark 2:15 NIV

Matthew Levi left all and followed Christ. Matthew Levi was able to bring a crowd to his house to hear Christ. But he also influenced others like himself to follow Christ. That is the core group.

The core is made up of those disciples who have the deepest level of commitment. This means that they become personally involved in ministering to other people. You can count on the core of the congregation to go out and do the work of Christ. The core group in the example of Christ would be the twelve apostles, the 70 disciples he sent out, and the core within the core was Peter, and James, and John. Therefore, the core of any congregation will be the leaders of the church. Every member can be a leader to some degree by becoming deeply committed and personally involved in one or more of the ministries of the congregation.

The Controversy

Whenever a crowd gathers out of the city, whenever a congregation is formed out of a crowd, whenever you have the committed and the core group of people within the church—there will often be controversy. It is certain that we should expect controversy. Christ and the apostles all had controversy. There will be controversy both within and without the church as long as we have human beings.

Mark 2:16-17

When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and `sinners'?"

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."

NIV

In order to serve in the ministries of the church we must have contact with sinners who are outside of Christ. Sin creates problems in the lives of people. Sin affects families and society in general. We can never influence people to be a part of a crowd to hear the gospel message unless we have some contact with them. But that is precisely the reason complaints were leveled against Christ and his disciples. We need to bring sinners out to the crowd to hear Christ preached. But when this is done the self-righteous people will say, "You should not associate with such people." We admit that Christian people should be our closest friends. Still, we must reach out to the masses that are out of Christ, without hope and in need of the gospel. How are people to be saved unless Christian people have some kind of relationship in order to bring them to faith and obedience to the gospel?

Matthew Levi and the disciples brought sinners and tax collectors to be a part of the crowd. But unfortunately there were others in the crowd—they were the religious police—the scribes and Pharisees, who came to check out what Jesus and the disciples were doing. They asked questions concerning eating with sinners, why they did not fast, and accused them of breaking the law because Christ and the disciples plucked some grains of corn and ate them on the Sabbath day. There intent was to report these things to the religious authorities, involve Christ in controversy, and ultimately to have him nailed to the cross. The same methods are being used today to destroy those who break the traditions of men but not the law of Christ. Expect controversy when you serve Christ. Don't worry about criticism when you are doing the right thing. Forget the criticism and go forward.

These critics came to Christ and demanded to know why he and his disciples ate with sinners. The problem with these critics of Christ was that they confused the congregation with the crowd. There were all sorts of people in the crowd. But don't confuse the congregation with the crowd. The congregation is made up of people who come out of the crowd and have obeyed the gospel and are committed to Christ. But the congregation is not the crowd even though the congregation may be a part of a crowd. Christ did not have a problem with having sinners and tax collectors in the crowd along with his disciples.

The truth is that all people are sinners. The congregation is made up of redeemed sinners who still need the forgiveness of sins each day (1 John 1: 5-10). "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3: 23). "There is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3: 10). "There is no man that doing good and sinneth not" (Ecclesiastes 7: 20). All people in the crowd and in the church stand in need of the grace of God and the forgiveness of sins. Therefore, there is no place for the spirit of self-righteousness such as the Pharisees and the scribes exhibited in their controversy with Christ. We all need to cry out the prayer of the publican, "God be merciful to me a sinner" (Luke 18:13). Just because we are members of the congregation is not a reason to be lifted up with pride and become self-righteous and look down our nose at people who are not Christians. If we act like that we will be just like the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees that assailed Christ as recorded in Mark (Mark 2: 1-17.)

I wonder what Matthew Levi thought about the criticism of eating with tax collectors and sinners? He was a tax collector. There are some people who are so insensitive that they don't care what they say. These people must be opposed for they do not have the right heart (Matthew 15: 1-9).

The Christ Answers His Critics

How did Christ answer his critics? He answered them kindly but firmly:

Mark 2:15-17

While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and `sinners'?"

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."

NIV

Most people see the doctor when they are sick. And doctors only want to see the sick. Their work is to make the sick well. "The best time to see a doctor is when you are sick." And people who are sick in sin and have a spiritual virus need to come to the great physician Jesus Christ. Christ is teaching that we should bring sin sick souls to him because he has the panacea and the prescription for sin.

Exhortation

My friends the work of the congregation in a Christ centered ministry is to look at the people in our circle of influence in the community and invite them to be a part of the crowd when Christ is being preached. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we then should persuade those who are so disposed in the crowd to believe in Christ, repent of their sins, confess their faith publicly, and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins. Having done this they will be added to the church. Then may we all encourage one another to be committed and full of good works. Like Matthew Levi may we all work in harmony, concord and unity to bring a crowd together to hear Christ preached. A-men! * Copyright © 2001, 2002, 2011 Shelby G. Floyd, All Rights Reserved

*Shelby G. Floyd delivered this sermon February 25, 2001 at the Heartland Church of Christ, 1693 West Main Street, Greenwood, Indiana.