Mark 2:13-17
Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners
13 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14 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.
15 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. 16 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?”
17 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.”
Luke 12:8-10
Acknowledging Jesus
8 “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. 9 But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
John 10:30
Jesus and the Father are One
30 I and the Father are one.
Luke 11:37-54
37 When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table.38 But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.
39 Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.
42 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.
43 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.
44 “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.”
45 One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”
46 Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.
47 “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. 48 So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. 49 Because of this, God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’ 50 Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.
52 “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”
53 When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, 54 waiting to catch him in something he might say.
John 6:68
Jesus Has the Words of Eternal Life
68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
Jesus could talk to anyone at anytime about God...He was that way, and had that unique ability to talk about God at any time and in any place...That is because He Is Who He Is, or in His words I AM WHO I AM...This is His name, of course...But sometimes I think, Jesus was hampered by the same things we are hampered by in talking about God...But Jesus did all the right things at the right time...That is His very nature...So His words were timely and were always meant to help others...Yet, His wisdom was very much missed by many...He could talk about God at any time and keep the conversation going and include His Father in His conversations, and it always seemed right, and at the right time -as I read the gospels...(Although the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were often taking exception to Him, but I do not think theses groups minded so much of Him talking about God, as they were by Him going around saying how close He is to His Father)...I think His opposition got tired of hearing how close He thought He is to His Father...And how He claimed to be One with the Father in heaven...And then in His parables He often used the Pharisees to teach them and others lessons about His Father...So, for me, Jesus was not just getting in trouble for talking about God, but also so for saying He is very close to God, and is His Son, and then burdening His opposition (in front of others) with parables about them...All these things just happened to be true, by the way -about the Pharisees, the teachers of the law, and His other opponents...But this or His style, or technique, or timing I do not think bothered Jesus (although it could have)...But He was wanting to get the gospel message out during His ministry...
But for me personally to bring up God out of the blue is not so easy...People think one is different or that I am different if I meet them and immediately bring up God or Jesus...Jesus did not feel this, I think -because His Father is God...I have tried to learn and be timely, when introducing God to others...I personally do not think God minds if I do acknowledge Him before others at the wrong time (is there a wrong time to believe and acknowledge God?), but it still seems to be controversial and bother others -if the timing is not quite right, when one is talking about God and Jesus...
Maybe in my thinking, we need a Good Physician...We are, in fact, sinners...But while at Levi's house many did not know they were themselves sinners, and even ask His Disciples, “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?”...Jesus ate with sinners, because we are all sinners...He would have never eaten, if He did not eat with a sinner...So one has to believe they need a physician, before they see one or call one...And many of us do not think we need a doctor...So the timing never seems to be right, if we do not think we need a Physician to cure us from our sins...
People did have trouble with His message...But Jesus never changed His message over timing or others not following Him or change His ideas and teachings...Some things I ask myself is by teaching what He taught, how can and do I believe in Him more?...Why do we pause and drift and not believe Him, in certain things?...What part of parts of His message, do we believe are not true?...The words of Jesus have to be hard and different in the sense that He is both human and divine...We, or least I can, better picture Him as a Man on earth teaching compared to being at the right hand of God and in heaven...After all, I better relate to the Man than to the divine...Jesus gives us the words of eternal life...Can we trust Him enough to believe He is both Man and God?...