Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners
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.”
Reflection:
As we seek to follow Jesus and emulate the way he lives his life, today we see yet another way in which he reaches out to lost people. When he sees Levi the tax collector, he says follow me. Remember tax collectors were employed to get as much money as they could for the Roman government, and were therefore despised by the Jewish people. But in this case we see Jesus came to seek and save all people, regardless of their past. Levi, also called Matthew, is so intrigued he invites him into his home. For Jesus to go into a home a sinner was a big risk. He cared so much about Matthew, Jesus willingly took the risk.
And while they were eating, there were many other tax collectors and other "sinners" who came to meet Jesus. Notice Jesus meets them on their turf and this is attractional. But the Pharisees aren't so thrilled. When they see him they ask his disciples (notice not Jesus), why Jesus does such a thing? Jesus must have overheard them, after all He was God. And he answers their inquiry by saying, "it is not the healthy who need a doctor but those who are ill." Then, he makes a clarifying statement, which is the main point of the story. He says, "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners."
So what does that look like for us? We are usually more comfortable hanging out with people like us. People who dress like us, drive the same cars, and hang out in the same places. The longer we are in the church, the more detached we get from "people in the world" who don't know Christ. Oftentimes we are sent on missions, which of course is great, especially where there is great need for conversion, as well things like schools and sustainable food programs etc.
But what about those in our backyard, or better yet down our own street. Do we know them? Do we care about their spiritual condition? It is not as if we should go up and say, "Pardon me are you a sinner?" But what would it be like to build a relationship with people as far as we can discern are lost, so as to "earn the right to share the Gospel with them."
A good first step is to pray for those who are in your circle of influence. Secondly, when God gives you the opportunity, be prepared to give a reason for the hope you have in Christ. This is not cramming it down people's throats, but natural conversations that flow out of relationships. One of the most thrilling things in the world is sharing the Good News and have a chance to be part of someone's eternal destiny by God's grace. Amen.
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.”
Reflection:
As we seek to follow Jesus and emulate the way he lives his life, today we see yet another way in which he reaches out to lost people. When he sees Levi the tax collector, he says follow me. Remember tax collectors were employed to get as much money as they could for the Roman government, and were therefore despised by the Jewish people. But in this case we see Jesus came to seek and save all people, regardless of their past. Levi, also called Matthew, is so intrigued he invites him into his home. For Jesus to go into a home a sinner was a big risk. He cared so much about Matthew, Jesus willingly took the risk.
And while they were eating, there were many other tax collectors and other "sinners" who came to meet Jesus. Notice Jesus meets them on their turf and this is attractional. But the Pharisees aren't so thrilled. When they see him they ask his disciples (notice not Jesus), why Jesus does such a thing? Jesus must have overheard them, after all He was God. And he answers their inquiry by saying, "it is not the healthy who need a doctor but those who are ill." Then, he makes a clarifying statement, which is the main point of the story. He says, "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners."
So what does that look like for us? We are usually more comfortable hanging out with people like us. People who dress like us, drive the same cars, and hang out in the same places. The longer we are in the church, the more detached we get from "people in the world" who don't know Christ. Oftentimes we are sent on missions, which of course is great, especially where there is great need for conversion, as well things like schools and sustainable food programs etc.
But what about those in our backyard, or better yet down our own street. Do we know them? Do we care about their spiritual condition? It is not as if we should go up and say, "Pardon me are you a sinner?" But what would it be like to build a relationship with people as far as we can discern are lost, so as to "earn the right to share the Gospel with them."
A good first step is to pray for those who are in your circle of influence. Secondly, when God gives you the opportunity, be prepared to give a reason for the hope you have in Christ. This is not cramming it down people's throats, but natural conversations that flow out of relationships. One of the most thrilling things in the world is sharing the Good News and have a chance to be part of someone's eternal destiny by God's grace. Amen.
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