Lunch with Levi

Read:

Luke 5:27-32 “27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, 28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. 29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.””

Before we look more closely at our text for this morning, since this is also the beginning of part 2 or our sermon series, I want to step back for the next few minutes and invite us to think about the broader context of Luke’s Gospel story.

Remember Luke wrote two halves of one story. The first half is the book of Luke, the second is the book of Acts. One story in two parts.

We’re near the beginning of part 1. Jesus was baptized with the Holy Spirit in chapter 3. He reveals his mission, or declares his purpose in chapter 4, and then through the rest of the book gathers a community of 12 disciples and carries out his ministry with them and for them.

And recall what he declared when he revealed his mission and declared his purpose:

Luke 4:18–19 NIV

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

[BLANK]

And of course in ch. 5 we see how Jesus begins to carry that out...

But before we get there I want to make a connection to part 2. In many ways, Luke and Acts have parallels to each other.

Luke tells of the Spirit filled Jesus, the Son of God being sent into the world to proclaim the Gospel! And in the book of Acts we have the Spirit filled community, the sons and daughters of God being sent into the world to proclaim the Gospel.

What is the Gospel? It is the announcement that a new power has entered into human history that is able to bring healing, and restoration, forgiveness and hope. And this power has come in the person of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel of Luke tells of the Spirit filled Jesus, the Son of God being sent into the world to proclaim the Gospel! And then in the book of Acts Luke tells about Jesus sending the Spirit filled sons and daughters of God into the world to proclaim the Gospel!

And notice some of the parallels between these two books....

[Remember Jesus revealing his mission in Luke 4?

proclaim good news to the poor (Early church in Acts 3 and 4 pooled its resources so that the poor in their midst would be care for. “God’s grace was so powerfully at work among them all that there were no needy person among them.” (Acts 4:33-34)

proclaim Freedom for the prisoners - Peter and the jailor

Recovery of sight for the blind - Saul was blind, walking in darkness. God’s Spirit filled servant, Ananias prayed and Saul was no longer blind...

Set the oppressed free - Philip in Samaria - Acts 8:7-8 “7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.”

The Spirit filled Jesus continues his work in the Spirit filled community of believers.

How is that possible?

Well right in the middle of Luke’s story we read about the death and resurrection of Jesus.......elaborate (absorbed our sin, evil, etc....defeated its power....buried it in the grave) and rose to new life… a new life he now shares with us.

[Every time I tell this summary of what God did for us in Jesus Christ, I am moved....and I hope and pray you are too]

So why this extended overview of part 1 and part 2 of Luke’s story? It’s because I want us to be reminded of how the call or mission of the church is to continue to carry out the mission of Jesus. And I wanted that reminder to be with us as we consider all the meals with Jesus in Luke’s Gospel. Each meal is also an comfort and a calling for us.....leads to meal challenge.

So now back to Luke 5....

Let’s notice a few things that lead up to our story...

Jesus is calling his first disciples....in many ways in this part of the Gospel we hear Jesus calling us to follow him… Will you come and follow me? Will you trust me with your life? Will you join me in my mission to announce in word and deed that a new power has come into human history through our Lord Jesus Christ?

Well, what does that power look like? What are the effects of that?? How does it engage and transform people’s lives

towards the end of ch. 4 we see him healing the mother-in-law of Simon Peter.... an infection is advancing through her body, and Jesus’ presence overcomes that infection and restores her to full health once again.

In chapter 5 we read about him encountering someone with leprosy.

We read of a man who was paralyzed being brought to Jesus and having not only his legs restored, but also having his sins forgiven...

Luke 5:26 “26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.””

NOTICE!!!

A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community, and Mission around the Table 1. Meals as Enacted Grace: Luke 5

Suddenly it isn’t uncleanness that’s contagious. That’s how it was in the old Levitical system. If you touched anything unclean, you became unclean. But with Jesus it’s his holiness that’s contagious.

And that brings us to our text.

Jesus calls Levi… this is the disciple of Jesus that we more commonly know as Matthew. And we read that he was a tax collector. Levi was a Jew. His name gives that away. And by most of his fellow Jews he was seen as a traitor to his own people. He worked for the Romans, collecting taxes for them. In other words their work propped up the Roman empire, an empire that the Jews felt oppressed by....he’s a traitor and Jesus says, Follow me!

Jesus calls even those who we might think are most distant from God because of their background or their behaviour and he says to them, come follow me.

There are countless real life stories of people who Jesus has called that the world might have given up on....or that we might think do not deserve God’s favour.

Think of the apostle Paul himself…remember the great persecutor of the church. Listen to what he says about himself:

1 Tim. 1:15-16 “15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.”

A couple of weeks ago I had the honor of speaking at the funeral and officiating at the graveside of own of our former members, Matthew Watt died at age 35. When Matt first reached out to our church he was battling substance abuse. Because of his addiction he had trouble keeping a job and trouble maintaining his relationships. But by God’s grace Matt knew he needed help, so he turned to the church.

This is the very first email I received from Matt back in 2016:

Hello there.  In the past I always ridiculed and was very judgmental of Christians and people who went to church.  I was very blind.  I want to be born again and baptised in the name of Christ and leave my life of sin.  I was just wondering what steps I need to take to become a child of Jesus?

In our story all are welcome at the table of our Lord, a table where the sick, the weak, the forgotten, the oppressed, the marginalized, the unclean, the traitors are present. Why because they’ve come to recognize their sickness and only Jesus can help them leave their life of sin.

Lunch with Levi and his freinds is a meal of healing and restoration.

Share story of my experience at UGM.....Harry Kastelein was almost always there.....I like these people.....he too struggled with alcoholism....

A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community, and Mission around the Table 1. Meals as Enacted Grace: Luke 5

This is how Jesus explains himself: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:31–32). The Pharisees are asking Jesus to behave like a doctor who avoids sick people. Such a doctor clearly couldn’t do his work. Jesus the Savior can’t do his work unless he’s with sinful people.

And in many ways this story and the context surrounding it has in a very real sense become an essential part of the mission of the church. The church has always been called to be active in the healing ministry of Jesus.

In an article written a couple of years ago in Christianity Today, Liuan Huska writes:

When the plague struck third-century Rome, Christians organized themselves to care for the sick and the dying as both the government and their pagan neighbors looked on (helplessly). These public displays of righteousness persisted despite growing persecution of the church. They also laid the groundwork for modern Western medicine. In less than a century, church-run infirmaries and hospitals emerged as formal parts of Roman society.

Like the early-church in Rome, modern Christians have been some of the first in and the last out in responding to medical needs. They have founded some of the world’s most important medical centers. They are a key driver of short-term medical mission trips, which provide an estimated $3.7 billion worth of volunteer health care in poor countries each year. And evangelical groups operate countless small hospitals and clinics around the globe, filling prescriptions and performing major surgeries for free.

Source: Liuan Huska, “It’s Not The Healthy Who Need A Doctor,” CT Magazine (November, 2020), p. 34-41

John and Marg Vegt serving with Hope Haven....a ministry that distributes wheelchairs to the underprivileged in Central America.

Stephanie Verseveldt....serving with Mercy Ships…floating surgical centers that bring life changing surgical procedures to underprivileged communities that have no access to this kind of health care.

Maybe share what Karl Gysbers shared concerning some of his coworkers… using the eyes of a judge vs. eyes of a doctor analogy.

Lunch with Rick Nanninga, one of my pastors....asking me if I had ever thought of becoming a pastor.... In some ways that lunch with Rick set my life on a whole new trajectory.....

Today we hear in the call of Levi, come and follow me.... and as Levi responds to Jesus he hosts a bunch of his friends for a meal. A place were lives are shared, stories are exchanged, and friendships are established.... and Jesus is present to minister restoration and healing....forgiveness and grace. Who knows how Jesus might choose to work through a simple meal?