Levi and Sinners Called
Notes
Transcript
After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, “Follow me.” So, leaving everything behind, he got up and began to follow him.
Then Levi hosted a grand banquet for him at his house. Now there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others who were reclining at the table with them. But the Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus replied to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, “Follow me.” So, leaving everything behind, he got up and began to follow him.
Tax collectors. Funny, people don’t like tax collectors now and they did not like them back then. There is nothing new under the sun indeed.
Why does the Bible inform us that this Levi was a tax collector? And why that he was sitting in his tax office?
I promise you this, there is nothing useless in the Word of God. It is all there on purpose.
Tax collectors in Jesus’ day were the scourge of the earth. Why? Because they were Jewish men who collected taxes for the Roman oppressors. They literally worked of the enemy.
To make matters even worse, the tax collector was responsible to collect the set tax for the Romans, and he had to collect some to pay himself. But it was not uncommon for tax collectors to take a little more than was required. Imagine the reputation that was received. Even if you were an ‘honest’ tax collector, if you play with skunks, you are going to stink.
So Jesus walks out of the building after healing the paraletic man after his friends literally tore the roof off the building they were in. Jesus had already caused a stir by forgiving the sins of that man - blasphemy in the eyes of the Pharisees.
AND NOW - after making the Religious leaders mad, Jesus walks over to this Tax collector, who is actively sitting in his tax office:
Follow me!
Jesus are you trying to get everyone to hate you?
the religious leaders are accusing you of blasphemy
the people love you, but now you are reaching over to the ENEMY - to the guy who no one likes.
Take a quick look at the tension that has to be brewing a little:
Simon the Zealot (not to be confused with Simon Peter, who later just became Peter) Simon the Zealot - who would fight the Romans, and likely be openly hostile toward anyone who worked with them
Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot;
Zealot was a political party that was openly hostile toward the Romans.
Levi whom is afterward known as Matthew - Tax collector who worked with Romans.
2 POLAR OPPOSITE ends of the political spectrum. Man this Bible stuff sure is relevant today isn’t it!
Jesus sure knew how to pick a group of people with a lot of great stuff in common!
Listen: You have to people who were on 2 polar opposite ends of the political spectrum, called by Jesus, and spent years together. Why? Because Jesus calls our allegiance to something far greater than politics and wordly affairs!
Because of their greater allegiance to Jesus, they were brothers and co-workers for the gospel.
It is unfortunate that today many believers seem to be more committed to a political party or a political viewpoint than to the Christ, the church, the gospel, and the Kingdom of God.
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Brothers and sisters we have to get to this!
I know it is an election year - but if you feel so strongly about politics that you get mean, violent, unfriend people, won’t talk to people, or only associate with people who have your same political views: you need to WALK AWAY FROM POLITICS!
Because all of those characteristics are of drug addicts!
You are called to a great allegiance than that!
Set your mind on things above! Love your brothers and sisters in Christ, your co-workers for the Gospel!
Then Levi hosted a grand banquet for him at his house. Now there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others who were reclining at the table with them. But the Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
SO Jesus calls Levi - follow me. Levi responds by hosting a grand banquet. Other tax collectors show up as well. Why? because like hangs out with like. So you have outcasts hanging out with outcasts. Tax collectors and others. All reclining at a table with Jesus.
The Pharisees complain, not to Jesus, but to the disciples - why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners.
Notice that - they do not speak to Jesus - they go after the disciples.
Why are you still following this blasphemer? Haven’t you heard enough. Now you are in this filthy place with these disgusting people - the tax collectors and SINNERS
You can almost hear the distain flowing from the pages.
These are all people that the religious leaders would walk on the other side of the road to avoid.
And yet they have such a distain for Jesus, they will follow Him anywhere just to cause trouble.
Jesus replied to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a doctor, but those who are sick.
Right here, this is powerful.
Jesus hears the conversation, the complaining, the attempted manipulation of the disciples, and He steps in.
People say all the time: I do go to church because i do not want to be around hypocrites.
That’s like saying you do not got to the doctor because there are sick people there.
Listen: if you do not want to go to church, why would you want to go to heaven? The people here are the people that will be there!
I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Jesus says so much with this simple sentence:
I did not come for you - the righteous in their own mind - I came to call sinners to repent!
This is what the religious leaders were supposed to be doing: being Elijah and Elisha and the prophets of old, calling the people of God to turn from their wicked ways and BACK to God.
But they were not doing it - so Jesus says this is what I came to do:
Call sinners to repentance.
Repent -
Sinners -
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;
Joel Osteen gets on Oprah and says that people know they are sinners - NO THEY DO NOT!
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;
But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them.
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