Leave all
Notes
Transcript
Luke 5:27-32; Matt 9.9-13; Mark 2.14-17
Luke 5:27-32; Matt 9.9-13; Mark 2.14-17
We will be looking at three passages dealing with the call of Levi or Matthew.
I assume everyone here has a testimony regarding their conversion. But they differ in many ways and are unique.
Many people are drawn to Christ after a personal crisis such as the death of a loved one, a severe illness, or a feeling trapped in drugs, addiction and immorality.
And then there’s the existential crisis such 9/11, Katrina or the assassination of Charlie Kirk, causing many backslidden believers to go back to church, start reading their bibles again and renew their faith.
Some conversions are motivated by "the goodness of God," which leads them to repentance like Simon Peter. They are drawn by God’s love and mercy and choose to follow the Lord and go deeper.
Some individuals such as atheists, ex-Mormons or ex-JW’s come to Christ after studying the Bible on their own or debating with mature Christians who offer them solid sensible answers. It eventually leads them to understand the faith and it plays a primary role in their journey.
Some conversions are radical like the Apostle Paul, a flash of light, losing sight, and others come to pray for them, but it took a while to sense a heart change.
This morning, we will read about Levi/Matthew. But we find little detail to Levi’s reaction to get up and leave it all behind. So what was the back story that caused Levi to leave a lucrative job behind and leave all without regret when this Yeshua looked at Him and said “follow Me”. Was a spell put on him? No! Was Levi being careless? No! This was huge decision but Levi was willing to sacrifice his career to follow Yeshua. And I can relate to Levi because I feel the same things happened to me in 1983.
We are given three accounts in the synoptic gospels Matthew, Mark and Luke. Synoptic in Greek is syn- ("together") and -opsis ("view")
In English it means similar structure, content, and perspective. But they all offer keen insights so we will read Luke, then Matthew’s own testimony and then Mark’s which is Peter’s account on the screen.
So in review, Yeshua had healed the leper and the paralytic in Capernaum...and now as a traveling rabbi who chose his own talmidim or disciple to travel with Him and learn from Him.
27 And after that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax office, and He said to him, “Follow Me.”
Just like that? There has to be an explanation.
Levi was a Jew at birth the son of Alphaeus or “changing”. There was another James, son a Alphaeus which possibly was his brother.
Galileans despised Jewish tax collectors and often ostracized them from the community so Matthew wasn’t his name until he met with Jesus. Like Simon, Levi’s name meaning “join or attached” was soon changed to Matthew by the Lord which means “gift of God”.
Levi was a Galilean from Capernaum, where Jesus lived for a time during his ministry. This means he would have grown up in a region known for its fishing and trade, and his customs post would have been a hub for collecting tolls. So if you owed say “a denarius” or $40-100 in today’s currency, the tax collector was free to charge over that amount and keep it for himself. But in this moment for Levi, it was different.
Let’s look at what he wrote about himself. Matthew 9
And as Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax office; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he stood up and followed Him.
Keep in mind, Matthew was a name Yeshua gave him later on...
Then the gospel of Mark or Peter’s account:
14 And as He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax office, and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he stood up and followed Him.
So Mark gives us his father’s name is Alphaeus which means “changing or exchanging.” And Levi was doing just that! But we still don’t see an explanation of Levi’s radical decision.
Now back in Luke
28-29 And he left everything behind, and rose up and began to follow Him.
And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a great crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them.
Note: Levi’s first move was to have a feast to honor Jesus Roman style! During these receptions, they would recline on broad couches, each of which could accommodate several men and possibly woman served them who would lay on their left sides and take food with their right hands. Sometimes, even feed each other. Very intimate.
Matthew write:
Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples.
Mark writes:
And it happened that as He was reclining at the table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and His disciples. For there were many of them, and they were following Him.
So Mark adds that these tax collectors and sinners were not only present at the meal but actively following Jesus too, like Levi, they were often marginalized and looked down upon in society. The similarities are uncanny to today. But Yeshua accepted their company. These men were free to be real not craving to be religious. But here was a group who was.
30 And the Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?”
The scribes wrote the rabbis teachings down. They were the livestream of the day! You see, the Pharisees came to see if the rumors were true about this Messiah. But with grumbling hearts they go to His disciples to ask why Yeshua’s eating with sinful people and lowlife tax collectors because they didn’t measure up to their religious standards.
You see, Pharisees gave their lives to become influential rabbis of power while Sadducees were the religious elite who were wealthy aristocrats but both gave more weight to the "tradition of the elders" passed down orally for centuries by rabbis since the days of Daniel. They held the power to explain and apply the Torah in daily life. But they were elevating human tradition above divine law so it was an external self-righteous approach to salvation.
Matthew writes:
11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?”
Mark writes that Peter remembered this as an emphatic statement
16 And when the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they were saying to His disciples, “He is eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners!”
Note it is Mark who states this was more of an emphatic statement than a question which fits their personality. Yeshua must have overheard because He answers in their defense.
31-32 And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
Matthew adds some detail to Yeshua’s defense.
12 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.
13 “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Again, Yeshua states this embarrassing the Pharisees for their self-righteous outlook and justifying tax collectors and sinners.
Later He shares a parable about the Pharisaical heart thanking God that he is not like other people—especially not like the tax collector and boasts about his fasting and tithing while the heart of the tax collector standing at a distance, won’t even lift his eyes to heaven but beats his chest and prays, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” - Hmm....is this about Levi?
But Yeshua tells the Pharisees to go learn the meaning of Hosea 6:6 which was a rebuke to Israel for creating religious ritual over God’s desire for heart-driven devotion. But they would have known the next verse too. Let me read them together.
For I delight in lovingkindness rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. But like Adam they have trespassed against the covenant; There they have dealt treacherously against Me.
His words must have stung but what a message to the common people!
Finally Mark repeats a bit of Matthew.
And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “Those who are healthy do not have need for a physician, but only those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
So what caused Levi to just to leave all to follow Yeshua?
It’s not as easy as it sounds. But think of what caused you to follow Jesus! Sometimes it can happen quickly but for many of us, it’s a slow process. Like a tractor beam of the Spirit.
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
The old saying goes “the names have changed but the heart of man has not” especially when it comes to government. Like the Sadducees, we have our political elites hungry for wealth and power, like the Pharisees we have the religious elite who look down on us sinners. But Jesus will always be on the side of those know who they are and follow Him! He’s our defender. We are His disciples!
Well, not much has changed since the first century for tax collectors in Roman-occupied territories operated under a corrupt system known as "tax farming" which was deeply despised by the local population.
Wealthy Roman citizens from upper class known as equestrians would bid for the right to collect taxes in a specific province.
The winning bidder would pay the Roman government a lump sum, in advance, for the tax collection rights.
Tax collectors would be hired and sent to chosen regions to collect taxes. Their profit came from collecting any amount over what they were required to pay the Romans.
So too, today, we’ve discovered our taxpayer dollars have been spent on ridiculous contracts from DEI hires to transgender operations, to the profit of unknown politicians discovered in USAid and other contracts along with SS checks adding up to $322 billion being mailed to people over 150 years old or more!
There was $8 trillion budgeted to install 1.33 billion EV stations across the U.S. and only 65,000 have been set up. Where is all the money and who’s accountable to our tax dollars? Our politicians and donors!
$22 trillion has been spent aiding illegal immigrants to live in hotels, receive $5000 debit cards, to buy homes and even get a license to drive and buy a car while our next Generation can’t even afford rent let alone buy a home or get free health care!
I mean I’m all for helping immigrants who enter in legally but how do we justify another $400 million to continue to enable illegal immigrants to receive these entitlements with our tax dollars when we could be helping young Americans.
This is one of the many reasons why our government is shut down.
Shouldn’t we be helping this young generation of Americans instead?
When Yeshua called him, obviously he was ready to leave that life. Like Simon, I’m sure he had time to watch how Jesus was fulfilling the scripture as the promised Messiah.
Despite this fact, Levi held a lucrative and influential position in Capernaum. So for a time, he was able to ignore the hisses and comments of his betrayal to Israel. But because of profession, he had to lay low and do his job. Yet I’m certain, at times he felt conflicted when all these signs of healing and miracles were happening in Capernaum. It brought him great curiosity. Who knows? He may have been drawn to all the noise when four men punched a hole in the roof to lower the paralytic. Maybe he saw that and realized Jesus was different.
And as God would have it, as Levi was working from his tax booth collecting money, he probably saw the crowds following Yeshua around.
Due to his work, Levi was likely educated and literate, capable of reading and writing in Greek and Aramaic which will end up being very helpful as he would later gather notes as Yeshua taught.
Ironically, the most educated disciple was Judas since he was from the region of Jerusalem! And he got the privilege of being the treasurer for Yeshua’s ministry all we know he used to steal from it. It’s as if Jesus was giving him a final chance to come clean and right but sadly chose to become the son of perdition.
Imagine these zealots that Jesus chose later who were committed to the overthrowing the Roman government sitting at the feet of Jesus, next to Levi, a tax-collector once employed by the Roman government.
On the other hand, fishermen, such as Simon, Andrew, James and John who were added by Christ, right along with Levi. And one of Levi’s previous tax duties was to receive daily payments, his high tax rates, from all the fishermen at the Galilee. We can be fairly sure they already knew Levi, and hated him with a passion as they had to pay these dues daily from their own catch of fish.
Now folks, most of these disciples were in their late teens! Very young, working with their families to make a living.
Some suggest that Levi was raised in a family of tax collectors, explaining how he got into this despised profession as a Jewish Galilean. While we have no proof, tax collecting was a franchise-like system passed down or managed within families. Just like John, James, Peter and Andrew worked for their fathers in the fishing business and would later take it over.
But it’s important to understand that these men who were appointed or called by Christ took their role much more seriously than we see today.
The life of a disciple is one of service, study and of obedience. And this practice is sadly lacking in the church at large today. Rather than making disciples, we make members at if it’s a health club.
But a disciple means a disciplined learner of Christ, one who studies His word, listens to Christ, submits himself to the teaching of Christ and seeks to understand what His word is saying, so they might emulate the response He requires. Sadly, we have left it up to believers to read best selling books rather than helping the congregation how they can they learn from the scripture.
So, it all began for Levi when he heard the invitation and held a banquet all his colleagues and friends to hear and honor Yeshua. And it’s exactly what we do when we first accept Jesus into our hearts. We start telling our colleagues, our family and friends to listen to Jesus. How? Through the word of God!
It doesn’t matter how you came around to following Jesus - the important thing is that you are willing to leave it all as Levi did!
Do you think Levi is sorry he gave it up? No way! He used all his skill to write the gospel of Matthew to the Jews.
He later traveled to Ethiopia, where he preached the Gospel as a missionary and was beheaded as a martyr. Was it worth it?
If you don’t think so, you need to get saved, follow Him so you can ask him when you get to heaven because Levi is alive!
