The Call of Levi the Tax Collector

Intro

Winter driving is not my favourite

*Tell story of almost following a semi truck into a ditch*

You have to be careful who you follow!

True in all walks of life (social media, sports icons, pastors)

As we pick up in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is in the process of calling disciples to follow him

Starts with a bunch of fishermen (Andrew, Simon, James, John)

This morning it is the tax collector Levi (aka Matthew) who hears Jesus tell him, “follow me”

Our journey for spiritual renewal requires us to answer the same call of Jesus in our lives

Read Luke 5:27-39 and pray

Something Old (v. 27 - 32)

Our story begins as Jesus “sees” a tax collector named Levi and says, “Follow me”

The verb for “saw” is a strong verb: not a passing glance; Jesus singled out Levi and personally called out to him. He was chosen.

With a simple, “follow me,” Levi leaves everything and seeks after Christ.

What else must have been said to bring about such a response! We will never know...

Levi shows great courage in abandoning all else to follow Jesus

There was no turning back for a tax collector

The call of Christ to follow Him today requires the same level of response

Are you willing to leave all else?

Levi is thrilled to be a disciple of Christ, and throws a feast in celebration (inviting his friends… more tax collectors)

The feast draws complaints from the Pharisees and scribes because:

Tax collectors are sinners (traitors and extorters)

Jesus and his disciples claim to be religious, but eating with sinners is something that is not done

Eating with = acceptance and friendship

Jesus answers this criticism by stating his mission: He is doing something old and something new (not something borrowed or something blue)

Re-read verse 31

First, Jesus wants to reach out to sinners; they are his mission!

He eats with them, befriends them, offers them compassion - not at arms length!

But Jesus doesn’t leave sinners in their sin; he calls them to repentance (this is the meaning of his physician analogy)

Levi is one example of a life completly transformed

Paul is another example (from persecuter to missionary)

Cf. 1 Timothy 1:14-15.

We too, are sinners. We too, are in need of spiritual healing that only Jesus can provide.

The parallel passage in Matthew explains how this is something old

Cf. Matthew 9:12-13; Hosea 6:6.

The desire of God has always been for the hearts of His people, not strict adeherence to the Law out of obligation

The Pharisees have gotten it wrong; they have not been bringing people closer to God, but pushed many further away

Jesus offers a course correction; he is doing what the Father has always desired

We need to ask questions from the perspective of the Pharisees:

Are we bringing people closer to God? Or pushing them away?

Something New (v. 33 - 39)

Jesus’ response seems to shut down the Pharisees… so they change tack.

Re-read verse 33

Christ begins His response by revealing a bit about who He is:

It’s celebration time! The bridegroom is here! There will be time for fasting later

Important note: There is a time and place for fasting, but this is not that time

Jesus uses this opportunity to add a parable to explain that what He is doing is also something new:

*Explain the wineskins parable; make joke about drinking wine from a bag*

Jesus changes everything. It can’t stay the same!

Changes the way we relate to God, and how relate to one another.

The New Testament shows us how everything before Jesus anticipated his coming; something new isn’t at odds with the old. But it is the next chapter.

Cf. John 13:34-35; 1 John 2:7-11.

The new command is in line with the old, but we can love others now in a profoundly new way thanks to Jesus.

Let us continue to love one another!

Jesus also anticipated that the old guard (Pharisees) would be resistant to change

This is what verse 39 means (“the old wine is good enough for me, I don’t need anything new!”)

The religious leaders vigorously defended their way of life; it was comfortable, advantageous, etc.

Clinging to the old was a HUGE obstacle in thier following Jesus

Remember Jesus teaching Nicodemus to be “born again”

As churched people, our obstacles are often the same

*Share new mission statement*

The real task is not the statment, but being willing to do some new things to better acheive the mission… and let some old things go

Will we be willing to let some old things go to embrace the new? To try the new wine?

This is hard! *Share renovation story*

Change is scary; old is comfortable. But if we cling to comfort we can miss what Jesus is doing, just like the Pharisees.

Conclusion

All of this begins with our response to Jesus as he says, “follow me”

He will not disappoint or lead you astray (like that semi)

But he does ask that we leave everything to follow Him (just like Levi did)

He befriends and calls sinners, which is good news for you and me (and all others)

This has always been the heart of God; it is something old

Jesus is also boldly redefining how we can relate to God and to others; change is coming!

This is something new; in line with the old but expressed in a fresh way.

Are you ready to go?

Pray

Take it Home

Who in your life needs spiritual healing? How can you help them draw closer to God?

What is something comfortable about church that you need to be willing to give up? What is something new that you are excited to see Jesus do at SBF?