Luke 5:27-32 (3)

-Luke 5:27-32.

-Invite to follow along

-All 3 (synoptic) gospel writers:

After healing of the paralytic

-Second in a series of events:

Conflict w/ “Scribes and Pharisees”

Jesus Scandalized

This “scandal:”

Challenged their notions of salvation

SHOULD help to inform ours...

…in a BIG way!

Read Luke 5:27-32

Luke 5:27–32 (ESV)

27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.”

28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.

29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them.

30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Pray

3 minutes

Verse 27:

-It isn’t often that Luke makes sure to...

…write down the events that he had searched out...

…in chronological order.

But, he does so here.

And, the fact:

He does, and

Matthew and Mark imply it as well...

…ought to make us ask why?

-As I suggested before...

…the connection appears to be:

Paradigm-shifting truths...

Jesus was proclaiming:

The Pharisees,

Their Scribes

Prior to this, Jesus:

Proclaimed,

Proven...

He was the “Son of Man”

Had authority “on earth” to forgive sin.

This left them stupefied!

-Luke jumps into today’s narrative...

…more forcefully than the other gospel writers.

He says (somewhat abruptly):

Luke 5:27 (ESV)

27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth...

-Now, as was the case...

(when I introduced the leper)

…you didn’t have a virulent response...

…at the mention of a Jewish tax collector.

That’s only because...

You aren’t a first-century Jew.

For them, the very mention would have aroused...

…some deep-seated passions!

Mike McKinley explains:

For a faithful Jew in those days, it would be hard to imagine a more loathsome and hated person in all of society.

Tax collectors were normally Jews who were working for the Roman government, exacting the very taxes from their fellow-countrymen that served to support the forces that occupied their land.

They were infamous for their treachery and willingness to collect more than they had a right to (see John the Baptist’s admonition in 3:13).

Luke 3:12–13 (ESV)

Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”

And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.”

Tax collectors were commonly viewed as the ultimate sinners—the enemies of God and his people. - Mike McKinley

-You can see this assumed disdain for them throughout the NT.

For example, Jesus uses them as a negative example in:

Matthew 5:46–47 (ESV)

46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

(5 minutes, 8 total)

-Matthew’s introduction gives us more insight into who this:

miserable

traitorous

wretch of a man was!

Matthew 9:9 (ESV)

9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth...

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-It was him!

-He was the wretched, sin-sick soul:

sitting at the tax booth...

making himself rich...

…through the exploitation of his own people.

-And it is to this worthless fellow...

…that Jesus gives the simple command...

(that we see at the end of verse 27).

What was that?

“Go away into outer darkness?”

NO!

It was:

“Follow Me”

-Sproul explains that this meant a lot more than we may initially think:

There is a literalism involved in that command that is often overlooked.

Jesus, as was the case with other rabbis in the ancient world, was what we call a ‘peripatetic’ teacher. He would move about the countryside with a group of students around him who would follow him wherever he went.

Thus a disciple was a person who joined himself to the company of a rabbi and was committed to mastering whatever it was that the rabbi could transmit to him by way of teaching.

A disciple of Christ is one who studies under Christ, who submits himself to the teaching of Jesus, who listens as the Master speaks, who seeks to understand what the Master is saying, and to emulate the response that the Master requires.

The life of a disciple is one of service, study and obedience. - R.C. Sproul

-Jesus was always forthright in the matter.

He NEVER pulled the old cultic “bait and switch” methodology.

He told people UP FRONT:

Luke 9:23–24 (ESV)

23 ...“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

He told them as He called them:

“This is what I’m calling you to.”

“There are no surprises.”

-He wasn’t AT ALL “seeker-sensitive:”

Remember this from Luke 9:57-62?

Luke 9:57–62 (ESV)

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”

62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

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-So understand what this meant for Matthew:

Walking away from a lucrative career

Throwing away his good-standing with Rome

Putting away his luxurious living...

…and following after this:

Poor,

Homeless,

(Soon to be) despised..

…Jewish Carpenter from Nazareth.

-That’s what those two, simple...

…words of command meant for Matthew.

That’s what he was being called to do.

-Verses 28-29 tell us how he responds.

(8 minutes, 16 total)

The first response is in verse 28:

Luke 5:28 (ESV)

28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.

Notice 2 things:

Repentance (he left everything)

The outworking of faith (he followed him)

Philip Ryken points out:

Here we need to notice an important grammatical detail. When Luke tells us how Levi followed Christ, he uses an active participle—which typically indicates continuous, ongoing action.

When Levi got up to follow Jesus, it was for the rest of his life. This is what it means to be a disciple. When God calls us to follow Christ, he calls us to a whole life of faith. - Philip Ryken

Now, before you make the mistake of...

…applauding Matthew’s commitment...

Remember:

Ephesians 2:8–9 (ESV)

8...by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

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Even here, in our text...

…we see that paradigm:

Think about it:

Who chose whom first?

Who sought whom out?

Who had just proven that he had...

…the power and authority to forgive sinners?

-The point of this passage ISN’T:

Matthew’s exemplary faith.

The point of this passage is:

CHRIST’S exemplary grace!

The Reformed Expository Commentary explains:

Before Levi ever decided to follow God, Jesus decided to make him one of his followers. As Jesus later said to his disciples, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit” (John 15:16).

...He was chosen by grace.

The same thing is true of everyone who comes to God through faith in Christ. God’s grace is God’s choice, for the Bible says we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). - REC

Calvin wrote here:

It was the intention of Christ to choose simple and ignorant persons to that rank, in order to cast down the wisdom of the world, (1 Cor. 2:6.)

But this publican, who followed an occupation little esteemed and involved in many abuses, was selected for additional reasons, that he might be an example of Christ’s undeserved goodness, and might show in his person that the calling of all of us depends, not on the merits of our own righteousness, but on his pure kindness. - Calvin

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The grace of God, brethren...

…is what’s being put on display here...

NOT the righteousness of men!

But, as is always the case...

…the grace (kindness) of God...

…leads to repentance.

(4 minutes, 20 total)

Look at verse 29.

It tells us Matthew’s second response.

Luke 5:29 (ESV)

29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others (verse 30: “sinners”) reclining at table with them.

-Notice what this tells us...

…about how the grace of God affects a person:

Matthew:

Isn’t following Jesus reluctantly.

He’s doing so JOYOUSLY!

Notice also, that he wants to:

Honor the Lord

Witness publicly to his allegiance to him

Introduce his friends to him.

-What a glorious scene, right?

This “most despicable of all sinners...”

…has seen the light...

…and had his whole life turned around...

…by the grace of almighty God!

-Hallelujah!

-Right?

Maybe for the sinners.

But not for those who thought they were the saints (holy ones).

(3 minutes, 23 total)

Notice their response:

Luke 5:30 (ESV)

30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

Now, let me warn you to NOT respond to them...

…the same way they responded!

With Hubris

Self-righteous condescension.

Ryken explains:

To understand their complaint, it helps to understand that for the Jews, sitting down to share a meal was an expression of spiritual fellowship.

One scholar writes: “In the East, even today, to invite a man to a meal was an honor. It was an offer of peace, trust, brotherhood, and forgiveness; in short, sharing a table meant sharing life.

In Judaism in particular, table-fellowship means fellowship before God. - Ryken

Remember, Israel had been told:

Leviticus 20:26 (ESV)

26 You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.

-Peter carried this principle over into the New Covenant:

1 Peter 1:15–16 (ESV)

15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,

16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

-Paul gives a STINGING application to it in:

1 Corinthians 5:9–13 (ESV)

9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—

10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.

11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.

12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?

13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

-Don’t think that their response...

…was just totally unprecedented.

It wasn’t!

So, what were they missing?

Wherein lies their fault?

Acts 10:15 (ESV)

15 ...“What God has made clean, do not call common.”

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Brethren, Matthew was formerly...

…A very sick man:

Unclean

Unholy

Profane

Perverse

Corrupt.

He desperately needed a cure.

And he FOUND that cure.

Now, he’s a healthy man!

He’s Clean

He’s Holy

In Christ!

-There is A cure for the sin-sick soul!

Amen! Hallelujah!

(5 minutes, 28 total)

But, be aware of Jesus’ warning in verse 31.

He tells the “holy ones:”

Luke 5:31 (ESV)

31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

Understand, Jesus ISN’T implying that...

…the Pharisees ACTUALLY ARE healthy.

He’s implying that they BELIEVE themselves to be so...

…and are thus prevented from coming to Him for true healing.

-Jesus would later give them an accurate diagnosis:

Luke 11:39–40 (ESV)

39 And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

40 You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also?

Brethren, if there’s ONE THING that the Law...

(which they professed to keep)

…makes ABSOLUTELY certain, it’s that:

Romans 3:10–18 (ESV)

10...“None is righteous, no, not one;

11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.

12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.”

14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”

15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;

16 in their paths are ruin and misery,

17 and the way of peace they have not known.”

18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

This is what the pride of the Pharisees...

…prevented them from seeing:

Romans 3:20 (ESV)

20 ...by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

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The Law was meant to show you that you were sick!

...Not to make you think you were healthy/righteous.

It was meant to make you seek out a doctor.

…Not to start your own practice.

-You see, the Pharisees thought:

Messiah would come to seek out and reward the healthy,...

And seek out and destroy the sick!

Jesus tells us that the opposite is true in verse 32:

Luke 5:32 (ESV)

32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Jesus saves the lost.

…not those who think they’re not

Jesus heals the sick.

…not those who think they’re well.

Jesus calls SINNERS to repentance.

…not those who think they have nothing to repent of!

He passes over those people in judgment...

…and leaves them to their own devices.

-Contained within this dichotomy between...

“tax collector”

“Pharisee”

…is one of the most vivid illustrations of:

Christ’s salvation,

How it is appropriated.

The picture is (perhaps) nowhere any clearer, than in:

Luke 18:9–14 (ESV)

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:

10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’

13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

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My friends, if you want to “go down to your house” justified this morning...

…then you MUST come to God:

As a TAX COLLECTOR!

Not as a Pharisee.

You must:

Put no confidence in the flesh.

Come to him with empty hands

Recognize that you ARE sick:

Really, and truly

Come to him for inner healing...

To clean the inside of the cup

Respond to His call...

To repentance

And Faith

Your ONLY plea...

MUST be:

“God, be merciful to me, the sinner”

Let’s pray

8 minutes, 36 total