Luke 5:27-39 Common English Bible
Afterward, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at a kiosk for collecting taxes. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”
Levi got up, left everything behind, and followed him. Then Levi threw a great banquet for Jesus in his home. A large number of tax collectors and others sat down to eat with them. The Pharisees and their legal experts grumbled against his disciples. They said, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”Jesus answered, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. I didn’t come to call righteous people but sinners to change their hearts and lives.”
After capturing the hearts of the crowd, Jesus now calls Levi. Two things are significant about this calling. First, Jesus called someone no other religious leader would have chosen, a tax collector and Roman sympathizer — to any Jew of Jesus' era, the tax collector would have seemed very much like a traitor to his heritage and to his faith. Second, the tax collector followed, leaving behind his livelihood and his fortune. This is a powerful reminder that there is no one we should write off as unreachable with the Gospel and as unusable by our Lord.
May you seek opportunities this week to share Christ’s attributes of love, grace and generosity. May we continue to live, emptying ourselves of the distractions that get in our way of fullness of life in Christ. Amen.
Pastor Michael Williams