Mark 2:13-17 English Standard Version Jesus Calls Levi 13 He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. 14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. 15 And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Here we see Jesus calling another one of the Twelve, Levi, who we usually call Matthew. Levi was the son of Alphaeus meaning he was probably the brother of James the son of Alphaeus (James the Lesser). He gave Levi the same command that He gave to Simon (Peter), Andrew, James and John. "Come, follow Me." He does not tell Levi that He is going to make him a fisher of men because Levi wasn't a fisherman by trade--he was a tax collector. Even in today's day and age that doesn't seem like a noble profession, but it was even worse at that time for any Jewish person who collected taxes for the Romans. They were seen as worse than a Gentile (about on the same plane as a Samaritan). They were "sinners" who were kept from the Temple and were considered enemies of the Jewish state. So, the only people that Levi could associate with were other "sinners" and tax collectors who had also been rejected by society. No one else would associate with him since he had been excommunicated from the synagogues and Temple. However, he would be very wealthy having the position as a tax collector for Rome because Rome encouraged their tax collectors to overcharge the citizens and pocket the rest of the money for themselves. All this is important background for the next part of the passage.
After Levi started to follow Jesus, he wanted all of his other friends who were "sinners" and tax collectors to hear the same message. So, he invited Jesus to his house and through a large banquet for Him and invited all of his friends that no one else would associate with--they would never be invited to such banquets by the Pharisees and teachers of the Law (they only invited each other so that they would get invited by everyone else--much like the socialites of today). The Pharisees and teachers of the Law are still following Jesus trying to catch Him doing something bad and they think they've caught Him now because they see Him not only talking to tax collectors and sinners, but fellowshipping with them (not abiding by the excommunication they are under) as He is reclining at the table and eating with them. The scribes and Pharisees then start questioning the other disciples as to why Jesus is eating with sinners and tax collectors (notice they don't ask Jesus Himself, but Jesus is going to answer anyways because He sees and hears what is happening even though they are trying to be sneaky). Jesus answers them that it is not the healthy people who go to the doctor, but sick people. Likewise, Jesus did not come to call "righteous" people who don't believe they are in need of repentance (the scribes, Pharisees and teachers of the Law all fall into this category of believing themselves to be self-righteous), but to call those society called "sinners" and the tax collectors who knew they needed to repent and that they needed the salvation that can only come by asking for forgiveness--for not even the blood of bulls and goats can cover our iniquity (our high-handed sins of rebellion) in the Old Testament. The scribes, Pharisees, and teachers of the Law lied and said they had no iniquity--only trespasses that they made atonement for, but their wickedness will be on full display for everyone to see by the end of the gospels and it will be clear these people that they imagined to be both "deplorable" and "irredeemable" would enter heaven before them (the religious elite proved to many they were not interested in the kingdom of God if it meant having to call Jesus Lord). So it will be that Jesus will earn the nickname for Himself "Friend of Sinners" here. Comments are closed.
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Daniel WestfallI will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others. Archives
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