Mark 2:13-17; Matthew 9:9-13; Luke 5:27-32
Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught (äéäÜóêù – to teach, impart instruction) them. As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office (tax station on trade route or place for port duties & fishing tolls). And He said to him, "Follow Me." (ἀêïëïõèÝù – to follow or become one of my disciples) So he arose and followed Him.
Now it happened, as He was dining (reclining @ festive meal w/ entertainment) in Levi's house, that many tax collectors (ôåëþíçò – tax collector) and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?"
When Jesus heard (Aorist Active Participle kept on hearing it) it, He said to them, "Those who are well (to be strong in body, to be robust, to be in sound health) have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance (to have a change of mind, heart & will)."
Mark 2:13-17
A Breathtaking Ministry
Introduction – The Call of an Outcast
Centuries ago a number of workmen were seen dragging a great marble block into the city of Florence, Italy. It had come from the famous marble quarries of Carrara, and was intended to be made into a statue of a great Old Testament prophet. But it contained imperfections, and when the great sculptor Donatello saw it, he refused it at once. So there it lay for years in the cathedral yard, a useless block. One day another sculptor caught sight of the flawed block. But as he examined it there rose on his mind something of immense beauty, and he resolved to sculpt it. For two years the artist worked feverishly on the work of art. Finally, on January 25, 1504, the greatest artists of the day assembled to see what he had made of the despised and rejected block. Among them were Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, and Pietro Perugino, the teacher of Raphael. As the veil dropped to the floor, the statue was met with a chorus of praise. It was a masterpiece! The succeeding centuries have confirmed that judgment. Michelangelo’s David is one of the greatest works of art the world has ever known. (Mark; R. Kent Hughes, p. 70)
I believe in Levi, Jesus saw more than a lowly, scum-sucking tax-collector! He saw beyond Levi’s flawed-life of cheating and manipulating others. He saw Matthew, a disciple who was a writer and evangelist! And Jesus still sees men, women, boys and girls with His consummate artist’s eye today!
Levi’s name means “Joined.” He did not keep the law but lived like a gentile. Later his name was changed to Matthew that meant “Gift of God.” Here was a man who went from a tax collector to a writer and evangelist of the gospel.
There are a couple of interesting things regarding Levi’s work. Levi was a ôåëþíçò ...one who collected taxes and tolls. There were two types of tax collectors-gabbai and mokhes. The gabbai collected general taxes, property, income and registration. There were two types of mokhes, great and small. The great mokhes hired others to collect for them and the small mokhes did it for themselves. Levi was a small mokhes. They were considered unclean and despised by all of the people.
A large crowd was following Jesus as He made His way to the Sea of Galilee. It was during this time that He called Levi to become a disciple.
Notice first…
THE CALL OF AN OUTCAST (13-14)
Levi was most definitely an outcast. No one, except the Roman government, liked tax assessors or collectors. There were four things notable about them.
First, Levi was considered Dishonest. Tax collectors were considered treacherous individuals. The job actually went to the highest bidder. They could then levy a tax to their liking. Much like our I.R.S., they were both feared and detested.
He was certainly Disliked. He could place a tax on a cart, the wheels on the cart and the ox pulling the cart. Fishermen had to pay a tax or toll on their catch for the day.
He was Disgraced. Because he derived his living off the backs of hard working people, he was considered a traitor. He could make loans to people with a high percentage rate. In a Baptist church, that would be like an active deacon having a son who owned a liquor store. The son would be looked down upon and the deacon himself would be suspect.
Finally, Levi was Discredited. For Levi there would be societal alienation. “Righteous” and religious people would consider him religiously impure. He would have been alienated from the synagogue for having a detestable career.
Back in 1985, I left an outstanding job at Procter and Gamble in Dallas to move some 600 miles to the east to pastor my first church. Some people thought I had lost my mind. Why would I want to move to Alabama and leave Texas for a low paying job and ministry? Their only comment was that I must be raising the I.Q. level in both states!
When God calls, we answer. It is a step of faith many do not understand. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to the world. But I do understand why they think that way.
Today, God still saves the pervert, prostitute or porn star. He desires that the junky, homosexual and HIV infected individual come into a dynamic and living relationship with Him. He even wants those who are religious to throw away their shackles or religion and come to Him!
Isn’t it funny (sarcasm intended) that we often judge others by our own standards! We think that even God couldn’t change them! For Levi, it was a decisive no-turning back decision! Jesus saves and that is all the way through!
Notice the second thing that happens. There is…
THE CONCERN OF AN OUTCAST (15-16)
Levi invited his friends over to a party. He wanted them to experience what he had just experienced. Levi loved lost people and hosted an intimate dinner! Who did he invite? I think there were three groups.
First on the list was his Family. Levi was concerned about His own household. He acted as we ought to act. I am confident that he would have included his family in this life changing celebratory event.
Second would be his Friends. Notice there were tax collectors and *gasp* sinners at the party. Jesus and His disciples were invited to meet those Levi socialized with.
You know, too often we alienate those who need Jesus because we are only hanging around people like us. I have gotten to know Mark Cahill through email and his book “One Thing You Can’t Do in Heaven.” He makes valid points about us going to the “least of these” to share the gospel. Have we gotten too proud and arrogant in doing that?
Last of all, we find his Foes there. Why they would want to come is beyond my understanding…unless it was to catch Jesus in an inconsistency. The scribes and the Pharisees normally would not have been in the presence of such a sinner. I consider it very interesting that they would spend one moment in an unclean and impure home.
During my time in seminary, I had a friend who served on staff of a large and influential church as a staff intern. His primary responsibility was to make 75 contacts per week for the church. In those numbers, he was to lead at least five people to the Lord each week. At end of the month he had to give an account on who he had reached.
His first, and last I might add, report was interesting. He made all 75 contacts per week. He had led several people to the Lord including some homeless people. After his report, the pastor was not pleased because the people he was leading to Jesus were not the ones they were seeking or ministering to.
Wow! I could hardly believe it! If I did not know my friend better than that, I would have considered him a liar!
Jesus saved the riff-raff, no-bodies and cellar dwellers. He invited the homeless, hopeless and helpless to become a part of the kingdom of God. There should be no exclusions in the church body. There should not be any cliques or clubs in God’s body of believers! EVERYONE IS INVITED!
We move from the call and concern of an outcast to…
THE CONVERSION OF AN OUTCAST (17)
You could almost consider the topic of the conversations of Levi’s friends. “YOU DID WHAT?” “You quit your job?” “Why?” “Have you lost your ever-loving mind?” “You’ve invited who?” “You didn’t bother to call me first to help you reconsider?”
When Jesus saves, He saves us all the way through. We repent and remove anything that stands between us and Him. Notice the kind of mission Levi, now Matthew, was on with Jesus.
First, we find Levi joined Jesus with His “On Mission: His Love is Unbelievable” tour! Luke 19:10 tells that Jesus said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” (NLT) Jesus came to deliver the unrighteous from their sin and shame. Those who desire to live in their own strength and sin will die in their strength and sin. Jesus came to deliver and set us free!
Then new see His “On Mission: His Love is Unconventional!” The scripture says, “Having said this, He showed them His hands and His side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” After saying this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”” John 20:21-23 (HCSB)
And finally, we find Jesus “On Mission: His Love is Unfathomable!” Again, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:16-17 (NKJV)
Jesus loves the unlovable, touches the untouchables and reaches the unreachable…then and now!
G. Campbell Morgan
Campbell Morgan was one of 150 young men who sought entrance to the Wesleyan ministry in 1888. He passed the doctrinal examinations, but then faced the trial sermon. In a cavernous auditorium that could seat more than 1,000 sat three ministers and 75 others who came to listen.
When Morgan stepped into the pulpit, the vast room and the searching, critical eyes caught him up short. Two weeks later Morgan’s name appeared among the 105 REJECTED for the ministry that year.
Jill Morgan, his daughter-in-law, wrote in her book, A MAN OF THE WORD, “He wired to his father the one word, ‘Rejected,’ and sat down to write in his diary: ‘Very dark everything seems. Still, He knoweth best.’ Quickly came the reply: ‘Rejected on earth. Accepted in heaven. Dad.’”
In later years, Morgan said: “God said to me, in the weeks of loneliness and darkness that followed, ‘I want you to cease making plans for yourself, and let Me plan your life.’”
Rejection is rarely permanent; as Morgan went on to prove. Even in this life, circumstances change, and ultimately, there is no rejection of those accepted by Christ. (Rick Thompson)
