The Change Jesus Makes

Jesus is in the business of change. No one ever left an encounter with Jesus unchanged. They either loved Him more or loved Him less—and perhaps even hated Him—but they were never indifferent to Him. And the same is true for you and me. We cannot be indifferent to Him either. So, it is my prayer that, through reflecting on our text this morning, you will be changed by Jesus.

What we read here in Luke, chapter 5, is the call of Levi to be a follower of Jesus. We also know Levi as Matthew, the writer of the first gospel, but before he met Jesus he was a tax collector. In first-century Palestine, people hated tax collectors. They loathed them, and for good reason. Tax collectors were traitors. They worked as independent contractors with the occupation Roman government. They were given imperial authority to collect taxes for Rome, and they had a certain amount they had to collect. But they could pocket anything they collected over and above that amount. So they extorted from their neighbors more than they owed, leaving their fellow Jews poor while they themselves became incredibly rich.

It’s remarkable that Jesus would call such a person to be one of His disciples, and it tells us that, if Jesus can change a person like that, He can change anybody. Even me. Even you.

But what is the change Jesus makes? Luke shows us here that the change He makes is a change of heart—and, more specifically, He changes three core functions of the heart. He changes us from the inside out by calling us to faith, to hope, and to love. Let me show you what I mean.

Jesus Calls Us to Faith

First, Jesus changes us by calling us to faith. How do we see faith in Levi? We see it—don’t we?—in what Levi did. Verse 28 tells us that, “leaving everything he rose and followed” Jesus. Everything he was attached to he detached himself from. Do you see that? The name Levi means “attached.” In the Old Testament, when the patriarch Levi was born, his mother named him Levi because she believed his birth would cause her husband to become more emotionally attached to her (Gen. 29:34). And now, here, with the New Testament Levi, we can see how attached he might be to his ill-gotten wealth. But, in following Jesus, he severs that attachment. He is described as “leaving everything.” It takes faith to do that, to leave the familiar to pursue the unfamiliar.

Let me ask you, Why do you think Levi become a tax collector in the first place? Why would Levi choose that life? Don’t you think it was because he thought it would make him happy? Don’t you think that, despite the downside to being a tax collector, it promised more happiness, more satisfaction, than whatever it was he had known before? The choices he made set his course in life. And those choices—like the choices you and I make—are designed, we hope, to bring some measure of happiness.

But was Levi happy? Perhaps. Perhaps not. It’s a good bet he had plenty of money, a big house, nice clothes, and the best of anything he wanted. Why wouldn’t he be happy? Of course, you and I know that wealth is not really the secret to happiness. Riches do not have to make you unhappy, but there is many a rich person who is not happy. What about Levi?

We can’t know for sure. We can only infer from what the Scriptures tell us. We might ask, Why would he leave everything to follow Jesus? And we might answer that he must have seen in Jesus a source of satisfaction that outpaced his opulent lifestyle. Even money and all that it could provide did not—does not, cannot—compete with Jesus and what He provides.

And you see, that’s faith. Levi left everything to follow Jesus because he believed that what life with Jesus could offer was of greater value than the life he now knew. His beliefs changed! His faith could no longer be in the things—the accessories—of his life, but now he placed his faith in the One who could truly give life. Isn’t that what faith us? Letting go of things that promise happiness but do not deliver to embrace something—or Someone!—who can deliver!

What are you holding on to that you thought would make you happy but doesn’t—not really? What is there in your life that keeps you from following Jesus? It doesn’t have to be something bad. It could even be something that, in itself, is good. But now you see that, as they say, the good is often the enemy of the best! What do you need to let go of so that you can take hold of the best? What are you attached to that you need to detach from so that you can link up with Jesus? Jesus is worthy of your faith. What have you put your faith in that’s not worthy of it? What do you believe in that simply lets you down, over and over? Why not put your faith in Someone who won’t let you down? Levi has led the way here. Do as he did. Leave what’s dragging you down so you can follow the One who will lift you up. Do it for happiness’ sake.