Introduction

If you’ve ever felt passed over, mislabeled, or just plain tired, take heart. Jesus has a way of walking into ordinary places and turning them into holy ground. He steps into tax booths and kitchens, into cubicles and carpools, into hospital rooms and waiting rooms. He sees what others miss. He calls names others ignore. He heals hurts others avoid.

Picture Levi—most folks called him a traitor in a nice cloak. His desk was stacked with coins and complaints. He knew the sting of sneers, the weight of whispers. Yet on an otherwise forgettable day, the Nazarene walked up to his table and with two simple words rewrote his story: Follow me. No pre-qualification. No pedigree. No polish. Just a call strong enough to snap chains and sweet enough to soften shame.

Could it be that the voice that found Levi is reaching for you today? Could it be that the same Savior who sat at Levi’s table wants a chair at yours? Not to condemn you, but to call you. Not to wag a finger, but to extend a hand. What if grace is greater than your past, bigger than your blunders, and nearer than your next breath?

Tim Keller put it this way: "The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope." That’s the heartbeat of this passage—lavish love meeting lingering sin, and love winning.

This is a story of unlikely people hearing an unforgettable call. It’s a story of leaving lesser loves to follow a better Lord. It’s a story of the Healer who keeps house with the hurting. And it’s a story for us—because somewhere between our to-do lists and our worries, Jesus is still saying, Follow me. He’s not tallying your track record; He’s touching your heart. He’s not asking if you can impress Him; He’s asking if you will trust Him.

So let’s listen as if this were written with our names in the margin. Let’s listen like Levi, with our hands ready to release what once defined us and our feet ready to go where grace leads. And as we listen, let hope rise. The Savior sees you. The Savior speaks to you. The Savior is enough for you.

Scripture Reading: 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.”

Opening Prayer Lord Jesus, we are listening. Speak Your call into the noise of our lives. Where we feel unseen, see us. Where we feel unclean, cleanse us. Where we cling to comfort, loosen our grip and lead us. Give us soft hearts and willing feet. Meet us at our tables and make them places of mercy. Help us hear Follow me and answer with faith. Holy Spirit, illumine Your Word, confront our pride, comfort our pain, and bring us to glad repentance. Father, magnify Your Son in this moment. In His strong and tender name we pray. Amen.

Jesus calls the unlikely

Luke says Jesus went out and saw a man. A real person with a name. Levi. Sitting where he always sat. Earning a living in a way most people hated. Jesus did not walk past. He stopped. He spoke. Two words that carried weight. A call that landed in one heart at one desk. The scene is so normal it almost hides the wonder. The Lord of heaven standing by a tax booth. Eyes meeting eyes. A name spoken. A command given.

That moment tells us so much. The call is personal. Jesus does not speak into the air. He addresses a person. He sees a face and a story. He knows what the town says about him. He knows what the law said he owed. He knows what shame can do to a soul. And still he moves toward him. The call is simple. No long speech. No form to fill. Just a summons that carries authority and kindness at the same time. The call creates what it commands. Hearing it makes the heart want to move.

The call also sets a new center. It is not an idea to memorize. It is a person to follow. “Follow me” is relational. It is daily. It is a step, and then another step. It brings Levi out from behind the counter and into a path he has never walked. A path with Jesus at the front. The scene shows how faith begins. It begins when Jesus speaks and we respond. It begins right where we are.

“And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.” The words are quiet and strong. Leaving everything. Rising. Following. A body stands up. A chair scrapes back. Coins sit on the table. Papers stay put. Feet start moving. The man who was sitting is now walking. That is what grace does when it lands. It gives courage for a first step.

Think about what “everything” meant for Levi. A steady income. A system that protected him. A role that gave him power. He lets it go because a greater voice has entered the room. He does not bargain. He does not set terms. He gets up. Trust looks like that. It looks like letting go of what once held you. It looks like putting your weight on a word you have just heard.

And this shift happens fast. In the same day. In the middle of a work shift. We often think change takes forever. Sometimes it does. Sometimes a moment turns the page. A call breaks in. A heart yields. A new direction begins. This is not about perfection. It is about motion. It is about a man who starts walking behind Jesus and keeps going.

Soon the house is full. Levi throws a feast. The guest list is wide. Co-workers. Old friends. People who would never get an invite to a religious event. The room hums with talk and laughter. Plates move. Cups are filled. Jesus is there, right at the center of it. The first fruit of Levi’s new life is welcome. He opens his door and brings people near the One who brought him in.

Notice how mission looks in this scene. It looks like a table. It looks like using what you already have. A home. A meal. A network. Levi does not start with a platform. He starts with dinner. The people he knows meet the Person he has just met. Ordinary stuff becomes a meeting place for grace. This is how good news spreads. It moves along lines of friendship and trust. It fills rooms we already live in.

And this is also how shame begins to lift in a city. When people who were shut out find a seat. When men and women get treated like neighbors, not targets. When a house becomes a place to rest, not a place to prove yourself. The presence of Jesus changes the tone. The room that once hid from God becomes a room where God is glad to sit.

Not everyone is glad. Some watch from the edges and complain. They want to know why this Teacher eats with people they avoid. They do not like the guest list. They do not like the table manners. They do not see a feast of grace. They see a failure of standards. Their words are sharp, and they land on the disciples first.

Jesus answers with a picture we all understand. Doctors go to people who are sick. That is their work. Healing does not start in waiting rooms alone. It goes to bedsides. It meets symptoms and names them. That is what he is doing in that house. He is doing the work of a healer. He is with people who need help, and he is not embarrassed to be seen with them.

He also tells us the outcome he wants. Repentance. A real turn. A change of mind that leads to a change of way. He is not making peace with harm. He is mending hearts. He is calling people out of patterns that break them and others. He is giving them a new start and a new path. The meal is not the end. It is the front porch to a new life.

This word “repentance” can sound heavy. Here it sounds hopeful. It means the door is open. It means there is a way back. It means the Physician has room on his schedule and skill in his hands. It means the people in that house are not stuck with the names they were given. They can learn a new name. Forgiven. Clean. Called.

Leaving comfort to follow

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