Jesus called Levi, a tax collector, while teaching on the shore of Lake Galilee. Tax collectors were among the most undesirable people on the same level as prostitutes and thieves. They were not accepted in society and were excluded from all religious services. They were not considered truthful enough to appear as witnesses in court.
Jesus
called a man no one else wanted. He saw Levi's humanity and potential
and overlooked his faults and forgave his sins.
Levi
was excited about his new life and threw a party in Jesus' honor,
inviting his friends and co workers. The
guest list was what we would expect from an outcast like Levi. There
were other tax collectors, many of them were thieves. There were
other “sinners”, too: robbers, prostitutes, drunkards, etc. Levi
embodied the relational concept of soul winning. He reached out to
the people he knew.
The
religious establishment objected to Jesus' eating with these outcasts
and questioned
his character. There are still those among the religious
establishment today with a critical spirit of others who don’t
quite fit their expectations or traditions. The
religious establishment missed
Jesus in that day. They missed him during the Reformation, during the
Jesus movement in the 70's and still miss him today. They control the
things of the world but let the things of the Spirit slip through
their hands.
Jesus
was not a separatist. He associated with sinners and did not fear the
venom of his critics. The question Jesus asked is not, “Are you
good?” but, “Are you bad?” Jesus came to seek the lost.
We
need to look at others through the eyes of Jesus. We need to see past
people's problems and see their potential. Levi went from collecting
money for Caesar to gathering in people for Jesus. He became a leader
among Jesus’ followers and a powerful influence in spreading the
Gospel throughout the world.
Jesus said to them,
“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Mark 2:17
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