The Gospel of Luke records a remarkable... - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2024

I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.
Luke 5:32

The Gospel of Luke records a remarkable encounter of the Lord Jesus with a tax collector named Levi. Levi, who is also called Matthew, is sitting at the customs house when Jesus sees him. The tax collectors in Palestine at that time worked for the Roman occupation forces. Their customs and tax demands were executed by military force if necessary. Therefore they had a bad reputation among their countrymen. Nothing more is said about Levi’s professional practice. However, it is quite possible that he, like other tax collectors of his time, enriched himself through excessive tax demands. The Lord Jesus sees Levi – and He sees much more. He sees that Levi longs in his heart for love, but also for a clear conscience and a life with meaning. And Jesus knows that He can give the tax collector all this and much more. So He speaks just two words to him, “Follow me”! Let’s put ourselves in Levi’s shoes: behind him, the tax house – his constantly bubbling source of income – and in front of him, Jesus, of whom the Gospels tell us that he had no material possessions.

What must Levi have been thinking at that moment? Should I remain seated? Or should I follow this Jesus who is said to be the Messiah? What does he do? “So he left all, rose up, and followed Him” (v. 28). And there is something else Levi does: he organises a great banquet for the Lord Jesus and His disciples, to which he also invites many of his professional colleagues.

On this occasion, Jesus explains to the grumbling Pharisees and scribes what He has come to do: to call sinners to repentance, to a change of life, and to follow Him. Levi certainly never regretted his decision. Later, God used him to write the Gospel of Matthew.

Today’s reading: 1 Samuel 6:14-7:1 · Ephesians 6:19-24