LOC 038: Life of Christ:
The Call of Matthew
(aka Levi)
This morning we come to another calling of a disciple by the Lord
Jesus Christ. Before we get into the text, a point or two need to be made about
some assumed background. This is why it is important to see the bigger picture
of what was going on in the Life of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Inferences from what we have looked at before:
1. It is hard to imagine
that there was a person of any age or prominence in Galilean society who had
not yet heard about the Lord Jesus Christ.
The only ones with excuses to not know what was going on, were those who
were already dead and buried. We have already noted on many occasions that word
spread about the Lord Jesus Christ to all Galilee and all of Israel and beyond.
In one occasion even some from Syria came to see what the buzz was all
about. Jesus’ ministry was
well-known. It would have been difficult
to have lived anywhere in the area without knowing something or having at least
heard something about Jesus and his
ministry. That is assumed background generally.
2. From this we infer that
a man like Matthew, as a Tax Collector, a prominent official position in
Palestine would have had some familiarity with Jesus’ ministry either directly
or indirectly. Matthew was not called to
be a disciple in a vacuum. He had to have known something of what was
going on. Yet, it is not ours to know
what was going on inside his mind or heart while he heard the words about
Jesus, or followed his ministry himself. We do not know if he was a part of any
crowd in particular that heard Jesus teach and preach. Our inferences about him have to remain
general in basic categories. Insomuch as
all would have been familiar with Jesus and his ministry, Matthew or Levi, as a
Tax Collector, would have been privy to some knowledge. He would have known about Jesus and what
Jesus taught and represented. This is
important because of is assumed background for the call of Matthew, aka Levi.
Again, we will focus our attention to Mark primarily with
clarifying material brought to bear from Matthew and Luke. First, let’s read
the narrative from Mark:
1. The Background
Mark 2:13 ¶ Then He went out again by the sea; and all the
multitude came to Him, and He taught them.
2. The Call
Mark 2:14 As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting
at the tax office. And He said to him,
“Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.
3. The Feast
Mark 2:15 Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that
many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples;
for there were many, and they followed Him.
4. The Troublemakers
Mark 2:16 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?”
5. The Cutting Reply
Mark 2:17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a
physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but
sinners, to repentance.”
Let’s look a bit closer at what happened that day:
1. The Background
Mark 2:13 ¶ Then He went out again by the sea; and all the
multitude came to Him, and He taught them.
Mark is the only Gospel writer to remind us of the flow of Jesus’
life. He tells us that Jesus went out
again, showing a pattern or habit on the part of Jesus. Jesus went out by the sea. A multitude of people came to him and he
taught them.
The word used here for multitude has the sense of a great
army. Divisions, troops, units all
massed for battle pressing in an offensive to win what they desired. Again, Jesus cannot be free from the
pressures of the mob. It must have been
exhausting physically to be on such a heightened sense of call and for a
perfect man to be among sinners at all times.
What agony of soul there must have been.
Yet, Jesus seized the opportunity to do what he purposed to do in
coming--he taught the multitudes. The word for teaching here is the most basic
form of instruction. In Greek and many ancient languages it is the equivalent
of ‘to teach.” It is simply a causative form of a verb meaning ‘to learn’ or
‘to know,’ for example, ‘to cause to learn’ or ‘to cause to know.’ In choosing
a term for ‘to teach’ it is important to avoid an expression which will denote
merely classroom activity. Jesus taught
in such a way that caused men to understand or to know what was taught. We have not yet encountered a Jesus teaching
in parables, but in straightforward speech.
He taught the army encamped around him, pressing in upon him. It was an ever-growing horde of sinners with
an appetite for the spectacular.
At some point Jesus started to travel from where he was to another
place. It is during this movement that
we meet with....
2. The Call of Matthew/Levi
Mark 2:14 As He [Jesus] passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office.
Matthew, in his Gospel says about himself, As Jesus passed on from
there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. Matthew 9:9. Apparently, Levi was his given name as Mark
uses his father, ALPHEUS, to delineate him from all of the other Levis in
Israel. It is commonly believed that
Levi changed his name to Matthew, meaning gift of God, at some point after his
calling. Matthew and its meaning better
equates with his new calling.
Matthew was sitting by the tax office of custom house. This was a place where taxes or revenue was
collected from those entering a town to sell produce — ‘revenue office, tax
office. In Mark 2, these may have been those entering from the North into
Galilee or into the city of Capernaum.
In the ancient world taxes were primarily of two types: (1) a head
tax or toll on each individual traveller entering a town or conscripted to pay
a special tax (which was usually relatively small) and (2) revenue or tribute
paid for goods and produce brought into an area for sale. The latter was
essentially a kind of ‘sales tax,’ but paid by the seller who obviously
increased the prices of goods accordingly.
A tax collector at a tax office would have collected both of these
taxes giving to the authorities what they required and keeping the rest. They were despised by the Jews as
collaborators with the Roman authorities.
They were Jews used by the Romans to maintain their bureaucracy at the
local level. Usually, not fully trusted
by anyone. It is to this one that Jesus
draws his attention....
And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.
There are three meanings for aÓkolouqew in the New Testament. The first is simply to follow behind someone
or something like a child would follow its mother or a puppy its owner. The second meaning is to follow or accompany
someone who takes the lead in determining direction and route of
movement--follow me over this way. The third is to be a follower or a disciple
of someone, in the sense of adhering to the teachings or instructions of a
leader and in promoting the cause of such a leader — ‘to follow, to be a
disciple of.’ In this sense it is a synonym of Maqeteß or Maqhteuw, the more popularly known Greek word for follower or disciple. this
meaning is literally ‘to accompany’ or ‘to go along with’ or ‘to be in the
group of.’ Matthew was called to leave his profession and to join Jesus group
of men. He is the fifth disciple to be called. Peter, Andrew, James and John had been called
by the sea in Capernaum. Now Matthew is
added to the band of men. Luke 5:28
records this action: So he left all,
rose up, and followed Him. Another example of disciples being willing to give
all to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Our
call asks so little of us in this time and setting. I think we undervalue the preciousness of be
one of Jesus’ few.
The scene now shifts to Matthew’s house to where a great feast was
held.
3. The Feast
Luke gives us some insight missing in Mark and Matthew. He wrote:
Luke 5:29 Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house.
This feast was a banquet.
Here Luke enlarges on the understanding by using the adjective meaning
large or extravagant. This was a gala
event held by a well-off individual as one of his first acts of giving all he
had in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Sometimes when we consider what we have received as a free gift in
Christ the most appropriate thing to do is to feast. Levi changed his name and
held a great feast to honor his newfound Lord.
Luke also adds a phrase that adds tension to the narrative: he
wrote: And there were a great number of
tax collectors and others who sat down with them.
A large feast with a whole army of tax collectors. Matthew was inviting his professional
associates to come dine with Jesus.
Perhaps, he hoped Jesus would seize the opportunity to preach. But, it wasn't just tax collectors who were there. Mark
tells us:
Mark 2:15 Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that
many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples;
for there were many, and they followed Him.
Tax Collectors--a whole army of them, and many sinners who
followed Him along with Jesus and his disciples were there. It appears to have been publicly accessible,
or a great banquet open to all who would come.
For we find looking in upon the festivities, the judgmental religious
bigots of the day... Mark notes:
4. The Troublemakers
Mark 2:16 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?”
The teachers of the Law, who Jesus didn’t teach like, and the
ultra-conservative legalists addressed some or all of Jesus disciples with a
question. They ask, “How is it that He
eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?” For what purpose does this Jesus eat and
drink with despicable characters like tax collectors and other unclean
people? How does that fit with the
claims he has made and the miracles he has performed? It makes no sense to us! Tell us, how is it
he wats and drinks with the riff raff of our society, Roman
collaborators........
Remember this was addressed to the Disciples, but in the midst of
it all, Jesus heard and gave .......
5. The Cutting Reply
Mark 2:17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a
physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but
sinners, to repentance.”
If you are well, or perceive yourself to be, you don't need a
doctor to make you well. If you perceive
yourselves to be righteous, you don’t need to be called to repentance. It is the sick and the sinners Jesus came to
serve, not those who perceive themselves as well or just.
Matthew adds these words to the narrative. He ends with this important phrase: Matt.
9:13 “But go and learn what this
means: ‘I desire mercy and not
sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to
repentance.”
What is Jesus saying?
The Pharisees were big on doing what their understanding of the
Law said. It was more rigid than the Old
Testament sacrificial system. It was a
work of men who restated the Law in a way that people could actually think they
had not transgressed God’s commands in the way they lived outwardly. This meant a rigid life for Pharisees, but
they never had to deal with internal matters.
Everything was defined by the outward acts of a man.
Contrast this with mercy, which means to show kindness or concern
for someone in serious need — ‘to show mercy, to be merciful toward, to have
mercy on, mercy.’
This was the cry of blind Bartemeus as he said ‘have mercy on me,
Sir, Son of David’ Mt 15:22. This is the word used of God’s character when Paul
wrote ‘but God is rich in mercy’ Eph 2:4.
The Lord Jesus Christ wants an inward principle of kindness towards
those in serious need. That is what he
did. He showed mercy with compassion to
many undeserving sinners. The Pharisees
sought to separate themselves from sin and sinners only to end up with
self-righteousness. They viewed
themselves as having attained all they needed.
They had no use for John;s preachings and baptism and now they failed to
understand the genius of Jesus’ preaching and his motivation for ministry. Jesus was showing grace; the Pharisees were
showing their true selves.
The Lord Jesus Christ desires mercy, not sacrifice. He cut to the heart of the works based system
of deliverance promoted by various parties in Judaism. He implicitly that is the wrong way to
go. He, as God incarnate with the power
to forgive sins, wanted mercy from all to all.
It was for this reason that he came to call sinners, not the righteous
to repentance.
Jesus was not saying the Pharisees where actually righteous. He is willing to accept them at their own
misperception of reality. He spends time
talking to them, or rebuking them. But he does not go out of his way to
convince them of the truth. He knows
their hearts and leaves them in their self-delusion.
Application #1. Sometimes
the Lord Jesus Christ allows people to remain in their self-delusions. He lets them have wrong perceptions of
themselves and their true needs. And, even more, sometimes he sends the
delusion upon them because of their unbelief.
Listen:2 Thess. 2:9 The coming of the lawless one is according to
the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception
among those who perish, [WHY] because they did not receive the love of the
truth, that they might be saved. [THEN WHAT] 11 And for this
reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the
lie, 12 that they all may be
condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
That is a sobering reality.
All of the Gospel preaching in the world will not convert those given
over to strong delusions. Only God can open the eyes of those he blinded.
What delusions are their in you perception of yourself and your
true spiritual state? Do you view
yourself as outwardly righteous and in no need of Christ’s righteousness? To
whom do you compare yourself for your standard of righteousness? Do you compare
yourself to the notorious sinner and say, “Thank God that I am not like him?”
Or do you compare yourself to the merciful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and cry
out that you are not like him, but need to be?
We are sinners in need of a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ is the only
one who can and will save those who come to him by faith.
Application #2 Separation from the World and sin does not
necessarily entail separation from sinners.
That is what the Pharisees thought.
They thought themselves defiled through contact with ordinary man. Jesus saw himself as faithfully dispensing
mercy to the common harlot at the Samaritan well, to the man with the unclean
spirit, to the paralytic, to the leper.
Jesus was a friend of sinners, doing what was good and right, without
defiling himself. Worldliness is not
about enjoying the legitimate things of this life. Someone can be a Christian ascetic and still
live a life tied to earthly perspectives.
Worldliness is in opposition to Heavenliness where our faith and hope is
in things beyond this life in order to take this life captive to all God
desires for his people. A Pharisee was
outwardly separated from ordinary earthly societal pursuits and yet still worldly. They substitutes one form of the plague for
another. Heavenly-mindedness is what we
need. To fix our gaze on heavenly
realities that we might live unto God before we arrive in heaven. It is about
being heavenly minded that we might be of earthly good. An example, prayer and preaching ought to be
more important to us that recreation and sport.
Family ought to be more important than our jobs, although we need to be
faithful at both. Our jobs are a means
God has provided for the things that matter.
If we live in a way to make a name for ourselves or to have a million in
the bank, we miss the point. We are to
be about the business of Christ’s kingdom with all of our resources at his
disposal. We give a little time and a
little effort and we convince ourselves we have done all that is required. God doesn't
want just a piece of us or our wallets on the altar of sacrifice, he
wants all of us as living sacrifices unto God, that is our reasonable service. It isn’t too much of God to ask us to give
our all. We owe it to him.
Application #3 Note Matthew’s compassion for his friends. He gave all to follow the Lord Jesus
Christ. And, part of that ALL he gave
was a luxurious banquet to introduce his Lord to his friends and
associates. Jesus was there, but
confronted the religious bigots of the day.
Bigots who were so narrow in their view of things that they condemned
Jesus for fraternizing with those who needed his ministry. Beware of your associations--the ultra-religious
might hold them against you.
It can be okay to have unconverted friends and acquaintances. It is okay to have them over to your house
for great feasts. It is acceptable to
take them out to dinner in order to influence them with the Gospel. Jesus would not have been able to preach to
sinners, if he had not mingled himself with them. He could not have healed the sick, unless he
was willing to be exposed to their maladies.
The sick need physicians and sinners a savior. To minister to people, you must be among
those with needs. Jesus knew that; the
Pharisees of his day had it all wrong.
It can be comfortable to only have Christian friends, or to
isolate ourselves in our homes or at our workplaces. We might read a Christian book or even our
Bibles so people see them. But do you engage them as friends in accord with
mercy and kindness. Do you allow them to
see all of your life that they might see what makes you tick? Jesus was not afraid of the gaze of sinners
or their presence with him. He remained
focused and heavenly minded in their midst.
Beware of Christian smugness around unbelievers. They are often the first to sense an air of
superiority or self-righteousness. We
should be convicted whenever they do.
True righteous works expressed in kindness to serve others are vastly
different than things done in self-righteousness. The one is detrimental to the others. Consider the Lord Jesus, he was perfect. If
anyone had a right to appeal to his own righteousness, it was him. But he deals humble with sinners and those in
need. He saves his criticisms for the
outwardly religious ultra-conservatives of his day. Be gracious and kind to all men. Show the character of Christ to undeserving
sinners, remembering that that is what you still remain, a sinner saved by
grace.
Jesus came to heal the broken, set free the captives and bring
deliverance to man. We can have a part
as a means to that end when we bring the gospel to sinners and pray for those
who are sick. If you make a commitment
to pray for an unbelieving friend or acquaintance, follow through and
follow-up. Use the request as a means to
inquire about matters of soul. Point
them to the need to have sins forgiven as a greater need than bodily
health. Talk freely about the Lord and
his wonderful deeds to those who have no contempt for the things of God.
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