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Opening the Door to a Great Number of Sinners
"And as He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and said to him, "Follow Me." And he arose and followed Him." Mark 2:14
In Jesus' day, tax collectors were typically viewed as dishonest, unjust sinners. Extortion almost came to be expected of those in the profession, as the tax collectors lined their own pockets. Does that stop Jesus from engaging with this sinner? Of course not. Also known as Matthew, Levi seems to follow Jesus without hesitation.
Perhaps Levi was influenced by the recent teachings of John. It certainly appears likely there was more to the conversation than what we have recorded. Nevertheless, here is a sinner who decided to follow Jesus. In Luke 5:28 we read "So he left all, rose up, and followed Him." Levi gave up his sinful lifestyle to follow Jesus. What a beautiful story we have already, but it's not over yet.
"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." Mark 2:15
Do you see what happened?! Whatever more there was to Jesus' interaction with Levi, the reformed tax collector was so grateful and filled with joy, he invites Jesus over for a celebratory feast. Jesus was not the only guest, though. Levi invites 2 groups of people to this get-together: more tax collectors and sinners, plus Jesus' disciples. The best part is found at the end of verse 15, "and they followed Him."
How the angels in heaven must have rejoiced that day! It began with one man, a sinner, Levi. Levi followed Jesus. Levi's conversion then opened the door to a "a great number," (Luke 5:29) of sinners, his friends and associates, to meet Jesus, and they choose to follow Him, too.
We often talk about looking for "open doors" to preach the gospel. Prayers, both public and private, may include such requests as, "Father, please open a door that I may have the opportunity to share the good news of Jesus Christ with some lost soul." Make no mistake, this is a wonderful request to bring to God! However, we have to make sure we are living in a manner consistent with our prayers so we do not miss such opportunities.
How many of us do what Jesus did and take the time to get to know a person who needs Jesus? How many of us would be willing to go to that feast, as His disciples did? Or, how many of us do as the scribes and Pharisees did in this story?
"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?'" Mark 2:16
While the angels in heaven rejoiced, the scribes and the Pharisees ridiculed. Let's be honest, how many of us would have felt uncomfortable attending this feast with a "great number" of sinners? What we often do in a situation like this is just sit with our group of friends all evening. It's an easy scene to imagine, isn't it? All of the disciples huddled in their group and the tax collectors huddled in their group, no one from the two groups mingling and getting to know each other, no stories swapped about personal backgrounds, shared hobbies, etc. This happens all too often today. After all, "those people over there" are of the world, and I'm a Christian. They might be a bad influence on me, so I need to keep my distance, right? ... Wrong. While we do need to be careful of our influences, we also need to shine our light and try to bring people to Christ, no matter how uncomfortable we are with their sin. Let's never forget what Jesus had to say at the end of this story, then let us go and do likewise.
"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.'" Mark 2:17
