Luke 5:27-32 Eating with Sinners
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: July 11, 2018 Luke 5:27-32
Note 1: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
Note 2: SDA Commentary comments are also from Mark 2
After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. 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. And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
(Understanding the Text) Who was Levi? He seemed to be all that was negative in Jewish society. He was a tax collector and, thus, hated by most of his fellow Jews. He was considered a sinner and outcast by the religious leaders, and most other Jews agreed. He was an every day worker who was at his booth doing his job. According to the SDA commentary, Levi’s booth was on the seaside. It “was probably an office at which Herod Antipas collected revenue from caravans and travelers passing along the main highway from Damascus and the East to Ptolemais (Accho) on the Mediterranean (see on Isa. 9:1), or over the Lake of Galilee from the territory of Herod Philip.” He was social and had friends who were fellow tax collectors, as well as others. He was rich. The SDA commentary indicates that one sign of Levi’s wealth is the reclining chairs: “others reclining at table.” Evidently, this style of eating was only fashionable with rich people at this time. Levi wanted to honor Jesus and introduce Him to his friends. He was generous including at least four to six disciples in his invitation. The SDA commentary says that this feast took place “some weeks, perhaps months after his call (see DA 342; see on ch 5:21).”
However, Levi, who was usually referred to as Matthew, was a hidden jewel. He was educated and could read and write and would later use these talents to write a gospel that was focused on reaching the very Jews who had once rejected him for collaborating with the Romans. Jesus chose him as one of the twelve disciples, and thus, there was more to Levi than simple smarts. There was faith and a willingness to be used and a flexibility that could be molded to serve the kingdom of heaven.
There is some agreement that the disciple called James son of Alpheus might be Levi Matthew’s brother. “And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him” (Mar 2:14). “And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James” (Act 1:13). This would be consistent in that Jesus called other brothers. In the lists of disciples Matthew is either mentioned right before James or before Thomas and then James, so they tend to be grouped together. Also, it might explain why Jesus’ attention was drawn to Matthew. Maybe, James had followed first and then talked to Jesus about his brother the publican. On the other hand, the feast shows that Matthew wanted to bring others into Jesus’ orbit, so it is entirely possible that James saw his brother’s reformation and followed the Rabbi who loved his brother enough to rescue him from sin. However, some scholars don’t think that they were brothers because there is no mention of their relationship elsewhere, unlike with James and John and Peter and Andrew. In my opinion, this reason is not valid simply because not much is mentioned about the lower tier disciples, but lots of information is given about the upper tier four. I think that they were brothers, but I might be wrong.
The minute that Levi was called to follow Jesus, he accepted the invitation without a backward glance. He got up and followed Jesus leaving everything behind with no conditions. The SDA commentary says “Called upon to make the great decision of his life on a moment’s notice, Matthew was ready; such a decision would presuppose his having had previous contact with Jesus. In his heart there must have already been a longing to follow Him. But since he knew full well the attitude of the rabbis toward tax collectors, it doubtless did not occur to him that this great Rabbi would condescend to have him among His disciples.” The SDA commentary also points out “Matthew did not, in fact could not, return to his business on a part-time basis, as Peter, Andrew, and John had done for the first year and a half after meeting Christ at the Jordan.”
(Revelation of God) According to the SDA commentary the Greek word for “saw” is /theaomai/ which means to behold or view intently. In other words, Jesus didn’t just glance at Levi and immediately decide to call him. Instead, Jesus watched Levi intently for a while before approaching him. Was Jesus “reading his character” as the SDA commentary suggests, or was Jesus recognizing Levi from a vision? Maybe, Jesus was waiting for the right time to approach Matthew whom He had already marked as a future disciple. Maybe, the Holy Spirit was speaking to Jesus as He watched Levi opening up Levi’s future and heart. I wonder if Levi felt that gaze and had a hard time concentrating on his work, or was Levi oblivious to the eyes that watched him?
(Understanding the Text) I wonder if Judas was a little jealous of Matthew because he had been rich and left that lifestyle to follow Jesus without any doubts or longings to return. I wonder if some of the money that the disciples had for their moneybag came from Matthew. If so, was Judas justifying stealing some of it because after all it was as good as stolen from others in the first place?
(Application) The religious leaders had certain ideas about how things were done and about who was acceptable and who was not. It would have been one thing to treat a tax collector as one in need of spiritual advice, but Jesus was socializing, befriending, and maybe even laughing with tax collectors. He was calling one to be a disciple and eating food bought with money extorted from Jewish people. Those kinds of social interactions were just not right. The SDA commentary points out that in murmuring to the disciples, the Pharisees were trying to cause a rift between Jesus and His followers. Murmuring against someone or something is a sin that I have to watch out for. It does not seem sinful to complain when I see something legitimately wrong; however, murmuring has the motive of causing dissatisfaction and stirring up controversy. If I murmur against something, my motives are sinful whether my original frustration was legitimate or not. It’s similar to gossip but different. Or maybe I should say that gossip is only one form of murmuring.
(Understanding the Text) Jesus told the Pharisees that He was in the right place doing the right actions because He was in this world to bring sinners back to God. Only people who needed repentance needed Jesus. Of course, all of sinful men needed repentance which the leaders knew theoretically, but they had established degrees of sinners and their religious and political beliefs had become so intertwined that collaborating with Romans had become a sin against God in their minds. If they had lived in Daniel’s day, they would have considered him a great sinner, but maybe not, since they did not have any problem with the high priests appointed by Romans or the Herodians.
(Application / Prayer) My application to myself is to be ready when Jesus’ calls me to special service. I may think that I am not worthy (and I’m not) but that doesn’t mean that Jesus won’t call me to serve. How can I be ready? I must maintain my relationship with Jesus through Bible study and prayer. I must keep an attitude of humble willingness to serve both God and my fellow man. I must listen for the Holy Spirit’s calling, learn to differentiate it from my own and others’ emotional calls, and respond when I hear the Spirit’s commands. I must not look upon my own achievements but simply be willing to do my best for Jesus and let the Spirit take care of the results. I must let Jesus take the stress of worrying about results and simply serve without worry. That’s the hard part for me, God. I have faith in You, but help my lack of faith that takes on the worries to myself.