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Follow Me!

Luke 5:27-32

Key Verse 5:27,28

After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. 

Today we would like to think about Jesus’ grace and truth in calling a man named Levi. Thanks to the grace and truth that are found in Jesus, Levi met God the Father working in Jesus. In Jesus’ grace and truth, Levi grew up and became Saint Matthew. The grace and truth of Jesus that transformed Levi the tax collector into Saint Matthew illuminates a ray of hope for all sinners to come to earnest repentance. Let us see how it happened. 

First, Jesus went out to look for a lost sheep.

Last Sunday we studied about Jesus healing a paralytic. Today we see Jesus helping a man named Levi. 

Let us stop for a moment and think about the two. In many ways a paralytic is different from Levi. For example, a paralytic is good at complaining. Day in and day out, he complains to others saying, “Why don’t you help me out with this?” or “Why  can’t you help me out with that?” When he asks you for help with one thing or another, you joyfully and gladly help him out. But the problem is that he comes around again and says, “Why don’t you help me out with this also?” Then you reluctantly help him out. Then he comes to you again and asks for your help. Then what do you say? Perhaps you will say to him, “Oh! I am busy. I cannot help you this time. I am sorry.” Then he complains to you. But, it is not so with Levi. A man like Levi never asks anyone for help. After all, he goes by the motto, “If I do not help myself out, who will?” So, he takes care of himself. Maybe every once in a while he may ask you to help him out, but usually he pays you if you help him out. By the same token, if you ask him for his help, he will gladly come to help you out, but be careful: he will soon send you a bill. 

Here is another difference that I think is very interesting. Because the body of a paralytic is disabled, the paralytic was unable to come to Jesus. But thanks to the help of his friends, that man was brought to Jesus; Jesus did not have to go to the man. But it was not so with Levi. Levi is a man with an able body. He visits the local gym three times a week and pumps iron regularly. But the problem is that his mind is always preoccupied with one, two, three, even four or five different projects. He always keeps himself busy. And he IS busy. So he does not come to the Lord. 

In fact, this was exactly what happened to Levi. Levi lived in Capernaum. He had his tax collector’s office there. The previous day Jesus held a Bible conference on the beachside next to Capernaum. The whole town went out to listen to Jesus. But Levi did not go. In the previous passage, Jesus went to a house and held another Bible conference. The house was jam-packed. Virtually, the whole town attended the conference. But he did not attend the conference. Simply, he was too busy to bring himself to the Lord. 

What then did the Lord do? Look at verse 27. After healing the paralytic, Jesus left the house. Then, Jesus made a special visit to Levi’s place. He “went out” to look for Levi. Levi did not come out to look for Jesus. So Jesus went out to look for Levi. This Jesus reminds us of what Jesus said in his parable of the lost sheep: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” (Luke 15:4).

In this world there are many people who are like Levi. In many ways most of us are like Levi as well. A couple weeks ago during a group Bible study among young missionaries, I asked almost a dozen of them how they met Jesus. Surprisingly, almost all of them met Jesus not on their own, but by someone else’s visit and invitation to the Lord. 

This observation, along with Levi’s example, compels us to do one thing: go and look for what is lost. Surely, in order to look for them and put them in Jesus’ sheep-pen, we need to ask the Lord of the harvest to send out harvest workers to the harvest fields. Let us pray to send out 100,000 missionaries to all nations by the year 2041. 

Second, Jesus saw 

We see that the grace of the Lord in finding what is lost begins with the Lord Jesus showing grace through lowering himself and humbly visiting us in our places. Upon visiting Levi’s place, what did the Lord do? Verse 27a says that Jesus “saw” a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. The word “saw” indicates that Jesus saw something which people did not (or refused to) see. What did Jesus “see” in Levi? When we compare Luke 5:27 with Matthew 9:9, we can say that on the day Jesus visited Levi’s office, Jesus saw three things in him. 

 

No. 1 - Jesus saw a “man”. Luke, a physician, omitted the word “man” in front of “a tax collector.” But Matthew did not forget the word “man” in front of the title, “a tax collector,” for he says in Matthew 9:9 that Jesus saw “a man” named Matthew. 

I have a book entitled Animals Inside of You. This book says that every one shares an animal nature, at least to a certain extent, so that some are like cows, some rabbits, some dogs, some pigs, and so on. Growing up on a farm, I heard village elders rebuking kids, “Don’t behave like a dog!” or “You are worse than a pig” or “Even cows are better than you.” Similarly, in Animal Farm, George Orwell compared a certain human society to an animal farm that is ruled by a pig named Napoleon. There is an American musician whose name is Snoop Dogg. He produced an album entitled Snoop Doggy Dogg. (And I don’t think this album is about a dog but human beings.) He is probably talking about himself.  

Interestingly, the Jews call the Gentiles “dogs.” (cf. Matthew 15:21-28) You will be surprised to find that in the Bible some people are so degenerated that in God’s eyes they are worse than dogs, and so the Lord God orchestrates situations around that person in such a way that dogs come around and eat that person’s dead body. Queen Jezebel is a good example. (1Kings 21:23) Probably, she must have been very attractive like any supermodel in a woman’s magazine. But in God’s eyes, she was worse than dogs. More surprisingly, at the end of the Bible, you see the Apostle John saying in Revelation 21:15, “Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” 

In Jesus’ day, Jewish society treated a man like Levi as a man who is worse than a dog. As a tax collector he had to cooperate with the Romans – the Gentile dogs. In the eyes of the Jews, particularly the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, a man like Levi was even worse than a dog, for he was making a living by selling himself out to a boss that is a dog. Imagine a dog hiring a man. Imagine further a dog putting a man on a leash and walking a man. It should be a man putting a dog on a leash and walking a dog. But it was not so with Levi. So, in the eyes of the Jews Levi was a “running dog,” run by another dog. He lived on a sub-human level. 

But interestingly on the day Jesus visited his office, Levi says that Jesus called him because Jesus “saw” a man! Jesus did not see a dog or a pig but a man. What is a man? We know the answer. Genesis 1:26-28 says that a man is different from an animal because man has the image of God. Animals do not have it, but man does. God wired him in such a way that he is capable of operating as God does. Jesus knew how he made Levi, that is, in the image of God. Levi lost this image. As of the time Jesus visited Levi’s office, Levi lived on a sub-human level. Yet, he carried the full potential to grow to the fullness of God’s greatness. Jesus “saw” in Levi this possibility. 

No. 2 – Jesus saw a “tax collector”. While Levi as a “man” endowed with the image of God represents what he was created to become, the words “tax collector” refer to what he had become. What he had become is the complete opposite of what he was made to be. The bottom line is that God did not make him to spend his whole life “collecting” taxes. To the average American there is nothing wrong with collecting taxes as a job. But, as I mentioned earlier, it was not so in the Jewish society of Jesus’ day. In addition, the title “tax collector” indicates that Levi’s problem as a human being exists on a deeper level than the job itself. For example, as a man he was supposed to live for God’s glory. He was made to live for God, worshiping him and serving him. But as a tax collector he was living for money. He abandoned the honor of being a member of the chosen people Israel. He threw into the garbage can the membership into “the Kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” and he hired himself out as a running dog for a Gentile government. Was he happy? No. As verses 31-32 say, he became a “sin-sick” person. On the day Jesus visited Levi’s office, Jesus saw a sick person. 

No. 3 – Jesus saw “Levi.” Levi as a “man” refers to the person he was created to be. Levi as a “tax collector” talks about the person Levi had become. The name “Levi” itself looks to the person he is to become. As a man called to worship God and serve him, what is Levi to become? What is the purpose of his calling? The name Levi answers this question, for in the history of the Israelites we see that it was out of Levi’s line that the priestly families came out. To the average American Levi simply means a brand name for blue-jeans. But to God, Levi refers to the chosen of the chosen. So the word “saw” indicates that Jesus saw this vision in Levi, the vision to establish him as a prominent member in the kingdom of priests and a holy nation. 

Third, follow me!

What did Jesus do for Levi with this glorious vision? Look at verse 27 again. “After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. ‘Follow me,’ Jesus said to him…” Let us stop for a moment and think about the meaning of the words “Follow me.” What does it mean? Perhaps tons of books can be written to fully explain the meanings of these words. But, in view of the generality of the four gospels, especially the gospel of Matthew, we can say that it means to learn of Jesus fully and go to the place Jesus wants one to go. One of the key themes (if not the theme) of Matthew’s gospel is “the kingdom of heaven.” To Levi, the author of the gospel of Matthew, this theme is so important that he uses this expression 37 times: virtually in every chapter of the gospel, we see Jesus talking about the kingdom of heaven. This shows us that Jesus came to call a man like Levi not just to help him be a better person, but ultimately become a man worthy of God’s eternal kingdom. 

This vision, this purpose of calling, is one of the greatest graces that falls from Jesus’ throne of grace onto us. For through this call Jesus invites lowly sinners like a pig (yes, even worse than a pig) to join the perfect fellowship with the perfect Father in the perfect kingdom of God where one can find eternal pleasures. 

Each time I fly in and out of LA to go somewhere such as Chicago, I am always reminded of my status as a poor guy. The other day, I flew to Chicago via United Airlines. As I stepped onto the airplane, I saw that the seats were divided into not just two but three segments: the “first” class, the “economy plus” class, and the “economy” class. The first class is just the first class. The economy plus class is the second class. The economy class is the third class. I had to pass by the first class, then the second, and then there is the third class way in the back to get to my seat. The second class is a little more expensive. The difference is just $34. But it is not so with the first class. It is a lot more expensive than the third. And each time I pass by the first class section, I look at the people seated there. It looks like most of them have a lot of money. So I was wondering to myself, “Oh, my. When can I fly first class?” 

But my point here is not to say anything good or bad about a man having a lot of money. We are living in a capitalist society. Money is good. Love of money is the root of all evils. But money is just money. And if you can afford it, you can fly first class. Nothing is wrong with that. What then is my point? My point is that with money you can fly first class. With lots of money you can buy a mansion with a private swimming pool, a private tennis court, a private movie theatre, etc. and so forth. 

But it is not so with the kingdom of God. For example, the kingdom of God comes with peace and joy. It comes with a deep sense of soundness, relief, and rest, just to name a few. And no one can buy joy with money. It is something that comes from the mountain of the Lord God all for free; it is the gift of God. The Lord God has made available this eternal gift in and through Jesus Christ. 

On the day Jesus visited Levi’s office, Jesus invited the man saying, “Follow me.” By the two words “Follow me,” Jesus invited Levi, a sin-sick soul, to the life of joy and peace. Most importantly, Jesus called Levi to be a man worthy of the eternal life in the eternal Kingdom of God where one can find eternal happiness throughout all eternity. 

Fourth, a great banquet

When we talk about the hope of God’s kingdom, it sounds too good to be practically available, so one ends up saying, “Hey! It sounds good, but does not seem practical.” So they end up not thinking about it, much less going for it. 

But it was not so with Levi. Upon hearing Jesus’ words of invitation, what did he do? Look at verses 28-29. “[A]nd Levi got up, left everything and followed him. Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.” 

Levi’s response surprises us in two ways: 

First, the immediacy of his acceptance. Why did he leave his job so quickly? Why did he follow Jesus so quickly? Perhaps he hated the job all the time, but had no will power to quit. Perhaps even though he so badly wanted to repent of his love of money and join the fellowship among the righteous, no one invited him as Jesus did. Maybe he wanted to quit his job but had no way of finding a better job. Maybe he might have thought that he was all washed away, so it was too late to go for what is noble. But it all changed when the words of invitation fell in his ears. 

Second, the greatness of his appreciation. Particularly, the second point makes us wonder, “What is going on with him?” for this man held not a small banquet but a great banquet. He invited many guests. Who ever said that Levi is a “selfish” man!? All of a sudden he proved to be a man of great generosity. Why the sudden change? 

We find an answer to this question in the little phrase, “for Jesus.” He fully appreciated what Jesus did for him. For one thing, while all the righteous rabbis ignored him, Jesus did not. When the majority of the Jewish society gave him only dirty looks, Jesus welcomed him. Plus, Jesus made him “Jesus’ disciple!” Also, as through following Jesus the joy of heaven took over his being. In order to share the joy of salvation, he invited fellow sinners to this banquet that all of them might find the same joy he found in Jesus. 

In conclusion, let us read verses 30-32. “But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and “sinners”?’ Jesus answered them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’” In this passage Jesus teaches the religious leaders the purpose of his coming, that is, to show a man like Levi his grace and truth – the grace of calling, the grace of inviting a sin-sick soul like Levi to the fellowship with him, and the truth of serving him so that Levi would repent and turn to God and grow into a man worthy of his kingdom. 

One word: Follow me

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