Day 4 – Luke 5: 27-32
Luke suggests that Jesus speaks with Levi after He has just healed the paralysed man: there were so many people gathered in that place that the man’s friend had to climb on the roof to gain access to Jesus. We also know that Levi was a tax collector, who, according to some commentators, could legally set up a toll booth anywhere and start collecting taxes on imports and exports for the Romans and would often be found at festivals and large gatherings of people. It appears that he might have been following Jesus for some time and taxing the people gathered there. What is certain is that he would have been universally despised, as a traitor to the Jewish people and to God Himself. And yet, Jesus did something predictably unpredictable. He didn’t rebuke Levi or send him packing, He invited him into the fold.
This passage reminds us that, for Jesus, reaching out to the lost was a central part of His mission – to those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, consciously or otherwise. The challenge for us is that any church seeking to minister as the presence of Christ in the world will have to live by the same values Jesus demonstrated. One such value is clearly a passion for reaching those outside of the church, rather than simply catering to those who are already there. What would our communities look like if all Jesus’ disciples today shared that passion? Levi went on to change his name to Matthew, who then went on to be credited with Matthew’s Gospel. How many people have come to live in relationship with God as a result of Jesus reaching out to that one man? Let us not deny someone, yet unknown in our community, that same opportunity.
Father God, stir up in us a passion for the lost, a passion to reach out and bring Your grace and Gospel to the world around us. In Jesus’ name we pray.
By Stephen Richardson
Newcastle-upon-Tyne District
International Student Centre Co-ordinator for Newcastle District