Today we’ll explore the story of a time Jesus became friends with someone unexpected:
After this Jesus 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. – Luke 5:27-29 ESV
Tax collectors were collaborators with the oppressive Roman government. They were known for taking some off the top, or extorting and pocketing extra taxes from people.
People like that are usually careful about who they associate with. They get to positions of power through taking advantage of others, by being crafty and independent, or using people for profit.
But there is something about Levi’s encounter with Jesus that changes all that. After meeting Jesus, Levi has his coworkers over to dinner. All the other collaborators and extortioners come to his place. He knows what they’re like, maybe they will steal. Or will they see some of his belongings, or family members, and use it against him in blackmail and extortion?
Why would he put himself at risk like that?
Because they suddenly matter to him more than just partners at work.
Because of Jesus, now they’re friends. Not just obstacles or opportunities. They are people he can feed and host.
The passage says Levi left everything and followed Jesus. It clearly doesn’t refer to all his material possessions – he still has a house and means to throw a big feast. This saying represents a spiritual about-face as he leaves behind his old way of life.
Research shows that vulnerability is key to friendships. Levi does this, he leaves himself dangerously open to dangerous people. He has them over and shares a meal with them.
This was even more significant in this culture – table fellowship indicated you were on the same page spiritually with others. You broke bread together, and legally became a religious fellowship. Jews didn’t eat with non-Jews, for that reason. Levi is Jewish, as is Jesus, but Levi is a Roman collaborator who would be dealing with non-Jews all the time, and regularly breaking the law by extorting fees from Jewish brothers.
We’ll learn more tomorrow about how people reacted.
Question: Why do you think Levi invites his co-workers over to supper with Jesus? What’s he doing for them, for himself, and for Jesus?
Loading Content...
Share a Link to this Message
The link has been copied to your clipboard; paste it anywhere you would like to share it.
We’re exploring this week how Jesus sent his followers on a difficult, impossible mission to share his good news with the entire world. He gave them some real, tangible help, by sending the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit was evident through the sound of rushing wind, the appearance of flames over their heads, and the speaking of languages they had never spoken before.
Each of these are “things” – wind, fire, languages and that makes it tempting to refer to the Holy Spirit as “it”.
But Christians have long insisted the Holy Spirit is a someone – and refer to the Holy Spirit as “He”. Technically He is called a “person” of the Trinity, as in someone with a personality, someone we can know. The Trinity is the Christian belief that there is one God, who relates to us in three persons – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
That means this was no mere magic trick. This was the arrival of a living and active presence in their lives.
They had just been introduced to their guide for life on Jesus’ mission.
At various times in my life I’ve come up with grand ideas about my future, but have always turned to the Holy Spirit for guidance first. I don’t want to be driven by ambition, or fear, or money or power or anything but the Holy Spirit of God. That means times of waiting, like the disciples did here. They could have plowed ahead with some great ideas on how to get their message to the people. But they waited for the Holy Spirit to guide him, and he did it in a far better way than they could have imagined. People saw what happened and were amazed, and of course a few were skeptical too.
You can be introduced to the Holy Spirit as well, and he can do amazing things through you too.
Talk to God the Father. Jesus made that possible. Ask him to come into your heart through his Holy Spirit, to be your life coach, to guide and direct every step of your life towards accomplishing the reason God put you on this earth – to know and love him, and help others do the same.
Ask him to give you the gifts you need to accomplish this mission – for those disciples it was language, but what is it for you?
Challenge: Take some time to pray that prayer – ask the Holy Spirit of God to enter your life and guide your next steps. Commit to do this every day for a few weeks – to wait on the Holy Spirit to give you the gifts and guidance you need to accomplish Jesus’ mission.
