In Luke 5.27-32, we read that Jesus has been traveling and doing some amazing things. People were being healed and Jesus is teaching everyone who will listen about God. From an outsider’s perspective, everything looks GREAT!
Levi was a tax collector. By society’s standards, tax collectors were the scum of the earth. They were terrible people who cheated and stole from people. So, when Jesus tells Levi to follow Him, we won’t be surprise that the religious leaders where offended.
Many time the church acts like the religious leaders’ of Jesus time. We pick and chose who should hear about God and who shouldn’t. Recently, I heard a story about a church who voted and successfully kicked out a man. The man was recently released from prison b/c he had sex with a teenage boy. Though the proper safe guards were in place and his parole office was involved, the congregation kicked him out.
Jesus is very clear that the church needs to get out of the pews and go into their surrounding areas and reach people in need of Jesus Christ. This is not a choice. This is a command! It doesn’t matter what we wear, the color of our skin, the amount of tattoos, what we have done in the past, etc. Everyone deserves to hear about Jesus Christ and experience His love.
Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
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