Injil Markus 2:13  And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them.

2:14  And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.

As He was walking by the lakeside He was teaching.  This was a common way for the Jewish Rabbis to teach.  As they walked the roads from one place to another their disciples grouped around them and walked with them and listened as they talked.  Therefore Jesus was doing what any Rabbi might have done.

The tax collector’s booth where Jesus found Levi was on the major international road that went from Damascus through Capernaum to the Mediterranean coast on to Egypt.

It was a saying that “Judea is on the way to nowhere; Galilee is on the way to everywhere.”  The great Road of the Sea led from Damascus, by way of Galilee, through Capernaum, down past Carmel, along the Plain of Sharon, through Gaza and on to Egypt.  Another road led from Acre on the coast across the Jordan out to Arabia (Petra not Mecca) and the frontiers of the empire, a road that was travelled by the regiments and caravans.

Capernaum was by its very nature a frontier town; because of that it was a customs center and the import and export taxes were collected there.  That is where Levi worked.  While it is true that he was not like Zacchaeus, working directly in the service of the Romans; he was working for Herod Antipas, and therefore he was a hated tax-collector, also referred to as a publican.

Levi was not a good person or he would not have been a tax-gatherer.  Still the Messiah choose to call this person to be part of His core group.  This does serve to demonstrate to us that Jesus can change the character of anyone if they will only commit themselves to Him in following and obeying.  The Scripture also tells us about another person who was also chosen by Jesus but who offered excuses for waiting until a more convenient time and therefore he lost out on his unique opportunity.  Levi did not risk the chance of having the offer pass him by to become a disciple of Jesus but responded immediately, wholeheartedly, and without reservation.

2:15  And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.

In 1^st Kings 19:21 Elisha gave a farewell feast for his friends when he went to follow Elijah.

Of all the disciples Matthew is the one who gave up the most at the very outset in his making the commitment to follow Jesus.  Matthew in giving a farewell feast for all his friends shows thereby that with cheerfulness and thankfulness to God he has committed himself completely, and without reservation, to Christ.

Andrew and Simon and James and John could easily go back to their boats but Matthew had burned his bridges behind him as far as his livelihood was concerned and could never go back.  He left everything but his pen.  He obviously did try to invite his friends to join him in the journey and maybe some of them did later on but probably not at that particular point in time.  Some of Matthew’s friends may have been among those converted at Pentecost; we won’t know until after our own arrival in heaven.  His friends were no doubt curious and some of them would have tried to talk him out of this move even as they may have themselves wondered whether there were any hope for them and Jesus’ presence and demeanor at the feast no doubt gave them a glimmer of hope that they also were eligible to be included in God’s forever family.

2:16  And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?

Not all the teachers of the law were Pharisees and not all of the Pharisees were hypocritical even though it sort of seems that the majority of those whom Jesus came into contact with were that way when we read the Scripture.

2:17  When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Jesus calmly responds directly to the Scribes and Pharisees.  A self-righteous (self-justified) person does not recognize his need for a savior.  There are many sin-sick souls who have no clue regarding their actual situation.  We find the self-righteous everywhere but the one place we rarely find them is in a Christian Church.  An admitted sinner does tend to recognize his need for a cure.  Part of truly living righteously does include showing mercy to others who seek righteousness.  Although we followers of Christ do need to be very careful in how we keep company with ungodly men lest we become re-corrupted.  We do need to show and have love for their souls while attempting to convince them they also need to join us in the journey of following Messiah Jesus.  Our good Physician had the power of healing in Himself and was in no danger of contracting the disease of sin.  However, we need to keep in close contact with Him to avoid sin.

For unfortunately there is more hope for a fool than for one who is wise in his own conceit (see Proverbs 26:12)  Even when such a one is on the side of truth he remains as fickle as the children of falsehood.

Follow Jesus who is the truth and the way and the life because he is the holy one of God.

–Pastor Ward Clinton