After Jesus had called the first disciples, cleansed the man with leprosy, and forgiven and healed a paralytic, Jesus went out of the house where the paralytic had been lowered from the roof. He "saw" a tax collector named Levi, or Matthew. Levi is Matthew's other name. Levi was one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Many believe Jesus changed his name to Matthew, which means, "gift of God". Jesus didn't see the tax collector as the ordinary person saw him - despised, feared and hated.

He saw the potential there to be not only a disciple, but also an apostle and a martyr. Aren't you glad that Jesus doesn't see us the way others do? Or the way we sometimes see ourselves? He loves us as we are, but SEES what we are to become in Him!

IRS agents are feared and hated today, but at least we have laws that limit the amount of taxes collected. In Roman times taxes were collected by private tax collectors that paid a fee for their right to assess these amounts. They made their profits by charging a higher toll than the law required. Publicans were minor officials who were hired by the tax collectors to do the actual work of collecting the taxes. They made THEIR wages by charging more than the tax collectors required. Roman law did not limit the amount they could OVERcharge; so most publicans overtaxed the people to a painful degree.

Levi, or Matthew, was a publican that collected tolls on the road between Damascus and Accho. This was the busiest road in Palestine, and must have netted him great wealth. His booth was located just outside the city of Capernaum, and he may have also collected taxes from the fisherman. Ordinarily a publican charged 5% tax on normal items and 12.5% on luxury items. So basically Levi was a tax collector with a tollbooth on the busiest road in the area. So he got them "coming and going" so to speak.

The Jews considered a tax collector's money to be "unclean" or "dirty money" we might say today, and would not receive change from him. Publicans were not allowed to testify in court and could not even tithe their money to the temple. A good Jew would not even associate with publicans in private life. So Levi (Matthew) was despised as a traitor to his own people because he earned his living by cheating God's people, and not only cheating, but cheating with the governments permission, like a thief.

Jolly Green Giant - like a "legal" thief?
Sherry - That's the wrong thing to do I hope he had repentance in his heart for it.
Grace - Praise the Lord we have a God who cares for the despised! A God who can touch the hardest hearts with His forgiveness!

Actually Sherry it was legal, but yes he repented and followed Jesus! Because of his profession, it is almost certain that Levi knew how to read and write, and we have a gospel that bears his name. Levi may have been the brother of the disciple James, because they are both called a "son of Alphaeus". At any rate, Levi was a very unlikely candidate for a disciple. We don't know why Jesus chose him or what Levi's thinking processes were at this time. Jesus came by his booth where he was collecting taxes and simply said, "Follow me" and Levi left his booth and business and did so.

Matthew must have been the richest of the disciples and there is a quiet heroism in his giving up his livelihood to follow Jesus. Simon and the others could go back to being fishermen quite easily if they had to, but when Levi abandoned his tax office, he must have known that he would never be hired back. His following of Jesus was a final and irreversible decision.

Grace - Seems like all the men that Jesus chose had few qualifications, little education, checkered pasts, and quick tempers. He didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.
Jolly Green Giant - the healthy don't need doctors; Jesus came to "seek and to save that which were lost"

It would be like leaving a $100,000 "prop your feet on the desk and give orders job" today. You've got the future planned out, a nice bank account and you up and leave it all.

Levi must have been wealthier than most because he owned his own house. He gave a great party for Jesus, and invited his tax collector buddies to eat with them. Matthew wanted His Lord to be THEIR Lord as well. And when Levi began to follow Jesus, he didn't do it in secret.

Sherry - OldTimer that's great he started following the Lord and he put old things past him.

Talk about your "party poopers"! "Wet blankets" and all that! LOL Well the Pharisees got wind of this party, and got all bent out of shape. They complained to Jesus' disciples about their Master eating with tax collectors and sinners. A "good" Jew wouldn't do such a thing! It's likely that these grumblers were outside the party, looking in, and Jesus disciples must have conveyed the message to Jesus. Is it ever OK to grumble?

James 5:9 Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!

What is grumbling a sign of????

rabbit - discontent.?
Sherry - Not being thankful OldTimer for the many blessings maybe... Overlooking them...
Majestic - Critical spirit?
prodigal son - A hardened heart
Jolly Green Giant - poor attitude? low self-esteem? laziness?

All good answers - basically a lack of faith in God and an unwillingness to obey Him fully and from the heart.

Philippians 2:14-15 Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life--in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.

Do you want to be blameless and pure? Shine like stars in the universe? Hold out or live up to the Word of Life? Watch the attitude!!!

rabbit - kind of like when a child pouts when they don't get their way....OT..?

Right rabbit! The Pharisees had good motivation initially - they wanted to please God. But they weren't willing to give up their preconceived ideas of righteousness - and "got an attitude" when they were called up short for it.

Sherry - Well we do have the choice in what we do and think and if we want the things of the Lord our attitude does play a part in this

Something else for all of us to think about - but don't answer here. How well do YOU take correction? When the Lord allows someone to bring up some shortcoming in your life, and we ALL have them, how do you react???

Jolly Green Giant - it's hard sometimes to have a good attitude in certain circumstances
prodigal son - We can also ask God to watch our attitude and correct us when needed

It ain't easy! I'll tell you. But if you will submit to God's will, He WILL bless you. Right Jolly, and it's something we all have to work on. The Pharisees failed miserably at attitude... So how did Jesus answer their grumbling and complaining?

Luke 5:31-32 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."

rabbit - like an attitude of gratitude is having an attitude of grace

Jesus got right to the heart of His ministry. He didn't come to heal the healthy - they don't need a doctor. He didn't come to save the righteous - they don't need a savior. He came to the sick and the sinner. And the only way to reach them is to associate with them. How about the church today? Seems like we, for the most part, "go out of our way" to avoid the very ones who need it the most. Are we just a "Bless ME Club", or are we here about our Master's business?

Sherry - Yes OldTimer how many will do this though reach out to the sick and sinful world many stand back or don't seem to care we all need the attitude of Jesus or like him.
rabbit - when my son got saved he said it was important to be a witness to his lost friends ...not walk away from them....but walk toward them with Lord....

Now the Pharisees were SELF-righteous and didn't think they needed Jesus. A sinner has to admit he has a problem before it can be solved. Jesus here isn't saying that the Pharisees by contrast WERE righteous, just that they didn't recognize their need of salvation.

nanciwi - OT - I think we do need to always remember WWJD
manafterGodsownheart - I think it is hard to do at times. Because you want to trust people, but at the same time you don't want to be taken' for a ride.
Sherry - Jolly that's when you ask the Lord to guide you and direct what you have to say though him
Jolly Green Giant - especially in today's society, it's hard to be trustful
prodigal son - Jolly I've found that if you try to live a good Christian life and say that you are a follower of Christ they start coming to you.
Jolly Green Giant - actions speak louder than words?
nanciwi - sometimes we have to step out in faith
rabbit - when God opens the door to witness...we don't have to think about the word...God puts the words in our head for us
Grace - Jesus never said to His disciples, "You know fella, we have to work on gathering a better crowd. He just turned on the light and they came to Him.

The publicans or tax collectors on the other hand were very aware of their status in the community. Their problem wasn't consciousness of sin, but the love of money that led them to a price-gouging profession that separated them from fellowship with the other Jews.

There are two extremes represented here: the SELF righteous, who don't think THEY need Jesus, and the sinner, who doesn't know that Jesus loves them and wants to save them. The Pharisees really didn't get what Jesus meant - they thought he was only referring to the Publicans.

rabbit - never esteem ourselves to be better than others...pride comes before the fall... and it hurts when you hit...

You have to almost admire the Pharisees for their persistence! Well, OK, they thought, the publicans WERE sinners, so maybe Jesus should be there. But then they basically accused Jesus' disciples of being gluttons and drunkards.

Grace - actually worse than that..."pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall..."

Now understand, they didn't like John the Baptist any more than they liked Jesus. Remember what John called the Pharisees? Along with all the others - a brood of vipers, or bunch of poisonous snakes. They were just trying to find someway to trip Jesus up. IF you're so righteous, they may have said, why don't your disciples often fast and pray like John the Baptist's do?

Jolly Green Giant - the Pharisees were always trying to trick and trap Jesus

Now the Jews were only commanded to fast ONE day a year - the Day of Atonement - it was to be a day of sorrow and mourning for their sins. The Pharisees were in the habit of fasting TWO days per WEEK and were really proud of themselves. DUH - if you're proud of fasting then you've missed the whole point. We are not told how often or why John the Baptist's disciples fasted, but John's preaching was a message of repentance and sorrow for sins that prepared the heart for the joy of Jesus coming.

They had to do some mental calisthenics to keep up with Jesus train of thought! Here he was referring to the wedding customs of that day. When a man and woman became engaged, it was as binding as marriage. After the engagement, the man went to his father's house to prepare a home for his bride. When the FATHER said it was ready and suitable, then the man went to get his bride.

His friends waited for him at the father's house, and when he and the bride arrived, they had a big party. It was considered rude not to participate in the festivities. Here Jesus is saying that his being here is like a wedding feast, and it's time to party with him. His disciples are rejoicing in the coming of the Messiah.

Then Jesus used a parable, an illustration from daily life with spiritual applications. If an old garment tears, it is patched with material from another old garment. No one takes a new garment and tears a piece off to patch an old one. Not only will the patch not work, but also you've destroyed a new garment. The Pharisees must have been scratching their heads and pulling their beards over the meaning of this one!

The Pharisees were trying to take the new cloth of Christianity and patch the old cloth of Judaism with it. In other words, trying to fit the gospel, which was new, into the Law, which was old. How does this apply today?

Jolly Green Giant - people today are still trying to fit the gospel into their "comfort zone"
nanciwi - I agree with Jolly - some people accept only the parts of the gospel that make them feel good -

Jesus gives another example. Grape juice was usually put into new goatskin bags to ferment. As the juice fermented, the bags would expand. However, if you put fresh grape juice into old, dry goatskin bags, then as it ferments the bags would burst. Jesus is saying that you can't pour the new wine of the Spirit into the old forms of the Law. It is something new that the old cannot contain.

One of the basic laws of biblical interpretation is that to understand a concept or doctrine, you must take into account ALL the passages that refer to it, not just the ones you're comfortable with or that fit your lifestyle! We must be very careful not to base our Christian life on a handful of favorite verses and ignore the rest. We must strive to understand them all - even the so-called "hard sayings".

But Jesus, knowing the heart of man, realized that the Pharisees were so fixated on the old forms, that they wouldn't even want to try the new. As someone who develops a love for aged wines will not be happy with grape juice. And how does this apply today?

nanciwi - sometimes churches are so steeped into tradition they lose sight of Jesus
Jolly Green Giant - People get set in their ways are afraid to "dig themselves out"; people are often just plain stubborn

Right! In the Church today, whether Protestant, catholic or orthodox, we have developed many traditions over the centuries that we have become used to and really like. When the Holy Spirit tries to do something new, there is a lot of resistance to change. Now I'm not talking about going against something in the Word of God. That doesn't change and we are always subject to the Scripture.

nanciwi - in the Old Testament it was unlawful to do anything on the Sabbath day
Jolly Green Giant - work of any kind was forbidden on the Sabbath; the Pharisees considered the disciples to be working; the Pharisees were real "nit-picky"

Because according to the PHARISEE'S definition, it was work and was forbidden on the Sabbath. According to their oral tradition in the Mishnah, harvesting (which is what they considered Jesus to be doing) was breaking the Sabbath law.

David replied, "Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever [or from us in the past few days since] I set out. The men's things [bodies] are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!"

The Pharisees couldn't argue with Jesus' logic. If David had broken a law because his men on a holy mission were hungry, then that made a "precedent" for what Jesus and His disciples did. On both occasions godly men had done something forbidden. But since it is always "lawful" to do something good and to save life, even on the Sabbath, then both David and the disciples were still within the spirit of the law. This seems like an odd point to us, but this is how the Pharisee's logic worked, and how Jesus was able to "speak their lingo".

Mark records a prior sentence in which Jesus explains WHY that he is Lord of the Sabbath. God made the Sabbath AFTER He made man and FOR man's benefit. It was to be a day of rest and refreshing and communing with God. The Pharisees with all their rules and regulations had made MAN subject to the Sabbath - and put their rules above the needs of man.

To further demonstrate his Lordship over the Sabbath, Jesus went into a synagogue and healed someone, which the Pharisees, in their twisted logic, determined to be "work", not acknowledge the miraculous event itself.

There is no person harder to "convert" than a "religious" person is! They already have all the answers, and don't bother trying to change their minds! Jesus will conform to their ideas and "laws", not the other way around!

aquarius - they make themselves out to be god -deciding what is righteous and unholy

Jesus knew what they were thinking, and to avoid a confrontation, he could have waited until the first day of the week and healed this person, couldn't he? But He not only heals the man on the Sabbath, but also has him get up in front of everyone, where all could clearly see. The man was obedient - we don't know how much faith he had, or even if he knew what Jesus planned to do with him, but at least he had sense enough to obey.

Now Jewish TRADITION, not the Bible, stated that medical aid could be given on the Sabbath ONLY when the person's life was threatened, which obviously was not the case here. So technically what Jesus was about to do was not lawful as far as the Pharisees were concerned.

Jesus looked around at them all, but no one spoke up either way. Then Jesus said to the man "Stretch out your hand". Well the hand was shriveled, and this was impossible! But as the man tried to obey, he found that the impossible had come to pass! He was able to stretch out his hand and was completely restored.

What kind of problem do you have today? Stretch it out to Jesus and let him restore you! Do you need healing? Do you need financial help? Give your problems to Jesus and trust him, not only to take care of you, but to make a fool of those scoffers who have been telling you that miracles are not for YOU, that you are unworthy and unimportant to Jesus. NOT.

Luke 6:11 But they were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.

After this awesome miracle of restoration, what did the Pharisees do? THEY GET MAD! LOL What a reaction! God's power was so obviously manifested in front of them, and they got mad and began to plot against Jesus! There have been some marvelous revivals in the past few years. And what have a lot of Christians done? Said, praise the Lord, this is what we've been praying for? Send it here too! ?

No, they've gotten mad and done everything they can to discredit the meetings, the ministers, and the participants. All because it didn't fit into their "theology". Now, we need to be careful about signs and wonders, because the Word says that the devil can deceive and counterfeit them. So we must always test things by the Word. But we don't test things by "it's never been done that way before". Or "that's not how our seminary teaches it should be done". Or "well, what do you expect from holy rollers anyway?"

Let's rejoice when God blesses our brothers and sisters in Christ! Let's lift up and encourage those who are trying to serve the Lord! We need each other! We need to fight the DEVIL, not other Christians. We don't want to be Pharisees - having a form of godliness but denying its power!

aquarius - in Romans it says we aren't supposed to argue over things like that