Day 17 – Levi’s House: Hanging with a Bad Crowd

“Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them” (Luke 5:29)

Evangelism, discipling at its finest.

Jesus is being followed by the tax collector and entertained him. Plus, he included his tax collector buddies to come on over.

It was a grand occasion.

Naturally the super-religious types hated it. Why would Jesus associate with riff-raff like that? Surely, He knew this man was a tax collector, a cheat, and he hung out with the wrong crowd, and on top of all that, he was a friend of the Romans.

Jesus however felt right at home. At ease with tax collectors and prostitutes. They seem to get along just fine with Him because He knew what they were like and He loved them anyway.

He enjoyed their company, laughed with them, listened to them, and made Himself available to them. As for the religious and the super-religious types, they viewed Jesus as a nuisance at best and as a threat at worst. Eventually they would conspire to kill Him. In the meantime, they treated Him with low-grade hostility. That is why they peppered His disciples with questions and took every chance they had to trip them up.

Jesus loved the Pharisees and would have spent time with them. They however didn’t want to spent time with Him. So, He spent time with those who welcome Him. Jesus explained all this in terms the Pharisees probably missed altogether:

“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (vv. 31-32).

If a man thinks he is healthy, he won’t go to the doctor even though he has a tumor growing on the inside. As long as he denies his problem, he won’t seek help even if it kills him. Jesus hung around with the wrong crowd. He always gets along well with people who know they need Him.

The first step in getting well is to admit you have a problem. That is why Jesus hung around with the wrong crowd. He always gets along well with people who know they need Him.

Father, take away from me a heart with a judgmental spirit. Let me never be ashamed of You or the people You came to save. Amen.