An Encounter with a Traitor...

At the church where I server we have launched into the new year by looking at various encounters that people had with Jesus that are recorded for us in an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Luke. And as we look at these encounters with Jesus, we are going to discover several timeless truths that will have the potential to powerfully impact our lives today.

This week I would like for us to spend our time together picking up where left off last week. And as we jump back into the next section of this account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of Luke, we are going to discover another timeless truth that can occur when we encounter Jesus. So let’s discover that timeless truth together, beginning in Luke 5:27:

After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, "Follow Me."

Luke brings us into this section of his account of Jesus life by providing us the context for the event from history that we are going to look at this morning. After miraculously healing a paralyzed man who had been let down through a hole in the roof of the home where Jesus was speaking, Jesus and his disciples left the house and began walking down the street in the city of Capernaum, which is located in what is now Northern Israel.

Luke tells us that as they walked down the street they came to a booth where Jewish people were required to pay taxes. And at that table sat a man named Levi who was manning the tax booth. Levi was a Jewish man who was a tax collector that worked for the Roman Government.

Now Jews who were tax collectors were hated by their fellow countrymen for two reasons. First, these tax collectors were hated because they would often charge higher taxes than necessary in order to make a profit. Since the Roman Government did not care what these tax collectors charged as long as they received what was due them, many tax collectors became wealthy by charging over and above what the Romans asked.

Second, Jewish tax collectors were hated and were viewed as traitors because they were working for the enemy. I mean, imagine how you would feel if Mexico invaded and conquered the United States and began to charge large taxes that you would have to pay to the Mexican government. And imagine if your neighbor began to work for the conquering and ruling Mexican government as a tax collector. Imagine giving your money to your neighbor, who gave part of that money to the Mexican government and kept part of it for himself.

Now, if that were the case, how would you feel toward your neighbor? That is how Jewish people felt toward people like Levi. As a matter of fact, Jewish people so despised tax collectors that they had a separate category for them. There were tax collectors and there were sinners. There were those who sinned and then there were tax collectors.

Luke then explains that when Jesus saw Levi sitting at the tax collector booth, He said to him “Follow Me”. Now when a rabbi or teacher asked someone to follow him, this was a call to follow the rabbi as his disciple. So Jesus here is calling this tax collector, who was so despised that he had a separate category for himself, to follow Him.

Now can you imagine what the rest of the disciples response to Jesus invitation to Levi to follow Him would be? Can you imagine Peter, for example “Jesus, I don’t think that is a good idea; I mean he is a tax collector; he is the enemy”? Luke then reveals for us how Levi responded to Jesus invitation in verse 28:

  And he left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him.

Here we see Luke explain that Levi responded to Jesus invitation to follow Him by leaving everything behind and began to follow Jesus. Levi responds to Jesus invitation by leaving his tax booth and job to follow Jesus. Now you might be thinking to yourself “Well Dave that just seems weird. I mean why would you just get up and quit your job to follow Jesus? To just get up and leave your job because a rabbi asks you to follow him just seems strange? I mean at first glance that seems odd, doesn’t it?

While it may seem strange at first glance, it would not have seemed strange to the crowds at Capernaum. You see, Rabbis were the most respected members of Jewish society. So to be asked to follow a rabbi was a great honor. But Jesus was no ordinary rabbi; Jesus was performing miraculous signs that people had never seen. Jesus, at this point in His life, was viewed as a rock star or celebrity in the region.

And this was probably not the first time that Levi had seen or heard about Jesus, they both lived in the same small town. Plus Jesus wanted him to follow Him: Jesus wanted to hang out with a tax collector and sinner like him. This invitation would have been unheard of by any other Rabbi to call such a man to follow him as a student.

What would have been viewed as being strange or odd would be why Jesus would want such a person like Levi around Him as His disciple. What would have been strange or odd would be that Jesus would want to hang out with a traitor like Levi. Well, if that strikes you as strange or odd, just look at what happens next, as we see in verse 29:

 And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a great crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them.

Levi, after being invited to follow Jesus as His disciple, responded to that invitation by inviting all of his tax collector and sinner friends over to his house for a dinner party to meet and hang out with Jesus. Levi responded to Jesus invitation by providing an invitation for his tax collector and sinner friends to meet and hang out with Jesus.

And what is so interesting is that his tax collector and sinner friends accepted the invitation. You see, there was something about Jesus that made people who were far from God comfortable enough to hang out with Son of God. While Jesus never lived a life that was marked by selfishness and sin, people who were far from God felt comfortable enough to engage and interact with the Son of God.

If you are a follower of Jesus, here is a question to consider: Could the same be said of you? Do people who are far from God feel comfortable enough around you to want to hang out with you?

Now I want us to take a minute and imagine the scene that is occurring at Levi’s house. Imagine watching as Levi’s house began to fill up with all his tax collector and sinner friends and their girlfriends. Imagine the sounds of salty language and music filling the room as Levi’s tax collector and sinner friends began to engage in conversations. Imagine the smells of food and drink wafting through the home. Imagine Jesus engaging in conversation with Levi and his friends. Can you picture the scene?

Tomorrow, we will see Luke explain that as Levi’s house filled with those who were far from God, others were attracted to what was happening...