"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. 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. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eat with publican and sinners, they said unto His disciples, How is it that He eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?"
Mark 2:14-16
Part 1
Today: The “Follow Me” of Discipleship
“He was walking beside the lake, and He saw a man named Levi, son of Alphaeus. Levi was sitting at his place for collecting taxes. Jesus said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Then Levi stood up and followed Jesus” (Mark 2:14, HSB[1]).
“And as He passed by.”
Jesus has been teaching and healing folks in Capernaum. He went back out by the sea of Galilee, where He was again teaching a large crowd of people. Later, as Jesus was walking through the area, He passed by the place where Matthew (Levi) was working.
“He saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus.”
This was another of Jesus’ intentional divine appointments. He is looking for Matthew. Who is he?
“Levi the son of Alphaeus Possibly the brother of James the son of Alphaeus (see 3:18), not to be confused with James the son of Zebedee (1:16–20) or James the brother of Jesus (6:3). Levi is called Matthew in Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 9:9; compare Luke 5:27)” [2] (FSB).
“Sitting at the receipt of custom.”
This is where Matthew worked. The receipt of custom was where the Romans gathered various fees and taxes.
“Likely a booth for collecting transport tolls and customs duties. Galilee was subject to Roman administration in the time of Jesus. Tax collectors would have gathered revenues for Herod Antipas, the local representative of Roman rule in Galilee” [3] (FSB).
“Capernaum was a customs post on the caravan route from Damascus to the Mediterranean Sea” [4] (BKC).
“Situated as Capernaum was at the nucleus of roads which diverged to Tyre, Damascus, Jerusalem, and Sepphoris, it was a busy center of merchandise and a natural place for the collection of tribute and taxes” [5] (Cambridge Bible).
It was there in the crossroads where Matthew was stationed. He had money, but Matthew was a hated man!
“When a Jew entered the customs service, he was regarded as an outcast from society: he was disqualified as a judge or a witness in a court session, was excommunicated from the synagogue, and in the eyes of the community, his disgrace extended to his family” [6] (Lane).
And in this spot sat Matthew making his livelihood. It was here that Jesus met him and called him. Now that’s amazing grace!
“And said unto him, Follow me.”
As we read through the Gospels, it is interesting to see the various people to which Jesus related. Occasionally as in Matthew’s case, Jesus spent time with the rich, but most of the time, we see Jesus with the poor and needy of the world. Those were the ones who were sick in body and soul. Those were the people with needs so great that they couldn’t possibly help themselves. They needed Jesus!
Matthew may have had money and piles of stuff, but everyone knew him as a sinner.
“Tax collectors were usually greedy, dishonest, and immoral. Worse still, to a Jew, they were ceremonially unclean through mixing continually with non-Jewish people. Who but Jesus would call a man like this to be his follower?” [7] (NBC).
“Tax collectors are hated because they have absolute power to take money from people. The money they collect goes to maintain the Roman empire, with its armies, navies, magistrates, administrators, and roads. The Jews treat tax collectors as the scum of the earth. But not Jesus. He shocks religious people by mixing freely with tax collectors, like a doctor visiting the sick” [8] (TBG).
“Though he belonged to a class above all others hated and despised by the Jews, [three times] hated where, as in the present instance, the tax-gatherer was himself a Jew, yet the Lord did not hesitate to invite him to become one of the Twelve” [9] (Cambridge Bible).
“Christ called this publican to follow Him. With God, through Christ, there is mercy to pardon the greatest sins and grace to change the greatest sinners and make them holy. A faithful, fair-dealing publican was rare. And because the Jews had a particular hatred to an office which proved that they were subject to the Romans, they gave these tax-gatherers an ill name. But such as these our blessed Lord did not hesitate to converse with, when He appeared in the likeness of sinful flesh” [10] (Henry).
“Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt,
yonder on Calvary’s mount out-poured,
there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
grace, grace, God’s grace,
grace that is greater than all our sin.” [11]
Believers, can you relate to God’s great mercy and grace?
“And he arose and followed Him.”
“He arose and followed” shows us Matthew’s immediate response to God’s call in his life. There was no pause, no waiting, no seeking counsel, no reading the fine print, no long nights in prayer, just simple obedience on Matthew’s part. This was the same response of Peter and Andrew when Jesus called them.
“And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed Him” (Mark 1:17-18).
From this point on, Matthew’s life will be radically changed! Please come back tomorrow as we look at the cost of discipleship.
Quote: “‘Follow Me!’ is a call to obedience. It is no mere invitation but an imperative command. Those who heard the words of Jesus immediately left everything to follow Him. It was a costly decision for James and John because ‘they immediately left the boat and their father, and followed Him’…. Matthew left his lucrative tax business” [12] (Anon).
[1] HSB is the Harvest Study Bible from Harvest Ministries in Guam.
[2] FSB, Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Mk 2:13–17). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press. The emphasis is theirs.
[3] FSB, ibid.
[4] BCK, Grassmick, J. D. (1985). Mark. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 113). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[5] Cambridge Bible, the electronic Bible notes in eSword.
[6] Lane’s quote is found in EWC, the Enduring Word Commentary, the electronic version in eSword.
[7] NBC, Cole, R. A. (1994). Mark. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st-century edition (4th ed., p. 954). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.
[8] TBG, Knowles, A. (2001). The Bible guide (1st Augsburg books ed., p. 448). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg.
[9] Cambridge Bible, ibid.
[10] Henry, M., & Scott, T. (1997). Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary (Mk 2:13–18). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems.
[11] This is the first verse and chorus of “Marvelous Grace of Our Loving Lord,” Author: Julia H. Johnston (1911); Tune: MOODY (Towner). Copyright Status, Public Domain.
[12] This quote was downloaded: October 24, 2021. From: http://www.abideinchrist.com/selah/jun5.html.