In Jesus' time, tax collectors were societal pariahs, viewed as betrayers who enriched themselves at the expense of their fellow Jews. They were considered as much enemies as the Roman occupiers. Jesus' choice to share a meal with Levi, a tax collector, was a scandalous act. It wasn't a casual invitation; Jesus actively sought Levi, driven by a divine purpose. He desired to convey to this ostracized individual—this perceived adversary—that God extends an invitation to belonging and healing. Jesus welcomed an outsider into fellowship. How does this challenge our perceptions and actions toward ourselves and others?
27 Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. 28 So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.
29 Later, Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi’s fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them. 30 But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?”
31 Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. 32 I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”