Luke 5:27-32

In the gospel of Luke, Jesus notices a tax collector called Levi sitting at the tax office and says to him, "Follow me." And, leaving everything, Levi gets up and follows him.

The gospels of Mark and Matthew each relate this story. In the gospel of Mark, Jesus calls Levi, who is described as the son of Alphaeus. The gospels of Luke and Matthew omit the reference to Levi's father, and the gospel of Matthew refers to the new disciple as Matthew, using his Greek name rather than his Hebrew name.

We tend to read the story as evidence of the power of Jesus to elicit an immediate response of faith, but undoubtedly the story was remarkable in the first century because Jesus called a tax collector be his disciple. For tax collectors were hated by the Jews because they collected onerous taxes for the Romans. By calling a tax collector to be a disciple, the story indicates that the church is open to all those who repent and have faith in the good news.

Grace and peace...Bob