First Presbyterian Church                                     Rev. Mike Imperiale

Salt Lake City, Utah                                          March 6, 2005

"Jesus Eats with Sinners"

LENT - THE LIFE OF JESUS

Luke 5:27-32

Introduction

“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” And the Bible is clear about this. “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (that’s Romans 3:23). We’ve compiled a long and sorry record as sinners and each one of us has proved that we are utterly incapable of living the gracious lives that God wills for us.

Levi was just such a man. A more unlikely candidate for the office of apostle could not be found. He was a Jewish man who had cuddled up to the Roman authorities taking on the job of collecting taxes, probably dealing in bribes and extortion as well. Barred from the synagogue for this disgrace, tax collectors were seen as the worst of sinners along with thieves and murderers. Yet when Jesus called Levi, we see the gospel in action. Jesus has the power to see in us not only what we are (sinners deserving the wrath of God) but also what we could be (redeemed children of God). Jesus knows you and me perfectly well and still calls us into a saving, transforming relationship. 

I. Lost then Found, Rejected then Accepted (vs. 27-29)

“Jesus saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth.” Boos and hisses should rise up from the crowd. Levi was employed by the Romans to exact a variety of taxes on the people. A tenth of grain, a fifth of fruit or vine, income tax, 2% import/export tax, tax on pack animals, even the number of wheels and axles on their carts, market place, travel, roads: there were many, many taxes (not much has changed half way around the world and 20 centuries later! No doubt Levi was one of those customs officers who taxed all goods and commodities as they entered and left his territory. He was permitted, contracted to collect as much as he could, make the prescribed payment to the Roman officials and keep the rest for himself. Needless to say, the Roman tax system was opened to all kinds of abuses.

Then Jesus comes along. “Follow me!” Jesus said to him. In response to Jesus and his message, Levi “got up, left everything and followed him. Then he held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.”

Levi responded to Jesus as the Lord would want each of us to do – he followed his Lord immediately and then called his friends together to meet him. In following Jesus, Levi becomes Matthew, a new life, a new name. Yes, he lost a comfortable, lucrative job but found an eternal destiny. He left the tax books and ill-gotten gain behind him. But I am glad he brought his pen with him. Matthew wrote down, recorded, collected so much of Jesus’ life and teachings. Just think of the countless number of people who have read and been blessed by the Gospel account that bears his name, the New Testament biography of Jesus, the book of Matthew. When Levi left the tax collector’s booth that day he gave up much in the material sense, but Matthew became heir to a spiritual fortune.

When did Jesus first call you? Perhaps he is calling you to follow him today. What did you know to leave behind to follow him? Each one of us here this morning probably has something to let go of, something that keeps us from following the Lord. What talents and gifts did you bring with you into your faith in Christ? God wants to use you and your experiences and abilities to share his love and compassion with others. Jesus offers the Good News of God’s grace, forgiveness, and life in Christ to continue to change you and give you a new name.

II. Resentment Grows (vs. 30-32)

“But the Pharisees and teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’

O how Pharisees wrap their sin in respectability! If doing good deeds in public allows pointing at the sins of others, Jesus will have no part in it. The Savior-Messiah does not spend time with the proud and self-righteous. He spends time with people who sense their own sinful ways and who know they are not good enough for God. Jesus calls everyone to repent, to renounce sin and to recognize it for what it is. But not everyone is willing or open to do that.

Grandma Lillian was telling her two grandsons a bedtime Bible story. Then she asked them if they knew what the word sin meant. Seven-year-old Keith spoke up: “It’s when you do something bad.” Four-year-old Aaron’s eyes widened. “I know a big sin that Keith did today.” Pharisee-ism starts at a very young age. Quite incensed and annoyed, Keith turned to his little brother: “You take care of your sins and I’ll take care of mine.”

In essence, Jesus says, “What’s the matter with you people? Why wouldn’t you delight in seeing a sinner forgiven, a sick person healed, a wounded one made whole? Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I have come to invite outsiders, not insiders – an invitation to a changed life, changed inside and out. You take care of your sins and I’ll take care of theirs.”

Conclusion

So here we are this morning, sinners in need of God’s forgiveness, the sick needing a doctor to prescribe healing medicine. Do you recognize the Pharisee in you? When proud and self-righteous, will you let Jesus challenge and change you, put you in your place?

Do you recognize the Levi Matthew in you? One who has sinned deeply yet wants to receive God’s grace and new life in Christ? As we come to the Table of the Lord this morning, there are only two qualifications to the invitation: 1) that I recognize, admit and confess that I am a sinner in need of forgiveness, and 2) that I want to know and follow Jesus as my Savior, the one who died in my place for the forgiveness of my sins; to know and follow Jesus as my Lord, the one I wish to learn from and grow in faith, grace and life.

“What is he doing eating with crooks and sinners?” they complained. Jesus comes to share a meal. Jesus comes to offer forgiveness. Jesus comes to usher in new life in God’s grace.

“This is my body broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. This cup is the new covenant in my blood, poured out for you.” Let us come to the Table of the Lord.