Jesus from house to house (3) In Capernaum, at Levi

"After this, Jesus went out and saw a publican named Levi sitting at the tax office; He said to him, "Follow me." Leaving everything, he rose and began to follow. Levi made him a great feast in his house; And there was a great crowd of publicans and other people who were with them at table. "Luke 5: 27-29

When Jesus calls his disciples, their answer is immediate. They leave their professional occupations, follow him without delay and put themselves at his service.

Levi, a Jew by birth, also called Matthew, is a publican, that is to say, a collector of taxes for Rome. He and his colleagues are detested by their compatriots who accuse them of collaborating with the occupier and enriching themselves at their expense.

Levi leaves everything to follow Jesus, but he does not turn his back on his friends and colleagues - those sinners whom the Lord had come to call for repentance (Luke 5:31, 32). On the contrary, Levi invites them to meet Jesus at one of a large reception that he organizes in his house.

The Pharisees, always on the lookout for the acts and gestures of Jesus, would never have set foot in the midst of such a company for fear of defiling themselves with "publicans and sinners." They watch the scene from outside and attack the disciples, probably at the end of the feast : "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" (V. 30). Jesus hears their conversation and says to them: "It is not the healthy people who need a doctor, but those who are ill. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance "(v. 31, 32). It was to justify Levi: he had invited only those whom the Lord wished to see !

Before meeting Jesus, Levi had money for his master ; Now he shares his joy with others around his new Master. At the very touch of Jesus, his selfishness has been transformed into generosity, his contempt for laws into obedience : these are the signs of a true conversion, a new life ! This great feast prepared for Jesus was for the new disciple a way of honoring the one who had called him, to confess Christ publicly, and to make the Savior known to his colleagues.

The example remains for us today ! No need for a sumptuous meal to receive the world, just open the heart and the door !

Source (Please the Lord)