It is fair to say that Levi, or Matthew, was not a man of good character. He had accepted the office of tax-collector for the Romans. And being a Jew this did not go over too well. The Jews did not take too fondly to an office that put them in subject to the Romans. Therefore, they gave these tax-gatherers a bad name. They had a certain hatred for them.
But when Jesus went out looking for disciples to come and follow him, one of the first places he went was to this tax collecting booth and simply said to Levi (Matthew)”follow me.” Levi, who was rejected by so many because of his occupation, was in disbelief that Jesus had sought him out and selected him on purpose. Luke writes that “he left all, rose up, and followed him. “
Jesus was used to hanging out with people who were down-trodden. First a leper, then a paralytic, and now a tax collector! If Jesus were running for public office he ought to be more careful about the company he is keeping. But Jesus has a higher mission than popularity: “to preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind” (Luke 4:18), and the needy aren’t always clean or respectable.
So Levi replies to Jesus’ invitation by issuing an invitation of his own. He asks Jesus to be a guest at his house. Jesus accepts. And so Levi hurries off to make preparations for a great feast, Greek doche, “reception, banquet.” This is no intimate dinner party for a few guests. Luke describes it with the word megas, “great.” Matthew had a large house because he was a wealthy man and so he invites “a large crowd of tax collectors and others.”
Now if you and I were there, we might have sat awkwardly in the presence of these fun-loving social outcasts. We wouldn’t be comfortable in the least! These are out and out thieves, unbelievers, open sinners, social pariahs. No, we wouldn’t be comfortable at all. We would wait until a reasonable hour, make our excuses, and leave with a sigh of relief. Driving home we would think to ourselves, “What is Jesus thinking?”
But Jesus is comfortable. He is there enjoying the occasion, getting acquainted with people who have been afraid to approach him before, now delighted in his presence. He is eating heartily of Levi’s extravagant food, drinking of Levi’s first-rate wines, and thoroughly enjoying himself. The joy He emits lights up this party of outcasts into an occasion that they will remember to their dying day. The afternoon when Jesus the Messiah ate dinner at the same table, shook their hand, put his arm on their shoulder, and embraced them in warmth and friendship. They will never forget, nor will Levi.
There are many times in Scripture where we find Jesus hanging around the less fortunate. Why? Because He knew his purpose: “to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10) We are to do the same. It doesn’t matter if they are a banker or a beggar. If they are a doctor or if they have a disease. If they are rich or if they are poor. If you can’t stand the smell of sheep then you shouldn’t be a shepherd. We are not to pick and choose which people we want to teach a bible study to because of the way they are dressed or the car they drive up in. Someone once told me that they didn’t want to bring a particular person to church because their car always smelled like cigarettes and alcohol when they got out. If as true Christians we don’t stink every now and then, it is because we aren’t doing our job. If Jesus, God manifested in the flesh, could rub shoulders with publicans and sinners, it should never be beneath us to do the same. He was the” Good Shepherd. ” (John 10:11) And a true shepherd smells like sheep.
