I must admit that some of the best (and most expensive) meals I have ever eaten were of the tax deductible kind. Today along with Jesus, we will meet someone who routinely picked up the tab at the expense of the tax-payers. His name was Levi.Levi was literate and an educated writer and scribe. Scholars believe that Levi developed a system of shorthand that actually allowed him to take notes with exacting detail. He was most likely fluent in both Greek and Aramaic. Greek was the official language while Aramaic was the local dialect. He resided in Capernaum located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. This was a large region that was heavily populated. Many people lived and worked around the lake. It had numerous fisheries and lots of surface traffic because it was a major trade route through the region. The Romans set up a customhouse in the region and Levi was one the tax collectors or publicans. This was considered a lucrative and powerful position as those in this position were supported by the strength of the Roman Empire.
Levi had a very profitable job and was probably considered wealthy. He probably acquired great wealth and was not lacking in worldly needs. He was even able to provide (at the expense of the tax payers) lavish feasts to entertain guests. Though he was despised by most of his fellow countrymen, but it wouldn’t have stopped him from trying to buy some friends. He probably had other friends that were tax collectors and also quite wealthy. No harm in inviting them to my feasts – they will certainly return the favor! Levi would have also entertained officials from Rome who would have merely acknowledged his presence while benefiting from all the free food and drinks.
Tax Collectors were generally despised by their fellow Jews. Publicans were not allowed to testify in court, and they could not tithe their money to the temple as it was considered ill-gotten gains. Additionally a Jewish tax collector was not allowed in the temple to sacrifice and as a result was also considered unclean; therefore, any good Jew would not even associate with a tax collector in private life. No one liked the tax collectors. This position allowed one to truly be miserably rich. The only friends you had were the ones you bought. No one really liked you - not the Jews - not the Roman citizens.
Let’s meet this man, Levi, as Jesus meets with him at the table:
After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Luke 5:27-32 NIV
Notice that after Levi responded to Christ’s invitation to come follow Him, his first action was to prepare a great feast and invite his friends to hear the words of Jesus. Levi felt called to share his faith with others. You may have felt Christ’s call to follow Him, but have you also felt God’s call to share your faith? Levi wanted his friends to know about Jesus. He wanted them to experience the same deliverance and joy he had found.
Apparently Levi was very popular as are most people who pick up the tab for the party. It says that there was a large company of people including many tax collectors and sinners that attended the feast. This was not your normal party either. No formal invitations just a spontaneous gathering. Levi’s having another feast! Let’s go! This party is the last he will host so empty the fridge! Empty the cupboards!
The rest of this story is revealed in the life of the man we know as Matthew. Levi and Matthew are one in the same. When Matthew chooses to follow Jesus, there is no going back. His job is gone. His past life is over. People would be lined up to replace him. Someone would work for less. With Matthew gone, they could cut expenses and increase profits. Even if he wanted to return, there was no reason to negotiate a new contract with this guy. And don’t forget, no one wants to employ an out of work tax collector.
Have you heard the call of Jesus in your life? There are many things that call to us. A telephone call beckons us; doorbells solicit us; even babies cry for our attention. The alarm clock calls us to begin a new day; the boss calls us to his office; a customer calls with an order; an e-mail summons us with a question. We are called to visit our relatives, to share a dinner with our friends, and to visit our children’s school. Some of us even feel those calls that can’t be refused – the call to go fishing or skiing, to go to the ballpark, to the golf course, to the beach. How many of us take time to hear the spiritual call that God sends us? For most of us we are just too busy to hear the call.
I want you to remember that it was Christ who called Levi and this same Christ is calling you. Did you notice in the story that Levi didn’t stop being a tax collector? He was just as he had always been when Jesus called to him. Too often we are left believing that we need to become something else in order to answer the call to follow Jesus.
Hernando Cortez, the Spanish Conquistador, that was made famous for leading the military expedition that initiated the Spanish Conquest of Mexico in 1519. Upon arriving with 9 ships filled with men and supplies, he gave the legendary command to “burn the ships” as a reminder that going back was not an option.
In your faith, do you hold back? Are you afraid of stepping into God’s plan for your life?
Fear strangles many dreams. Fear sidelines many leaders. I admire the commitment to succeed where failure is not an option. Truth is for most of us we don’t know how to succeed. We live life with a constant fall back plan in place. We live Plan A while making plans for Plan B. We never sell out. Too many times we want to take a leap of faith but we refuse to step off the ledge. In our lives of faith, you can’t live like that. Don’t fear failure! Fear missed opportunities! Fear never risking, never trying, never living! So you might not succeed. At least you’ll go out marching in the right direction. Go for it! Burn the Ships!
Sadly today, many refuse to commit themselves to anyone or anything, and more and more people are proving unfaithful to promises they have already made. Unwilling to “burn their ships”, many enter into agreements without any real commitment, always making sure to leave the door open so they can return to their former way of life should the going get tough or something better or more attractive comes along. What ships do you need to burn?
It’s amazing what can happen when people commit themselves such that they are willing to “burn the ships.” The heroes in the Bible—Abraham, Noah, Moses, Ruth, Joshua and Caleb, Daniel, Stephen and Matthew must have looked pretty extreme - even crazy - in their actions. They live committed, sold out, no turning back, faith-filled lives.
The common thread for them is that they didn’t retreat when things got hard. They didn’t back down from their commitment to God when it looked the most hopeless. In fact, I think that is a defining quality of commitment. Commitment means you don’t give up when it gets hard. You don’t retreat. You never give up! When life gets hard, you look to God for the strength and hang on for dear life. While others move toward the exit ramp the committed look to God for the strength to move ahead.
God still roams the planet looking for those who are willingly to commit themselves to His cause. We aren’t committed because we go to church or because we know what the Bible says. We are committed when we answer the call to love unconditionally, to pray continually, to serve unconditionally, to give sacrificially, to share generously, to forgive when wronged, to stand up for what is right, and to run hard after Jesus—no matter what the cost.
Those who are looking for guarantees, blessings or promises of a positive outcome will not hang on when things get hard. They’re too committed to their own comfort or agendas. God is looking for those whose hearts are fully committed to Him and His agenda—those who are willing to risk it all and stand firm, despite the circumstances. God is still seeking those who will follow Him in their personal and business lives and those who will follow Him into full time ministry and missions.
I don’t know what the call to commitment looks like for you. Have you decided to follow Jesus? Have you burned the ships? Perhaps God is calling you to make a commitment to full time ministry or mission work? Perhaps God is calling you to make a public commitment to following Him?
John Wesley once said, “Give me one hundred people to share the Good News who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on earth.”
Throughout history, entire communities, nations and generations have been impacted by those whose hearts were fully committed to God.
But what about our day? Is it you? Is today the day?
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