Once again he went out along the sea. All the crowd came to him and he taught them. 14 As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. 15 While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him. 16 Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 Jesus heard this and said to them [that], “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
Jesus was again walking along the shore of the sea of Galilee when he summoned Levi in the same manner he summoned the first four disciples (Mk. 1:16-20). Levi’s response was also immediate (v. 14). Levi was called Matthew in Matthew’s Gospel (Mt. 9:9). He was a tax/toll collector working for Herod Antipas, King of Judea, the son of Herod the Great. Herod Antipas was under the Roman authority and was married to Herodias (Mt. 14:3-5). Tax collectors were thought of as being dishonest with respect to collecting taxes (Lk. 19:8) and being disloyal to the Jews.
Anyone whose occupation or lifestyle prevented him from fully observing the Jewish Law was considered a sinner. It was scandalous for Jesus to be eating with them (v. 16). The Pharisees belonged to a religious sect and strictly observed the Law. The Scribes were scholars of the Law and could charge for preparing legal documents. A Scribe could also be a Pharisee. One can ask why were the pious Pharisees at Levi’s house? Jesus came to call everyone to repentance (Mk. 1:15) and Jesus showed by his deeds that he has the power to forgive sins (Mk. 2:5-12). Jesus came not only to heal people from physical illnesses but also to heal people from sin. The self-righteous Pharisees did not think they needed to repent but Jesus made himself available to those who accepted him and his call to repentance.
Almighty God, you sent your beloved Son to call sinners to repentance of which we are the foremost. We plead for your mercy as we kneel before you with humble and contrite hearts in the hope that when we are called to account for our lives, you will welcome us home as good and faithful servants. This we pray through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Expanded Edition, Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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