On Line Bible Study - for the Week April 12-18, 2010
Lesson 435
Luke 5: 27After 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, 28and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. 29Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30But 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'?" 31Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
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The story of the call of Matthew is told by the three synoptic authors - here in Luke, and also in Mark 2:13-17 and Matthew 9:9-13. As scholar Darrell Bock points out, Luke's telling has two distinct components to it - Levi leaves everything, and the emphasis on repentance. Another interesting note - only Luke tells us this meal at Levi's home is a "banquet for Jesus". In the other two gospels, the setting is presented more simply, telling us Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house.
One might be tempted to see in this story Jesus taking sides - for the sinner and against the teachers of the law and Pharisees. I'm not sure that is what is intended. Rather, repentance and discipleship are the project for all of us. It's less a question of sides and more a matter of inclusion. Whereas the Pharisees seem more focused on who has, Jesus focuses on who needs - and in that way of looking at life, everyone is in the same boat. Perhaps that is the mistake the Pharisees and teachers of the law are making - a sin of wrong emphasis rather than a sin of commission.
Another way to look at it: the people seated at the table are not wrong for having the food in front of them; their sin lies in their blindness toward the needs of the hungry begging on their doorstep. Jesus does not disagree with the Pharisees' assessment of Levi - he was a sinner. The Pharisees think of Levi as being wrong; Jesus sees him as in greater need of what the Pharisees already claim to have.
One more point of interest, present in each of the three versions of this story: The Pharisees do not directly confront Jesus. Rather, they speak to his disciples and ask: "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" (Mark and Matthew read: Why does he eat .... and Why does your teacher eat ... respectively.) Some scholars believe this story was originally aimed at or told about the disciples of Jesus.
Jesus overhears the question and responds directly. But the question is not put to him initially. This makes me think of how easy it is to focus on the behavior of believers rather than the teachings of the master! When the emphasis shifts from following Jesus to justifying ourselves the message is lost. And the fact is this: there is no meal ever served absent sinners at the table. The mission of Jesus (and therefore, the ministry of the church) is all-inclusive. Everyone is welcome because everyone is hungry.
m
The passages from the previous two studies dealt with a man sick with leprosy and a paralyzed man whose sins Jesus forgave. They deal with physical ailments. The passage under consideration today deals with sin. Jesus has come not only to heal the sick but to call sinners to repentance. Perhaps what is troubling to religious rulers of Jesus' day is the fact that not only does he bring sinners into his inner circle of acquaintances; he deputizes them.
The story of the call of Matthew is told by the three synoptic authors - here in Luke, and also in Mark 2:13-17 and Matthew 9:9-13. As scholar Darrell Bock points out, Luke's telling has two distinct components to it - Levi leaves everything, and the emphasis on repentance. Another interesting note - only Luke tells us this meal at Levi's home is a "banquet for Jesus". In the other two gospels, the setting is presented more simply, telling us Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house.
One might be tempted to see in this story Jesus taking sides - for the sinner and against the teachers of the law and Pharisees. I'm not sure that is what is intended. Rather, repentance and discipleship are the project for all of us. It's less a question of sides and more a matter of inclusion. Whereas the Pharisees seem more focused on who has, Jesus focuses on who needs - and in that way of looking at life, everyone is in the same boat. Perhaps that is the mistake the Pharisees and teachers of the law are making - a sin of wrong emphasis rather than a sin of commission.
Another way to look at it: the people seated at the table are not wrong for having the food in front of them; their sin lies in their blindness toward the needs of the hungry begging on their doorstep. Jesus does not disagree with the Pharisees' assessment of Levi - he was a sinner. The Pharisees think of Levi as being wrong; Jesus sees him as in greater need of what the Pharisees already claim to have.
One more point of interest, present in each of the three versions of this story: The Pharisees do not directly confront Jesus. Rather, they speak to his disciples and ask: "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" (Mark and Matthew read: Why does he eat .... and Why does your teacher eat ... respectively.) Some scholars believe this story was originally aimed at or told about the disciples of Jesus.
Jesus overhears the question and responds directly. But the question is not put to him initially. This makes me think of how easy it is to focus on the behavior of believers rather than the teachings of the master! When the emphasis shifts from following Jesus to justifying ourselves the message is lost. And the fact is this: there is no meal ever served absent sinners at the table. The mission of Jesus (and therefore, the ministry of the church) is all-inclusive. Everyone is welcome because everyone is hungry.
posted by Mark D at 3:28 AM
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