11.11.07
Christ’s Authority Over Men (Matt. 9:9-13; Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27-32)
Christ’s Authority Over Men (Matt. 9:9-13; Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27-32)
The positive response of Levi to Christ’s call to ‘follow me’ is outstanding evidence of Christ’s authority. But first, let’s look at Levi’s job. Taxation!
Guess what – the systematic and direct taxation of the country to Rome was the subject of hatred and strife between the rulers and the ruled – not much has changed. The roman system was a bit different; they had a poll and a land tax. Their income tax was at one percent; all private property was subject to the land tax. It amounted to a tenth of all grain and a fifth of all wine and fruit. All these taxes were handled by the publicans (derived from the Latin word ‘publicanus’ – a man who did public duty) – these folks bought the ‘rights’ of collecting taxes for a period of 5 years from the censors at Rome. These publicans also could balance needs on behalf of the empire as needed (if grain were short in Italy, an additional tax could be levied to get grain where it was available).
Then there were the customs and excise duties – you know, tolls on bridges and roads, gates to towns, etc. This was additional taxation, and those that levied it often had some personal needs and piled on. You had no voice in the matter, you just paid and paid. And there was no remedy. These publicans were mostly capitalists of the empire and formed companies to take up the larger contracts, and like many companies they were more concerned about their dividends than with the means of obtaining them. Complaints could be laid before an official, who may be one of the ones that wanted to farm the same taxes at a future time, or may have been a partner in the company that farmed the taxes at that time! Now, lay on top of that the requirements of the law for Jews (temple tax, offerings, etc.) and you get an idea of the repressiveness of the taxes that faced every Jew.
Levi was a custom-house official. There is a distinction as noted in the Talmud. The regular taxes, real estate, income, poll tax was done by the Gabbai. These were well known and regularly collected taxes. The Mockhes (custom-house official) did all the rest – duty taxes, exports, tolls, town taxes, and all others. The word Mockhes was associated with the idea of oppression and injustice. In Judea, taxes were levied by publicans who were Jews. They were hated because they were like direct officials to the heathen Roman power.
What was Levi? A little Mockhes. A Jew hated by his own for working for ‘the man in Rome’. According to Rabbinism there was no hope for a man like Levi. He was excluded from all religious fellowship. His money was considered tainted and defiled anyone who accepted it. He could not serve as a witness. The Rabbis had no word of help for the publican, because they expected him by external conformity to the law to be justified before God.
What does Christ do with a man such as Levi? He said ‘Follow me.’ Rome expected much from Levi, and he had to pull in lots of $$ to support ‘the man’ and himself. There was great risk here – and Levi took it. He was obedient. He left everything and followed Christ.
What Levi did next was amazing. He identified with Christ publicly by holding a great banquet in Jesus’ honor at his house. The righteous Jews of the community would NOT have responded to the invitation of a tax collector, so the banquet was filled with fellow tax collectors and others who fell into the category of sinners – outcasts of Jewish society. But Jesus showed up. He didn’t shun this crowd. And because of this, the Pharisees and teachers of the law found fault. And they asked the disciples – what’s up with that?
If Jesus was who He claimed to be, He would be hanging out with the Pharisees and teachers of the law, not this bunch! He would certainly know better than to make this faux pas. Even though this was addressed to the disciples, Jesus answers. He had not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
By righteous, He didn’t mean those who were righteous in God’s sight, rather those who were righteous in their own eyes. Jesus ministered to those who acknowledged they were sinners. They knew it!
So, Jesus didn’t come to minister to the self-righteous. His message was to folks who acknowledged their need and turned – in faith – to Him to meet their needs. Jesus had drawn a line in the sand for these people. The sinners who followed Him were made righteous, while the self-righteous who rejected Him remained sinners.
Where do we fall on this scale? Do we make it a point to not be around the ‘unclean’ in our society? Neighborhood? Church? I’m reminded of a recent visit to the soup kitchen. Since I had not been there before, I parked and went right to the front door – you know, where the homeless and needy were waiting for the doors to open so they could eat. No one from the church or our church was at that door, except me. These folks told me the time the doors opened. While out there, I spoke with these folks, and they spoke with me. I knocked, and someone inside let me in. They seemed surprised I was there and told me I should have come in the back door so I wouldn’t need to go through these folks again. I got their point…and the next time I go I’ll be at the front door again. Seems to me that is where ministry takes place as well. Aren’t these our ‘sinners’ – and they are just a portion of them. What about church? We don’t ‘hang’ with the youth, or perhaps the old folks. Or maybe our neighbors. They drink, don’t go to church, smoke, are a different color, whatever.
We need to get over a lot of this stuff. We wonder why we don’t make an impact for Jesus. Where are you hanging out at? Are you being a positive influence for Christ wherever that may be?
