Sinners Wanted

Took another break or should I say have another break. Or maybe I am broken. Anyway I reinjured my hand a week and a half ago. I was playing 1 on 1 basketball with my son in the driveway. I realized I was way out of my league even though he was going easy on me.  Well during a ungraceful (I was wearing motorcycle boots) cut to the basket I ran smack into Ben and went flying down on the driveway landing right on my right hand again.  By the time  I got home it had swollen up as big as an orange.  The doctor wasn't sure but I might have a hairline fracture.  So back to wearing a splint for 3 weeks.

So lets pick up where we left off in Luke chapter 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."

Well the Pharisees and teachers of the Law are still with us.   Waiting and watching every move that Jesus makes.  But now we are going to meet a new character Levi the tax collector.  Maybe when you think of a tax collector you think of an IRS agent.  You might think its bad enough someone poking into your finances to be sure that you are paying your taxes according to the law.  However a tax collector during Jesus time represented something worse.

•  They were hired under contract to deliver a certian amount of money by direct collection or levies.
• They were Jews who worked for the Roman government
• Their independence allowed them to abuse and collect more tax for their own use through extortion and physical coersion.  Some control of excess reported to the Roman's could lead to persecution, but if the tax collector kept it small scale thier abuses were tolerated.
• Tax collectors worked on the Sabbath
• Considered unclean by associating with gentiles (non-jews)

The Romans were an occupying force that the Jews resented.  To be a Jew and work for the Romans would have been viewed a traitorous by those who belief was orthodox or nationalist.  The Romans believed in Roman gods and Ceaser as a god.  So not only would a tax collector be considered a national traitor but a religious traitor.  The Romans used local people from the district as tax collectors because they would know the people and not be deceived.

So it should come as no surprise to have the comment equating tax collectors and sinners.

So the question asked not directly to Jesus but to His disciples.  At this point the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law are cautious about confronting Jesus directly.  As you remember from the last story they were caught muttering amoung themselves.

The religious leaders wanted to have a holy club where only those who were rightous would hang out.  They believed that God would like them for thier good work, thier holy practices and the group they hung around with.  But Jesus has come for the sinners.  He is looking for sinners.  He walked right up to Levi's tax collecting table and said follow me.  Jesus has come to a party where sinners are hanging out to bring them too repentence.

In a sense though he is also poking at the illusion of the religious leaders.  He says has not come for the rightous.  But we know thier are none rightous by thier own works.  So the Pharisees are in a sense being made fun of.  They would have viewed themselves as rightous and deserving of the utmost respect from anyone sent by God.  Jesus leaves them to consider the paradox of thier view.  If they are rightous why is thier compassion for others absent.  Jesus is saying sinners need help.  The Pharisees think the rightous are to avoid sinners.

In reality thier we are all sinners.  The dividing line is not between the rightous and sinners.  But between those who know they are sinners and need the forgiveness of God.  And those who believe they are not sinners, but are rightous in thier own eyes.

If you are really searching for a savior then in order to find Him you need to recognize that you are a sinner and cannot obtain rightousness on your own.  Only through faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who died on the Cross can we be transformed from our old self to a new person.