By The Rev. Dr. Paul A. Leggett
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Sermon Text: Luke 5:27-32
Sermon Theme
Jesus does not call the righteous. He does not call those who are spiritual, successful or important. He calls people that others reject. Levi, as a tax collector, belonged to a profession that most Jews despised because tax collectors were collaborators with Rome and generally dishonest. Levi, however, responds to Jesus’ call. He invites Jesus to a great banquet with other rejected people, tax collectors and sinners. The Pharisees complain. They don’t understand. Jesus calls the rejected, redeems them and sends them out rejoicing. Jesus calls us.
Sermon Outline
I. Rejected
Levi knew what it was to be rejected. He had a well paying, secure occupation but it came with a high price. Levi was no doubt looked down upon and rejected by most in Israel. As a tax collector, he was seen as a collaborator with the hated Roman occupation. Further, most tax collectors charged more than the required tax and pocketed the difference. Tax collectors were often linked with another rejected group, prostitutes, often referred to simply as “sinners.” Rejection can lead deep scars. Whatever achievements one has in life can easily be minimized by the pain of rejection. The ultimate rejection however comes from God (Romans 1:18; Ps. 7:11). Levi had probably experienced rejection in multiple ways throughout his life. All this changed when Jesus came to him and called him.
II. Redeem
Jesus doesn’t simply call Levi into an act of service. He redeems him as he redeems all who respond to him in faith. To redeem literally means to buy back, to restore. We all belong to God but the power of sin and death removes us from him (Isaiah 59:2). Jesus comes to redeem us to God (Galatians 4:4-5; Titus 2:14). Jesus has actually gone to the extreme of becoming sin for us so that, in him, we might become the righteousness of God (II Corinthians 5:21). This is one of the most incredible statements in all of scripture. In Christ we are free from the power of sin, death and Satan (Hebrews 2:14-15; Galatians 1:4; I Peter 2:24-25). Levi has been set free from the power and pain of rejection. However, he still understands the feeling of rejection. He invites his friends, also the victims of rejection, to experience the same redemption he has found in Christ (Ephesians 1:7).
III. Rejoice
Levi’s great banquet is an expression of the joy he has found in Christ. The Pharisees and the scribes have no such joy. They are depending on their own limited view of righteousness (Philippians 3:8-9). They criticize Jesus for eating and drinking with those they would call losers, tax collectors and “sinners.” Yet their criticism cannot negate the joyful celebration that is taking place. Jesus makes it clear that he has not come to call the so-called righteous but rather sinners to repentance. The fact is that those who have been redeemed by Christ have a far greater sense of true righteousness than those who have fallen into the delusion of self confidence. It is for this reason that Jesus tells the religious leaders that the tax collectors and prostitutes are going into heaven ahead of them (Matthew 21:31-32). Today we are ordaining and installing church officers. Who can serve in such a capacity? This is not a calling for the righteous but rather for the needy, for the rejected. Only those who know their sin can qualify. Only those who have been redeemed by Christ can serve. Only those who, like Levi’s friends, are willing to come joyfully to the great banquet to be with Jesus are prepared. This banquet is for all of us, all who have been rejected and are redeemed by Christ (Galatians 3:13-14). In Christ we are empowered to celebrate and to serve, rejoicing in him!
Questions for Us
- Why do you think the pain of rejection is so great? How does rejection prepare us to receive the grace of God?
- If being redeemed in Christ means being set free how should that be evident in our personal lives?
- It is not only ruling elders and deacons who are being called into service today. All of us are called. How have we experienced the joy of Christ’s call?
