“And after these things He went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and He said unto him, ‘Follow me.’ And he left all, rose up, and followed Him.” (Luke 5:27-28)
Jesus not only sees where we are, who we are, as we are, and what we are, He calls us to Himself to follow Him.
Levi, known to us as Matthew, who wrote the gospel bearing his name, was a tax collector. He collected taxes from the Jews for the Roman government. He was considered by the Jews to be a traitor, a sinner of the worst kind. He was sitting at his place of occupation, waiting for the receipts to come in. He was allowed by the Romans to keep anything he could collect over and above the government’s demands as long they got theirs. That is who he was and that is where Jesus saw him. Most people despised and shunned him. But Jesus said, “Follow me.”
Levi made no excuses such as, “I can’t afford to leave my lucrative income; I’m too sinful and despised; Allow me think it over; Let me see what the Roman government might think.”
The text says he did three things. First, he left all. Second, he rose up. And third, he followed Jesus. All three happened immediately and not in succession. God honors that kind of response to His call.
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