People You Should Know: Jesus (July 19)

Read: Luke 5:27-32

Explore:

1. Read verse 27. Israel was operating under Roman rule. The powers that be in Rome hired Israelites to collect taxes from other Israelites and these taxes were forwarded to Rome. Each tax collector was required to collect a certain amount of taxes, and they were allowed to keep for themselves everything they collected over that amount. This promoted rampant dishonesty among tax collectors. They were notorious for collecting exorbitant amounts of taxes to promote their own prosperity and were typically very wealthy. Tax collectors abused their authority and used people. For these reasons, tax collectors were despised. They were considered to be the worst of sinners. Levi (Matthew) was a tax collector. Yet, Jesus chose and called him to be one of his disciples. Why do you suppose he did that?

2. Read verse 28. Note how Levi responded to Jesus’ call. He left everything to follow Jesus. In Levi’s case, that had to mean leaving behind a lucrative job.

3. Read verse 29. What does the phrase “guest of honor” mean? Lots of other tax collectors (sinners) came to Levi’s party. The party was certainly held to honor Jesus. What else do you think Levi was hoping to accomplish through this party?

4. Read verse 30. In addition to the tax collectors and other sinners who came to the party, Jesus’ disciples were there. A group of ultra religious people complained to Jesus’ disciples about the company they were keeping. Why do you suppose they didn’t complain directly to Jesus?

5. Read verse 31. Even though the complaint was registered to the disciples, Jesus chose to respond to the complaint. Read his response carefully. In your own words, what did Jesus say to these religious leaders?


Reflect:

6. Now that you have read these verses and explored them, what have you learned about Jesus? In particular, did you notice the difference between the religious leaders and Jesus? In your opinion, how is Jesus different from religion? In addition to the lessons you learned about Jesus, what practical lessons did you learn in this brief story?


Apply:

7. In light of what you’ve learned, what step or steps of action do you feel you need to take?