1 00:00:06,550 --> 00:00:08,900 The little We are so thankful this morning that we can gather 2 00:00:08,910 --> 00:00:12,620 together and your name. We praise you, Lord, for all the 3 00:00:12,630 --> 00:00:15,540 things that Christ has done for us that bring us together this 4 00:00:15,550 --> 00:00:18,190 morning. Pray for injury this morning as 5 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:20,790 he brings the word to us. I pray that you would help us to 6 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:23,810 have ears to hear this morning. Thank you for all the work that 7 00:00:23,820 --> 00:00:26,110 he's put into the message and, and just really pray that you 8 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:30,170 bless him as he shares with us. We prayed for our Sunday school 9 00:00:30,180 --> 00:00:32,630 teachers as they share with the kids as well. 10 00:00:32,700 --> 00:00:36,030 And we'll pray for all the kids too, that they may grow up 11 00:00:36,260 --> 00:00:38,820 understanding your word and growing in a personal 12 00:00:38,830 --> 00:00:41,920 relationship with you. Lord, we thank you all again. 13 00:00:41,930 --> 00:00:44,220 We praise you for this time. Pray for injury. 14 00:00:44,330 --> 00:00:47,190 Pray for your word that your Holy Spirit may go forward this 15 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:50,190 morning, may teach us what we need to know for our lives, what 16 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:52,920 we pray. Thank you Lord, in Jesus name, 17 00:00:53,030 --> 00:00:55,710 Amen. Thank you, Lee. 18 00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:58,540 Thank you, music team and welcome everyone again, 19 00:00:58,550 --> 00:01:02,520 everyone, especially if you're visiting for the first time. 20 00:01:02,970 --> 00:01:06,640 And today we are continuing in the Luke series and we're going 21 00:01:06,650 --> 00:01:10,940 to read about the call of a disciple called Levi. 22 00:01:11,810 --> 00:01:17,560 Just before we read that together, high up in the hills 23 00:01:17,970 --> 00:01:22,150 in the South of India, I went to a boarding school for about 8 24 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:32,730 years and every every week a sports team would be picked and 25 00:01:32,780 --> 00:01:35,420 I remember the process very well. 26 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:42,940 You're in a group of kids and there is a competition going on 27 00:01:42,950 --> 00:01:47,540 to get chosen and the sports team process was generally like 28 00:01:47,550 --> 00:01:51,530 this, OK, we're going to 1212120 K right once there Tuesday. 29 00:01:51,540 --> 00:01:54,830 That does not work. That always worked against me 30 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:58,880 and then occasionally the teacher would say alright, it's 31 00:01:58,890 --> 00:02:01,650 gonna be there tallest to the shortest. 32 00:02:01,700 --> 00:02:04,870 OK, now there is not scientific. That does not work at all. 33 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:08,639 It's a very short sighted way to choose a sports team. 34 00:02:09,139 --> 00:02:14,780 Generally the teacher would say right, we will have two captains 35 00:02:15,010 --> 00:02:19,640 and you will take turns to choose and the process would 36 00:02:19,650 --> 00:02:22,060 generally go well, right? The most athletic. 37 00:02:22,490 --> 00:02:26,950 The most popular, The most strong? 38 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:32,400 The academic, The nerds, the drags. 39 00:02:35,210 --> 00:02:40,060 And every week I tried everything to change categories. 40 00:02:40,170 --> 00:02:44,440 I stood on tiptoe, I walked around and short of saying 41 00:02:44,450 --> 00:02:50,380 choose me, choose me every week. That process continued in one 42 00:02:50,390 --> 00:02:54,960 year, in the middle of the academic year, our teacher said 43 00:02:54,970 --> 00:02:57,920 to us, we have a new student and his name is Bobby. 44 00:02:59,370 --> 00:03:02,260 Now. Bobby was a very, very big boy 45 00:03:02,530 --> 00:03:06,680 and very clunky, I guess you could say, and he was hopeless 46 00:03:06,690 --> 00:03:10,270 at sport. And so those of us who were in 47 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:14,980 the dregs category were quite pleased to see Bobby come along. 48 00:03:15,910 --> 00:03:21,790 He he ran like an elephant. We're in flippers and he was a 49 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:25,550 really nice boy, but you could hear him come in before you even 50 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:29,900 saw him. I'll leave the story for now, 51 00:03:29,910 --> 00:03:32,440 just in case I get into trouble with a long illustration. 52 00:03:32,450 --> 00:03:36,500 So let's turn, please, to Luke chapter 5, and we'll read 53 00:03:36,570 --> 00:03:43,600 together Call of Levi, Luke chapter 5, verses 27 to 32. 54 00:03:44,630 --> 00:03:49,420 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting 55 00:03:49,490 --> 00:03:55,580 at the tax booth, and he said to him, follow me, and leaving 56 00:03:55,590 --> 00:03:57,930 everything, he rose and followed him. 57 00:04:00,030 --> 00:04:03,200 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a 58 00:04:03,210 --> 00:04:07,480 large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table 59 00:04:07,490 --> 00:04:10,690 with them. And the Pharisees and their 60 00:04:10,700 --> 00:04:14,890 scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, Why do you 61 00:04:14,900 --> 00:04:18,600 eat and drink with text collectors and sinners? 62 00:04:19,380 --> 00:04:23,550 And Jesus answered them, Those who are well have no need of a 63 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:28,710 physician, but those who are sick I have not come to call the 64 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:32,690 righteous, but sinners to repentance. 65 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,690 Now the chapter so far has contained many different 66 00:04:36,700 --> 00:04:39,420 surprises. There's the themes of authority, 67 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:43,090 there's the themes of astonishment and amazement as 68 00:04:43,100 --> 00:04:48,450 the people around notice this miracle working rabbi and are 69 00:04:48,460 --> 00:04:51,470 starting to realise that something is different about 70 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:56,420 this man, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Man. 71 00:04:56,930 --> 00:05:00,340 And as we go through this chapter, I'm praying that this 72 00:05:00,350 --> 00:05:04,320 little portion will again ignite our hearts to realise how 73 00:05:04,330 --> 00:05:07,650 amazing this person is, the Lord Jesus. 74 00:05:09,450 --> 00:05:12,600 By the way, as you read the words after this, or if you look 75 00:05:12,610 --> 00:05:16,620 at other passages in the other gospels, you'll see the word 76 00:05:16,630 --> 00:05:19,710 passing by. Now, just to clarify, there's 77 00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:23,820 nothing random about the Lord's meeting with Levi in this 78 00:05:23,830 --> 00:05:27,540 passage whatsoever. There's nothing fortuitous 79 00:05:27,590 --> 00:05:33,840 coincidental whatsoever. Luke, the writer, is far too 80 00:05:33,900 --> 00:05:38,070 precise for that to be a mistake. 81 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:41,540 He is far too orderly. It's an orderly account to give 82 00:05:41,550 --> 00:05:45,790 certainty and clarity. And the Lord Jesus is a 83 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:51,860 purposeful Messiah, and he also is not just here by accident. 84 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:56,150 And so just to remind you, for those who are not familiar with 85 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:58,840 the Gospels, there's four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, 86 00:05:58,850 --> 00:06:02,430 and John and Matthew, Mark and Luke are all very similar. 87 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:05,800 They're called synoptic gospels, the same view. 88 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:08,850 And I'll just illustrate what that might mean. 89 00:06:08,900 --> 00:06:15,340 For example, imagine the writers are describing this lectern and 90 00:06:15,350 --> 00:06:20,680 one of them is actually standing over here and writing about what 91 00:06:20,690 --> 00:06:24,760 he has seen. And as you go home, someone will 92 00:06:24,770 --> 00:06:28,540 say to you, now, did you see Andrew's son this morning? 93 00:06:29,510 --> 00:06:32,420 And the writer will say, no, Andrew son wasn't there. 94 00:06:32,430 --> 00:06:34,850 I just saw someone else on that side. 95 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:41,650 But if the writers over here and says now, did you see Nick and 96 00:06:41,660 --> 00:06:44,870 Sarah Houghton, Were they there? No, I didn't see them, but 97 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:47,750 they're there. And so different writers will 98 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:52,120 have different perspectives as they describe what they see. 99 00:06:52,860 --> 00:06:57,500 And for that reason, let me share with you that today as we 100 00:06:57,510 --> 00:07:02,850 look at this chapter, at this portion, there will be little, 101 00:07:02,900 --> 00:07:08,360 little additions that we need to notice in the passage. 102 00:07:09,630 --> 00:07:13,880 For example, as you look at it in this chapter we will find 103 00:07:13,890 --> 00:07:17,610 that there is reference to tax collectors and others. 104 00:07:18,230 --> 00:07:22,240 But if you read it in Matthews Gospel, he refers to tax 105 00:07:22,250 --> 00:07:28,060 collectors and sinners. Likewise, in this passage we 106 00:07:28,070 --> 00:07:32,040 read that the Pharisees asked why do you eat and drink with 107 00:07:32,050 --> 00:07:37,470 tax sliders and sinners? But in Matthew, the writer says, 108 00:07:37,740 --> 00:07:42,830 Why does your teacher eat with text collectors and sinners? 109 00:07:44,180 --> 00:07:48,660 And likewise, in Matthew, there is one little piece that is not 110 00:07:48,670 --> 00:07:53,710 in Luke that we need to add as we understand this little 111 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:58,020 passage this morning, the phrase, which is go and learn. 112 00:07:58,110 --> 00:08:00,050 So we'll come back to that shortly. 113 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:04,530 So just bear that in mind. Different views add context, 114 00:08:04,540 --> 00:08:09,630 they add details. Matthew compared with Luke shows 115 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:11,930 that the name is actually Matthew. 116 00:08:11,980 --> 00:08:15,370 In here it's Levi. Now that might be that he had a 117 00:08:15,380 --> 00:08:19,020 middle name. It could well be that Levi was 118 00:08:19,030 --> 00:08:20,950 given the name Matthew by the Lord Jesus. 119 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:24,280 We don't know, but that is the same person. 120 00:08:24,330 --> 00:08:27,440 Matthew and Levi are the same person. 121 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:31,950 Now the outline for this morning is as follows. 122 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:36,830 The divisions, this 6 verses, 10 minutes per verse is just 123 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:41,409 perfect, and 27 and 28, the publican's choice. 124 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:45,990 The Pharisees complained and the physicians call. 125 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:51,680 Now if you are fortunate enough to have read a King James Bible, 126 00:08:51,690 --> 00:08:53,790 you'll notice that the word is publican. 127 00:08:53,940 --> 00:08:56,010 It's the same word as text collector. 128 00:08:56,020 --> 00:08:59,670 But let me just explain to you what a publican means. 129 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:05,420 The publican is a word taken from the Latin public Ghani, and 130 00:09:05,430 --> 00:09:10,610 that is the name for public contractors in the Roman Empire. 131 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:16,390 Now these public Ghani, these publications were wealthy men 132 00:09:16,940 --> 00:09:21,880 contracted to collect taxes for the Roman government, and they 133 00:09:21,890 --> 00:09:26,030 were paid for that privilege. And they were often Romans and 134 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:30,470 occasionally they were Jews. For example, Zacchaeus one of 135 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:33,480 the well known examples of the chief tax collector. 136 00:09:34,340 --> 00:09:38,890 Now, generally the Republicans were the the chiefs and the tax 137 00:09:38,900 --> 00:09:42,370 collectors were underneath them in the hierarchy. 138 00:09:43,470 --> 00:09:47,100 They were actually, in a sense tax farmers because what they 139 00:09:47,110 --> 00:09:52,020 would do is they would actually tender for a portion of the city 140 00:09:52,290 --> 00:09:56,000 and then be contracted to collect the tax from that 141 00:09:56,010 --> 00:09:58,390 portion. So, for example, say here we've 142 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:03,540 got say 200 people and they would go to the Roman government 143 00:10:03,550 --> 00:10:06,860 and they would say, I will collect the tax for this group 144 00:10:06,870 --> 00:10:10,320 of people and it will be such and such. 145 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:14,620 The government would say, right, you put down the money up front 146 00:10:15,430 --> 00:10:22,590 and then go for it, OK. They would take their money from 147 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:26,740 the publications and then the publican's were set loose to 148 00:10:26,750 --> 00:10:30,600 regain, to recover their investment. 149 00:10:32,140 --> 00:10:36,190 Now the taxes were very varied. There was the poll tax for 150 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:41,630 adults, for anybody over 14, the tribute from Carpenters. 151 00:10:42,500 --> 00:10:47,550 There was the land tax, the tribute and agree, and there was 152 00:10:47,560 --> 00:10:51,590 also many other forms of indirect taxes that were 153 00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:55,210 collected. So there was charges for imports 154 00:10:55,280 --> 00:10:57,350 and exports. There was charges for 155 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:01,350 transporting slaves. There was charges collected at 156 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:04,320 roads and bridges and at the sea, at the Wharf. 157 00:11:04,330 --> 00:11:06,350 There was even probably a fishing tax. 158 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:12,410 It's very likely that this man, Matthew was well known to Peter 159 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:17,130 and Andrew, James and John, possibly Levi or Matthew would 160 00:11:17,140 --> 00:11:20,040 connect tax from the fishermen there. 161 00:11:21,460 --> 00:11:23,620 I wonder what the business strategy would be. 162 00:11:23,700 --> 00:11:25,850 Very simply, it would be to make money. 163 00:11:25,900 --> 00:11:31,270 It would be to actually increase your investment and as a result 164 00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:35,060 of that, this was a place where there was a lot of corruption. 165 00:11:35,250 --> 00:11:39,200 There was loan sharks, there was money laundering, there was debt 166 00:11:39,210 --> 00:11:41,680 collecting. It was lucrative. 167 00:11:42,380 --> 00:11:46,270 It was ruthless. It was a grubby, seedy, 168 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:54,560 despised, selfish vocation and as a result of that the 169 00:11:54,570 --> 00:11:58,670 publications where very well known. 170 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:03,640 Everybody knew the tax collectors and the town, the 171 00:12:03,650 --> 00:12:07,540 publican's choice. It was first of all a despised 172 00:12:07,590 --> 00:12:11,890 career and one of the interesting things about their 173 00:12:11,900 --> 00:12:15,430 reference to tax collectors and Scriptures is you will almost 174 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:21,450 always see them combined with the word sinners, tax collectors 175 00:12:21,460 --> 00:12:25,880 and sinners. In Luke 15 again we'll have the 176 00:12:25,890 --> 00:12:29,070 repeat of this grumble from the Pharisees. 177 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:32,730 This man receives sinners and eats with him. 178 00:12:32,780 --> 00:12:36,060 Tax collectors and sinners mingling together. 179 00:12:36,830 --> 00:12:41,540 In Matthew chapter 5, when it describes being good to those 180 00:12:41,550 --> 00:12:44,350 that are good to you, it says, well, even text collectors do 181 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:47,570 that. Wow, that's a little bit of a 182 00:12:47,580 --> 00:12:53,540 kind of like even text blitz can be good like that in Matthew 18 183 00:12:53,550 --> 00:12:58,860 where you read about forgiveness and about putting out someone if 184 00:12:58,930 --> 00:13:03,410 there is a problem, let him be as a tax collector. 185 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:06,030 In other words, treat him like one of those. 186 00:13:07,690 --> 00:13:13,100 A 501, Yeah. In Luke 18 there's the parable 187 00:13:13,110 --> 00:13:18,480 of the the Pharisee and the tax collector, and the Pharisee is 188 00:13:18,490 --> 00:13:22,100 saying I'm cleared, Lord, that I'm not like that tax collector 189 00:13:22,110 --> 00:13:25,540 over there. Yeah, I'm not an extortioner, 190 00:13:25,550 --> 00:13:29,060 I'm not an adulterer and I'm not even like that tax collector. 191 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:36,970 Wow. Very, very despised people who 192 00:13:36,980 --> 00:13:41,770 were deemed unclean by the Jews because they were in contact 193 00:13:41,780 --> 00:13:45,570 with Gintas. As a result. 194 00:13:46,530 --> 00:13:55,080 Luke records this man Levi as a publican for a reason, because 195 00:13:55,090 --> 00:14:02,120 he was despised. Secondly, Levi shows a dramatic 196 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:06,530 decision. The Lord Jesus made him comes to 197 00:14:06,540 --> 00:14:10,320 his text booth and says follow me and we read. 198 00:14:11,460 --> 00:14:16,050 He left everything and rose and followed Jesus. 199 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:21,070 Now the the the meaning of the word follow here is actually to 200 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:25,010 do with the Jewish practise of rabbis calling followers to be 201 00:14:25,020 --> 00:14:28,410 their disciples. And when the Lord Jesus said to 202 00:14:28,420 --> 00:14:34,150 Levi follow me, it was basically saying come and learn everything 203 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:40,630 about me, practise what I say, imitate me, emulate that and 204 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:43,780 then go and do likewise. That was the process of 205 00:14:43,790 --> 00:14:48,060 following. We would do the text a great 206 00:14:48,070 --> 00:14:55,030 disservice if we see that the Lord Jesus chose Matthew or Levi 207 00:14:55,250 --> 00:14:59,730 for his skills. That is not what the thought is 208 00:14:59,740 --> 00:15:04,570 here whatsoever. Jesus did not call Matthew for 209 00:15:04,580 --> 00:15:08,040 his giftings and skills and connections. 210 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:15,450 The name Matthew means gift of God, and Matthew's choice was 211 00:15:15,460 --> 00:15:18,940 actually first Jesus choosing him. 212 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:26,030 The Lord Jesus chose Levi before Levi chose to follow the Lord 213 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:31,600 Jesus. A matter of election chosen to 214 00:15:31,610 --> 00:15:35,740 follow with utter disregard for human wisdom and logic. 215 00:15:35,750 --> 00:15:39,540 The Lord Jesus said Matthew Levi, come and follow me. 216 00:15:39,550 --> 00:15:44,790 And so therefore Jesus effectively chose a dropkick, a 217 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:51,300 social outcast, a disgrace. Levi made him a great feast. 218 00:15:51,310 --> 00:15:54,880 Verse 29. There was no words, but it was a 219 00:15:54,890 --> 00:16:01,810 dramatic, emphatic statement of his intent and his commitment to 220 00:16:01,820 --> 00:16:06,080 follow the Lord Jesus. And by the way, the character 221 00:16:06,090 --> 00:16:08,510 Levi or Matthew, I'm going to call him Matthew just because 222 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:11,860 that's what I'm used to. But he never utters a word in 223 00:16:11,870 --> 00:16:16,990 Scripture, never says a word. This feast that he throws is 224 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:20,690 actually something that is very beautiful because he has a large 225 00:16:20,700 --> 00:16:24,710 company of his friends, his, the tax collectors and others at the 226 00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:27,920 table with him. But Matthew goes on to 227 00:16:27,930 --> 00:16:32,400 faithfully record in great detail, so many different 228 00:16:33,140 --> 00:16:36,270 details of the Lord's work on earth. 229 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:38,350 There's reference to the Kingdom of heaven. 230 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:41,530 There's the full text of the Sermon on the Mount. 231 00:16:41,820 --> 00:16:45,690 There's the fullest account of the Olivet Discourse and things 232 00:16:45,700 --> 00:16:49,090 to come. And of the 1000 odd verses in 233 00:16:49,100 --> 00:16:55,500 Matthew, over 600 words of the Lord Jesus recorded 30 miracles, 234 00:16:55,510 --> 00:16:59,330 40 parables, and a lot about the Pharisees as well. 235 00:17:00,740 --> 00:17:04,810 So Matthew was a very precious and very valued member of the 236 00:17:04,819 --> 00:17:08,869 discipleship team. And as we've sung this morning, 237 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:14,109 love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my 238 00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:18,109 all. Matthew Levi chose to follow and 239 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:20,210 give his all to the Lord. Jesus. 240 00:17:22,170 --> 00:17:24,319 Let me take you back to my friend Bobby. 241 00:17:24,690 --> 00:17:28,740 Bobby John was his name. We didn't know his last name for 242 00:17:28,750 --> 00:17:33,310 a long time but finally we got to know him and my my Irish 243 00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:37,670 friend and boarding school composed and Limerick about 244 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:42,050 Bobby and it goes like this and this is 50 odd years ago but 245 00:17:42,060 --> 00:17:46,390 it's still in my head. Bobby's nose is long. 246 00:17:47,410 --> 00:17:52,550 Bobby's nose is strong. It would be no disgrace to 247 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:55,780 Bobby's face if half his nose was gone. 248 00:17:58,220 --> 00:18:01,070 Philip Gardner was a very kind boy, actually the he's a doctor 249 00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:04,510 actually in Northern Ireland. But anyway, but Bobby was a 250 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:07,570 really nice boy too. And so Thursday came round and 251 00:18:07,580 --> 00:18:12,130 the sports class is assembled and it's time to time to choose 252 00:18:12,140 --> 00:18:15,410 the team. And I'll always remember the day 253 00:18:15,900 --> 00:18:19,960 and the teacher says right, two teams and the captains are 254 00:18:19,970 --> 00:18:24,780 appointed. And that day Bobby John was 255 00:18:24,790 --> 00:18:29,540 chosen first. God's grace to us. 256 00:18:31,030 --> 00:18:34,860 It's a bit like the day when Jesus said Matthew, tax 257 00:18:34,870 --> 00:18:43,070 collector, hated, despised. Come and follow me, Come and 258 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:45,480 follow me. I know all about you. 259 00:18:46,350 --> 00:18:49,100 I know what you do. I know what people think of you. 260 00:18:49,150 --> 00:18:52,670 I know what you think about yourself, but just come and be 261 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:56,850 my disciple. God's grace, the Pharisees 262 00:18:56,860 --> 00:19:04,210 complained. 1st 30 The Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at 263 00:19:04,220 --> 00:19:09,180 his disciples, saying, Why do you eat and drink with text 264 00:19:09,190 --> 00:19:14,980 collectors and sinners? Why do you eat with text 265 00:19:14,990 --> 00:19:21,030 collectors and sinners? And by the way, remember in 266 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:26,010 Matthew, the Eyewitness, the question is actually why does 267 00:19:26,020 --> 00:19:30,130 your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? 268 00:19:30,140 --> 00:19:35,110 So it's a little Barb, it's a little dig, and it's designed to 269 00:19:35,120 --> 00:19:40,020 actually work its way back to the Lord Jesus along the lines 270 00:19:40,030 --> 00:19:47,810 of what are you doing, teacher, rabbi, associating with the 271 00:19:47,820 --> 00:19:52,180 scumbags of society. Why are you eating with people 272 00:19:52,190 --> 00:19:56,560 like this? And it's a loaded question. 273 00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:00,550 The Pharisees are never far away. 274 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:05,750 In the Gospels, the word Pharisee actually means 275 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:10,490 separated once, and they are a Jewish group with strict 276 00:20:10,780 --> 00:20:13,230 commitment to the laws of the Torah. 277 00:20:14,650 --> 00:20:19,560 They have an extensive collection of oral tradition and 278 00:20:19,570 --> 00:20:24,470 rules and regulations. They had strict rules for the 279 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:30,320 Sabbath, They had rules regarding ritual cleansing. 280 00:20:30,690 --> 00:20:38,090 They had laws and procedures for tithing and they had a problem. 281 00:20:39,510 --> 00:20:44,210 Why are you associating with people like that? 282 00:20:46,620 --> 00:20:52,730 Google tells me that the fair is his head, a rule for the Sabbath 283 00:20:53,500 --> 00:20:56,970 where women were forbidden to look in a mirror on the Sabbath 284 00:20:56,980 --> 00:21:00,070 day because they might see a grey hair and be tempted to 285 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:02,330 pluck it out. And that would be work. 286 00:21:03,510 --> 00:21:06,620 Now I'm not sure if that's disinformation. 287 00:21:06,690 --> 00:21:10,330 If if you can clarify that point, please do, but there's 288 00:21:10,340 --> 00:21:12,360 lots of other examples in Scripture. 289 00:21:12,370 --> 00:21:16,610 We're not guessing here in Scripture where the Pharisees 290 00:21:16,620 --> 00:21:21,330 were very clear about what they wanted to be done with regard 291 00:21:21,340 --> 00:21:26,710 to, for example, ritual washing, if they would go to the market 292 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:31,810 and came back and washing their hands, cleansing their plates. 293 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:37,510 We read in Mark Chapter 7 that there's even reference to 294 00:21:37,570 --> 00:21:41,480 cleaning of furniture. It's quite an interesting one. 295 00:21:41,540 --> 00:21:44,590 And King James, it's cleaning of tables, but actually the word 296 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:49,900 might refer to the couch. Wednesday night we have the 297 00:21:49,910 --> 00:21:57,590 young people come round home and when I get back from Bible study 298 00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:00,710 we we sometimes say ohh, the young people have been here 299 00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:05,080 today and it's great. We don't do the vacuuming. 300 00:22:05,090 --> 00:22:08,990 We don't clean the couch, but the Pharisees probably would. 301 00:22:13,260 --> 00:22:19,170 These Pharisees were practising social distancing, face masks, 302 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:24,090 hand sanitizer, No problem. That was that was, that was 303 00:22:24,100 --> 00:22:27,620 their philosophy. They were diligently observing 304 00:22:27,630 --> 00:22:37,020 their religious rules and the tax collectors were ceremonially 305 00:22:37,070 --> 00:22:43,000 unclean and not to be associated with, certainly not to have a 306 00:22:43,010 --> 00:22:45,680 meal with them. That would be an absolute 307 00:22:46,670 --> 00:22:51,670 disgrace. But before we totally write off 308 00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:54,250 the Pharisee, I ask you this question. 309 00:22:55,100 --> 00:22:56,950 Is there anything wrong with laws? 310 00:22:57,260 --> 00:23:02,450 No. We need standards, We need 311 00:23:02,460 --> 00:23:06,410 processes, we need laws that help us and guide us. 312 00:23:06,420 --> 00:23:13,040 In many of the Pharisees genuinely attempted and intended 313 00:23:13,050 --> 00:23:18,270 to please and honour God. There was Nicodemus, he was a 314 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:21,720 seeker, he was a Pharisee. There was Paul the persecutor, 315 00:23:21,730 --> 00:23:24,730 and we've read about that in Philippines 3 this morning. 316 00:23:25,450 --> 00:23:28,780 He was the Prince of Pharisees. He was educated, he was zealous. 317 00:23:28,790 --> 00:23:35,750 He was blameless under the law. What then is the problem with 318 00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:42,280 this complaint? Why is it wrong for these people 319 00:23:42,290 --> 00:23:49,560 to ask the Son of Man, why do you eat with tax collectors and 320 00:23:49,570 --> 00:23:51,340 Pharisees? I'll put it this way. 321 00:23:51,430 --> 00:23:57,210 Have you ever noticed how easy it is for a rule or a standard 322 00:23:57,220 --> 00:24:03,180 to become legalism? You see, we can criticise 323 00:24:03,190 --> 00:24:07,750 anything and it's a lot of fun sometimes, you know, is it too 324 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:12,540 hot or too cold in this room? You know, the seats, are they 325 00:24:12,550 --> 00:24:14,120 low enough? Are they comfortable enough? 326 00:24:14,130 --> 00:24:16,340 What about this pulpit? Is it central today? 327 00:24:16,350 --> 00:24:18,830 Is it is it lined up today or is it slightly off? 328 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:25,110 What about Gavin's haircut? I mean, what about children and 329 00:24:25,120 --> 00:24:28,070 church? I mean, when's the right time to 330 00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:31,060 take out a noisy child? Is there a right time? 331 00:24:31,740 --> 00:24:36,080 And you see, we can actually, we can actually get really bogged 332 00:24:36,090 --> 00:24:37,380 down. And the problem is this. 333 00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:42,550 When we look at it, we have a problem of performance. 334 00:24:42,910 --> 00:24:45,680 We have a problem of pride and performance. 335 00:24:46,130 --> 00:24:48,640 What happens? We have these superficial rules 336 00:24:48,650 --> 00:24:53,740 that become a measure of our prowess and our spiritual 337 00:24:53,750 --> 00:24:58,030 condition before a holy God. They are external. 338 00:24:58,040 --> 00:25:02,460 They might be things that could be noticed the way we dress or 339 00:25:02,470 --> 00:25:05,790 the way we speak or the way we perform. 340 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:12,360 And the problem is this. It feeds self righteousness in 341 00:25:12,370 --> 00:25:16,520 the heart. It is a problem of confidence 342 00:25:16,610 --> 00:25:22,550 and comparison with others. It is a situation where we are 343 00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:28,920 actually taking the place of God in judging others rather than 344 00:25:28,970 --> 00:25:33,120 referring to Him as the absolute standard for what we do. 345 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:37,140 The problem of performance and pride. 346 00:25:38,530 --> 00:25:45,340 And the Lord Jesus knows our hearts and sees our motives and 347 00:25:45,350 --> 00:25:48,980 understands exactly where we are before Him. 348 00:25:50,610 --> 00:25:55,050 Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? 349 00:25:56,350 --> 00:26:01,800 Is a question that we often ask, but it's not a question for us 350 00:26:01,810 --> 00:26:07,230 to ask the physician's call the term physician, of course, the 351 00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:11,760 doctor, and already this phrase has been used to mock the Lord 352 00:26:11,770 --> 00:26:15,330 Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. Physician, heal yourself. 353 00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:21,450 And there he is in his hometown, and they mock him and use it as 354 00:26:21,460 --> 00:26:26,430 a word to despise him. But a physician is a Doctor Who 355 00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:29,750 cares. I have a Doctor Who wants to see 356 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:32,670 me every year in October and November. 357 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:35,130 Last year I thought I'm going to do a little experiment. 358 00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:40,870 I'm going to contact my doctor's office and say, doctor, I'm 359 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:44,730 actually feeling really well. I think everything is all good. 360 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:48,330 I don't need to see you and that's what I did. 361 00:26:50,030 --> 00:26:53,220 Just send me my script and I don't need to see you. 362 00:26:53,870 --> 00:26:56,100 As far as I know, everything is fine. 363 00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:00,670 Shortly after that my doctor contacted me. 364 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:06,230 He said you might not want to see me, but I want to see you. 365 00:27:07,020 --> 00:27:09,260 I'm glad that there's doctors who can. 366 00:27:10,470 --> 00:27:13,800 The great physician came to set the captives free. 367 00:27:13,860 --> 00:27:17,500 He came to restore the eyesight of the blind. 368 00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:20,600 He came to liberate the oppressed. 369 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:29,350 He came to preach the good news. He came to call sinners to 370 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:33,520 repentance. And right throughout this gospel 371 00:27:33,530 --> 00:27:36,960 of Luke there is the same thread again and again. 372 00:27:37,130 --> 00:27:43,070 The seeking Saviour, the one who came to seek and save the lost. 373 00:27:45,940 --> 00:27:52,720 The Lord Jesus calling sinners to repentance. 374 00:27:53,770 --> 00:27:58,540 This city one and verse 32 in a sense are a summary of the 375 00:27:58,550 --> 00:28:02,550 Gospel of Luke. Those who are well have no need 376 00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:07,740 of a position, but those who are sick I have not come to call the 377 00:28:07,750 --> 00:28:11,710 righteous but sinners to repentance. 378 00:28:12,850 --> 00:28:15,720 There are two learning outcomes I want to share with you this 379 00:28:15,730 --> 00:28:18,300 morning from these verses. 2 applications. 380 00:28:19,900 --> 00:28:22,230 First of all a call to repentance. 381 00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:24,880 What is repentance? First of all, repentance 382 00:28:26,510 --> 00:28:32,090 involves the conviction for sin. We will not turn to God until we 383 00:28:32,100 --> 00:28:39,160 recognise the damage that send us in our relationship with 384 00:28:39,170 --> 00:28:42,400 Christ. God's righteous character and 385 00:28:42,410 --> 00:28:49,670 standards will cause us to be convicted and like Levi say, I 386 00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:55,430 need you, Lord Jesus. Secondly, repentance involves 387 00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:59,400 contrition, and we have read about that in Psalm 51. 388 00:28:59,410 --> 00:29:01,450 Thank you Avi for sharing those verses. 389 00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:09,920 Repentance brings contrition or godly sorrow over sin that goes 390 00:29:09,930 --> 00:29:18,500 beyond guilt or sadness. It is not mere remorse. 391 00:29:18,550 --> 00:29:21,600 It is not just saying, ohh, look, I'm sorry that's happened. 392 00:29:22,620 --> 00:29:25,890 It is actually a deep, deep brokenness. 393 00:29:26,340 --> 00:29:30,770 And as we've read this morning and Psalm 51, the sacrifice that 394 00:29:30,780 --> 00:29:38,710 God desires is a broken and a contrite heart, a willingness to 395 00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:46,000 say I am sorry, holy God, for the wrong I have done. 396 00:29:47,940 --> 00:29:53,530 And finally, repentance involves conversion, a deliberate turning 397 00:29:53,540 --> 00:29:56,790 away from sin and self to obey God. 398 00:29:58,470 --> 00:30:04,180 Repentance presents God's grace to wayward lost sinners. 399 00:30:05,470 --> 00:30:09,420 Romans chapter 2, verse 4 asks us this question. 400 00:30:09,490 --> 00:30:14,600 Do you presume on the riches of His kindness and forbearance and 401 00:30:14,610 --> 00:30:20,790 patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to 402 00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:26,880 repentance? How often we crucify afresh the 403 00:30:26,890 --> 00:30:33,140 Son of God because we do not reject the ways of sin. 404 00:30:35,370 --> 00:30:41,450 Repentance is the core of the physician to Levi come and 405 00:30:41,460 --> 00:30:45,310 follow and Levi said I need you. I'm sorry. 406 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:50,920 And he left all and followed. And we can humbly and trust in 407 00:30:50,930 --> 00:30:52,930 the return to God who longs to bliss. 408 00:30:53,610 --> 00:30:58,480 We can turn to him because He rescues the lost and restores 409 00:30:58,490 --> 00:31:06,010 those who have fallen from Him. Secondly, the physician's call 410 00:31:06,060 --> 00:31:09,630 is a call to relationship, and we read those verses in Matthew 411 00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:11,690 Chapter 11. Thank you, Luke, for those 412 00:31:11,700 --> 00:31:15,050 verses. Come unto me, the Lord Jesus 413 00:31:15,060 --> 00:31:19,510 said. Learn of Me, take my yoke upon 414 00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:24,750 you, and learn of Me, for I and meek and lowly in heart, and you 415 00:31:24,760 --> 00:31:31,300 will find rest to your souls. And as we look at Matthew's 416 00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:37,110 recollection of this event, we find one very special detail. 417 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:40,440 Matthew Chapter 9 verse 13 says this. 418 00:31:40,450 --> 00:31:44,760 Go and learn what this means. I desire mercy and not 419 00:31:44,770 --> 00:31:49,640 sacrifice. Luke got it right in this 420 00:31:49,750 --> 00:31:53,140 portion. Matthew gave us more detail in 421 00:31:53,150 --> 00:31:57,060 Matthew Chapter 9. Matthew Wright in several years 422 00:31:57,070 --> 00:32:00,320 years later, actually adds this little detail. 423 00:32:00,670 --> 00:32:03,160 He was the eyewitness. He was the one who actually 424 00:32:03,170 --> 00:32:07,510 heard the Lord's call and this is what the Lord Jesus said. 425 00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:11,990 Go and learn what this means. I desire mercy and not 426 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:15,540 sacrifice. That is actually a direct quote 427 00:32:15,610 --> 00:32:19,150 from Hosier 6. That is actually the words of 428 00:32:19,220 --> 00:32:23,740 Jehovah to Israel. Israel, I don't need your 429 00:32:23,750 --> 00:32:26,350 sacrifices. I don't need your good works. 430 00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:28,990 I don't need your good deeds. I don't need your performance. 431 00:32:29,260 --> 00:32:36,240 I am seeking your heart. I am seeking a relationship with 432 00:32:36,250 --> 00:32:43,750 you, not just an outward external cosmetic peripheral. 433 00:32:46,180 --> 00:32:50,550 Jesus is calling sinners to repentance, not just external 434 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:52,930 rules, not performance and rituals. 435 00:32:52,940 --> 00:32:58,100 And Jesus chose a despised tax collector like Matthew. 436 00:32:59,940 --> 00:33:05,060 And so the challenge for us today is to learn. 437 00:33:06,730 --> 00:33:13,450 Learn of the Lord Jesus and then go and learn to walk and follow 438 00:33:13,460 --> 00:33:16,370 Him. Cry out to God for His mercy and 439 00:33:16,380 --> 00:33:21,900 for His forgiveness, coming just as you are bringing failures, 440 00:33:21,910 --> 00:33:25,320 bringing addictions, bringing disappointments, whatever it is 441 00:33:25,710 --> 00:33:30,550 that would cause you to feel a distance from God, the Lord 442 00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:36,480 Jesus is inviting us to find salvation and race in Him alone. 443 00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:42,960 The Songwriter speaks of being forever grateful for the cross, 444 00:33:43,030 --> 00:33:47,720 forever grateful for the Lord Jesus stooping into humanity, 445 00:33:49,330 --> 00:33:53,470 walking amongst men, reaching out to their down pressed and 446 00:33:53,480 --> 00:33:57,310 their outcast, the text collector, and saying come and 447 00:33:57,320 --> 00:34:00,910 follow. I'm forever grateful. 448 00:34:02,280 --> 00:34:06,310 I'm forever grateful that you came to seek and save the lost 449 00:34:06,380 --> 00:34:09,260 its prey. Father in Heaven, we are forever 450 00:34:09,270 --> 00:34:15,880 grateful, we are amazed and in all of Your great mercy of Your 451 00:34:15,889 --> 00:34:24,350 plan of salvation, of Your heart of love, and Your desire to call 452 00:34:24,360 --> 00:34:30,920 sinners to repentance. Not the righteous, not the 453 00:34:30,929 --> 00:34:35,780 self-righteous, not the do gooders, not the external, but 454 00:34:35,790 --> 00:34:40,690 the internal change of heart, a new beginning, a new start. 455 00:34:41,380 --> 00:34:46,370 And Father, as we hear your voice to us again today, we pray 456 00:34:47,159 --> 00:34:52,050 that we will be true followers, that we will be in relationship 457 00:34:52,060 --> 00:34:57,250 with the one who loved us, the one who is seeking and saving 458 00:34:57,260 --> 00:35:03,080 the lost, and that we will, like Levi, rise up and follow you. 459 00:35:03,950 --> 00:35:08,240 We give you our thanks this day in Jesus name, Amen.