Gospel

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After 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, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. But 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?” Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:27-32 NIV

 

Notice first of all that Levi left everything and followed Jesus. Would those of us who follow Christ today be willing to leave everything if we needed to in order to follow Jesus? Would we really give up all we have to follow Him? In most situations it is not needed to leave everything behind to follow our Lord, but, we must be ready to leave anything that hinders us following Christ. This can become a hard decision for us to make, but our decision will not be in vain if we drop our hindrances to following Christ. Pray that the Lord will give you wisdom to know and the strength to leave behind anything that you must in order to truly follow in His steps.

 

Next we see that the teachers of the law and the Pharisees complained to the disciples that Jesus was dining with tax collectors and others. Why was not the Master dining with them, the elite. Christ did not dine with them because they were haughty and self-righteous, while Jesus was meek and humble. They wanted Jesus to see things the way they did, things of man rather than of God. Jesus could not help the Pharisees and teachers of the law because their minds were closed to God and His desires. Those people were of this world and desired what this world could provide to them and not what God could provide.

 

Finally we see the words of our Lord where He tells us the healthy don’t need a doctor, but the sick do. We are all sick. We are full of sin until we meet Jesus. Jesus is the only one who can forgive our sins. He can do this because He died on the cross for us: an atonement for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus calls us to repent of our sins. He wishes for us to have a truly whole life, a life free from the bondage of sin. He wishes for us to have eternal life with the Heavenly Father and Him. He wants us to have all the love, joy, and peace of being saved and having the indwelling of the Holy Trinity. Let the Master, the true doctor heal you and then you will live anew! AMEN!!

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