Luke 5:27-32
A Table with Tax Collectors
Read the passage
27After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him,
28and Levi got up, left everything, and followed Him.
29Then Levi hosted a great banquet for Jesus at his house. A large crowd of tax collectors was there, along with others who were eating with them.
30But the Pharisees and their scribes complained to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
31Jesus answered, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
32I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Jesus sees Levi, a tax collector, sitting at the tax booth. He says, “Follow me,” and Levi leaves everything, rises, and follows Him.
Levi hosts a great feast at his house. A large company of tax collectors and others are eating with Jesus and His disciples. The Pharisees and their scribes complain to the disciples, asking why they eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners.
Jesus answers that those who are well do not need a physician, but those who are sick do. He has not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Jesus' table is not approval of every action at the table. It is an announcement that people who know their need can come near and hear a call to change. Levi's new direction begins with leaving the booth and opening his home.
Questions
1 What does Levi do when Jesus calls him?
AnswerLevi gets up, leaves everything, and follows Jesus. He then opens his home for a banquet where other tax collectors can meet him.
2 Who comes to the feast at Levi's house?
AnswerMany tax collectors and other people eat with Jesus, His disciples, and Levi in the home Levi opens to them.
3 Why do the Pharisees complain?
AnswerThey object that Jesus and His disciples eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners, people they regard as outside respectable religious company.
4 What does Jesus mean by calling sinners to repentance?
AnswerHe welcomes people who know their need, but His welcome is a call to leave sin behind rather than permission to remain unchanged.
What This Means for Us
Jesus moves toward people whose reputations make others uncomfortable. A household that follows Him must learn to welcome outsiders without pretending that harmful choices do not need to change.
Religious respectability can become a barrier when it makes us ashamed to admit our need. Ask whether your table, conversation, or church life leaves room for repentant people who are still learning how to live differently.
Prayer
Merciful Jesus, thank You for calling sinners rather than waiting for us to make ourselves clean. Make our household honest about need, generous in welcome, and serious about the repentance Your grace produces. Amen.