For there were many of them among his followers!

Mark 2:13-17

Then Jesus went out to the seashore again and preached to the crowds that gathered around him. As he was walking up the beach he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at his tax collection booth. “Come with me,” Jesus told him.“Come be my disciple.” And Levi jumped to his feet and went along. That night Levi invited his fellow tax collectors and many other notorious sinners to be his dinner guests so that they could meet Jesus and his disciples, for there were many of them among his followers. But when some of the Jewish religious leaders saw him eating with these men of ill repute, they said to his disciples, “How can he stand it, to eat with such scum?” When Jesus heard what they were saying, he told them, “Sick people need the doctor, not healthy ones! I haven’t come to tell good people to repent, but the bad ones.”

Food for thought!

Let's begin with this one: “As he was walking up the beach he saw ...!” It was as Jesus walked along the lakeside that he saw and called Levi (Matthew)? Even as he was walking along, Jesus was looking for opportunities and partners. Jesus was never off duty; he was always on the look out, always looking for opportunities, because opportunities are everywhere and in everybody. Train yourself to be on constant look out for opportunities. Walk like Jesus, looking out for opportunities.


Of all the people Jesus called to follow him Matthew gave up the most. He literally left all to follow Jesus. Peter and Andrew, James and John could go back to the boats, for they were fishermen. There were always fish to catch and always the old trade to which to return; but Matthew burned his bridges completely. With one action, in one moment of time, by one swift decision he had put himself out of his job forever, for having left his tax-collector's job, he would never get it back. For many people, his decision was the most reckless thing anybody could do. But it was not.


Have you ever read this story?

A long while ago, a great warrior faced a situation which made it necessary for him to make a decision which insured his success on the battlefield . He was about to send his armies against a powerful foe, whose men outnumbered his own. He loaded his soldiers into boats, sailed to the enemy’s country, unloaded soldiers and equipment, then gave the order to burn the ships that had carried them. Addressing his men before the first battle, he said, “You see the boats going up in smoke. That means that we cannot leave these shores alive unless we win! We now have no choice— we win, or we perish! They won. Every person who wins in any undertaking must be willing to burn his ships and cut all sources of retreat. Only by so doing can one be sure of maintaining that state of mind known as a burning desire to win, essential to success.

Matthew was the man who staked everything on Christ's word, "Follow me"; and he was not wrong. When and if Jesus says to you "come", leave whatever you're doing and go to where he tells you. He knows best. Yes, he lost a sure and secure job but he got a far bigger one.


Matthew's "reckless" decision brought him the one thing he had been looking for: be of use not just to a few but to as many people as the whole world. Today, all who own a Bible own the gospel written by Matthew. Like Matthew, sometimes the Lord challenges us to leave our comfort zone, our old jobs, our old mentality, our old beliefs, our old friends to move on to territories known only to him. We do well to remember Mary's advice to the servants, (Jn 2:5) "Whatever He says to you, do it."