Mark 2:13-17
Chapter 2
13
Calls Levi: Shares the Table with Sinners
When Jesus went out again beside the lake, a crowd gathered, and he taught them.14
As he walked along, he saw a tax collector sitting in his office. This was Levi, the son of Alpheus. Jesus said to him:
“Follow me!”
And he got up and followed him.
15
And it so happened that, when Jesus was eating at Levi’s house, tax collectors and sinners sat with him and his disciples; there were many of them, and they used to follow Jesus.
16
But the Pharisees, men educated in the law, saw Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors and asked his disciples:
“Why does your master eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
17
Jesus heard them and replied:
“Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Commentaries
Calls Levi: Shares the Table with Sinners.
Tax collectors were considered traitors to the people and, according to the Law, sinners and impure. By calling Levi, Jesus breaks down the barriers of the Law and makes the universality of the Gospel a reality. Levi, in response, rises from his seat, leaves his job, and follows Jesus, breaking with his past and committing to a new life offered by the Master through his call. Jesus excludes no one. That is why his table is open to all, especially sinners. Sharing the table was sharing life itself; it symbolized the unity among the diners. This caused a scandal among his opponents.