Listen up, little ones
Listen for the words sinners and tax collectors.
Reading
Mark 2:13-17—Follow me!
Optional Reading
Luke 5:27-39
Keys for kids
- Jesus called Levi to Follow Him.
- Levi left everything and followed Him.
- And he brought his friends to meet Jesus.
Questions
- What did Jesus call Levi to do?
- What did Levi do?
- How can we introduce sinner friends to Jesus?
Catechism
WSC #86
What is faith in Jesus Christ?
Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel.
Notes
(See Saturday for authors.)
Jesus continues through the area around the Sea of Galilee. He sees Levi (also known as Matthew) sitting at his tax office or booth. The Roman system allowed people to bid for a tax office. In that office they could easily overcharge the people and keep the difference. So, these tax collectors were despised by other Jews.
But Jesus had other plans for Levi. He called him to follow him. And what did Levi do? Blanchard says as soon as Jesus called him, Levi ‘got up and followed Him’ (v.14). He could never have guessed what lay ahead, but he was prepared to trust Jesus for every step of life’s journey, whatever the cost.
As Levi followed Jesus, the news spread quickly and Levi invited many of his friends (a despised man will have, of course, despised friends) to a feast with him and Jesus. Obviously, Levi wanted to honor Jesus and wanted his friends to meet Jesus.
The religious leaders were scandalized. How dare this man, who claims to be good, eat with these sinners! Do you eat with sinners? Do you seek to bring them to meet Jesus at a meal you prepare for them? Do you bring the sin-sick people you know to meet the Great Physician who can heal their soul?
Swedish Method questions
Praise
Psalm 25a, 104a
Prayer
- Pray that you will follow Jesus, whatever the cost.
- Pray for a specific application from yesterday’s sermons.
- Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.