Sat Oct 10

Listen up, little ones

Especially for the littles in your household.

Listen for the words Levi and sinners.

Reading

Luke 5:27–39—New Instead of Old

Optional Reading

Matthew 9:9–13

Keys for kids

Also for the littles. Young households might choose, after Keys for Kids, to go directly to praise and prayer.

Jesus called Levi to repent.
Jesus also called Levi to follow Him.
Levi was so glad, he had a huge party with Jesus and his friends.

Questions

(Some read the ?s before the notes/ ask them after.)

Why do we think Levi is Matthew, the gospel writer?
What did Jesus do for Levi?
How did the Pharisees react?

Catechism

WSC 85

What doth God require of us, that we may escape his wrath and curse, due to us for sin?

To escape the wrath and curse of God, due to us for sin, God requireth of us faith in Jesus Christ, repentance unto life, with the diligent use of all the outward means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption.

(Acts 20:21; Proverbs 2:1–5; Proverbs 8:33–36; Isaiah 55:3)

Notes

(See below for all authors.)

Jesus met another sinner—a tax collector named Levi. Matthew 9:9 tells us that his other name was Matthew. As far as we know, Luke’s Levi is Matthew. Matthew the gospel writer was Levi the tax collector. Tax collectors were hated in Jesus’s day. They served Rome who held Israel under their authority. And tax collectors of this day often collected more than they were supposed to (Luke 3:12–13) and probably kept the difference for themselves.

Everybody knew that tax collectors were sinners. So much so, that “tax collectors and sinners” were often said in the same breath. But Jesus came to forgive sinners. So, He called Levi to repent, forgave him, and called him to follow Jesus. So, Levi did. He was so thankful, that he held a huge feast for Jesus and his other tax-collector friends. The Pharisees and scribes were upset.

Why would Jesus, who claimed to be righteous, eat with “tax collectors and sinners”? Jesus did this because He came to call sinners to repentance and to forgive their sins. The Pharisees needed their sins forgiven, too, but they denied it. They claimed to keep the Old Testament law perfectly. So, of course, they thought they didn’t need to be forgiven. But they did. They needed new life in Jesus. The old way, even though it was God’s way, wasn’t enough.

Swedish Method questions

See the Sunday notes for meaning of the symbols.

Praise

Psalm 119u, 104a

Prayer

Give thanks that Jesus forgives sinners—like you.
Pray for the reading and preaching of God’s word tomorrow.
Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.

Notes this week are drawn in part from writings by John Calvin, William Hendriksen, Kent Hughes, the Theological Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments (TDOT, TDNT) and notes from the CSB Study Bible, and the Reformation Study Bible (RSB).