28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
Have you ever been so taken up in the moment that you just dropped everything and followed? This happened to Levi in this account. He was a Jewish man hired to collect Roman taxes from Jewish people. He was seen as a traitor to the Jewish people. How could any true Jew support the oppression of his own people? How could any good Jew even work for and associate with those unholy people? The prejudice against tax collectors ran deep among the Jews. But that was not the only strike against Levi. A normal part of the job was extortion and deception. They consistently collected more than they were authorized and kept the extra money for themselves. They are like government officials who have been in the news lately. They work for the government, collect the paycheck, and then think they can get away with not paying their taxes that fund their paychecks. Of course the rest of the government officials remain silent and support their crony colleague, lest their own dirty laundry get displayed for the world to see. There are almost no congressmen or senators who have clean criminal records. And that just records the things they have been caught doing. Nothing changes in government. Corruption happens no matter what party is in charge. That is because human nature is the problem, not the political party. Levi hears the words of Jesus and responds. He abandons his post, which could land him in jail by the Romans. Taxes required by Rome were not collected after that on that day. It was an unofficial ‘no tax’ zone and Levi could be held responsible for abandoning his post. Instead, Levi throws a party. The text says it was great banquet and many other tax collectors attended. I bet he was spending some of that stolen money he had collected over the years. But he doesn’t seem to care. Jesus wants him to follow, and Levi wants to follow Jesus. I imagine Levi experiences the lifting of the burden of his guilt and shame at that moment. Jesus accepts him! Jesus wants him to follow! All is right with the world. Jesus accepts you! Jesus wants you to follow! How will you respond?
The Arnold Journey 