Luke 5:29
And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them.
After His call Levi, also called Matthew, a despised publican left his tax work at once to follow Him, and in honor of that call made a great open feast in his own house for Jesus as the honored guest, inviting his former associates, relatives and friends to meet Jesus and hear Him, so that a great company of publicans and other rejected sinners sat down with Jesus and His disciples, who accepted and attended despite the offense it caused.
At that table He set aside social distinctions with sympathy, courtesy and respect that affirmed the dignity of outcasts and made them long to become worthy of His trust.
He did not share in luxury, dissipation or worldly levity, but welcomed innocent social happiness in order to break down separation and turn thoughts from common concerns to spiritual and eternal things.
He was there on purpose to meet sin-sick souls where they were, asking and answering questions, speaking words of encouragement and searching truth that called sinners to repentance and satisfied the inmost longings priests and rulers left untouched.
His words awakened thirst for new life and, though not always answered at once, remained as seed that later bore fruit in converts who became messengers and helpers under the apostles after His resurrection, while exposing Pharisaic exclusiveness and leaving a lasting pattern for gospel and medical missionary workers to use friendly social occasions to recommend Christ to the erring.
Feast Setting and Guests
The feast comes directly after the call of Levi, also called Matthew, who belonged to the publicans, a class despised as traitorous and corrupt, yet when Jesus called him he followed without hesitation. Feeling highly honored by that call, Levi made a great feast in his own house in honor of Jesus as the honored guest. It was an open feast held as he was leaving his tax-collecting business and openly ending his business association with his former companions, without shame. He invited his former associates, relatives and friends so they could see that he had chosen to follow Christ and could meet Jesus and hear His teaching, hoping His words would lead them to follow Him too.
There was a great company of publicans and of others present, described as sinners. They were people from different social groups whom their more scrupulous neighbors rejected as outcasts. They sat down with Jesus and His disciples, since Jesus and His disciples were invited to the feast. Jesus accepted and attended despite the offense it caused, and He never refused invitations of this kind.
Jesus Ministry at Feast
At the publican's table Jesus set aside social distinctions as of no account and met the outcasts with sympathy, social kindness, courtesy and respect that upheld their human dignity. His sympathetic presence did not merely comfort them but made them long to become worthy of His confidence and trust. His words fell upon their thirsty souls with blessed, life-giving power.
His willingness to sit and eat with people from different social groups helped break down religious and social separation and opened opportunity to reach them with truth and do them good. His presence at such a feast was not worldly conformity but a means of bringing heavenly benefit and letting hosts and guests know Him. He welcomed innocent happiness and used social occasions with people of every class to turn thoughts from ordinary concerns to spiritual and eternal things, without approving dissipation, luxuries, amusements, feasting or worldly levity.
He was there with deliberate purpose to meet people where they were, even at a guest table, and to sow the seeds of truth in human hearts and bring hope to souls sick with sin. He asked and answered questions that spread light, and He joined publicans and sinners to reach those who needed forgiveness in order to call sinners to repentance. His words on such occasions were always spoken with wisdom and always exalted the truth, presenting principles that searched the recesses of hearts, reached the diseased imagination, and drew the mind out after eternal realities. He spoke words of encouragement to erring, sore-troubled men who needed guidance, words the priests and rulers were unwilling to speak, to satisfy the inmost longings of the soul.
His life-giving words awakened new impulses, stirred desire for a new life, and opened its possibility to the outcasts of society. Though hearts did not always respond at once, the seeds of truth remained in them and His influence continued to draw them until they finally yielded. Some who heard Him at the feast later accepted the truth under the apostles' teaching after His resurrection and ascension, and became gospel messengers and helpers in bringing its light to others. The feast itself was a lasting lesson to Matthew, who became a devoted evangelist.
His willingness to associate with publicans challenged the prejudices and traditions of the Pharisees and exposed the contrast between His life and teaching and their exclusiveness. They accused His disciples of eating with publicans and sinners, while priests and rulers criticized His action and made all possible capital out of it.
Pattern for Ministry Today
Luke 5:29 belongs to the record of Christ's works for the spiritual and physical needs of those who sought His help, revealing Him as the great Medical Missionary and the great Restorer. Its study gives precious lessons for the ministry of healing, calling all engaged in gospel ministry and medical missionaries everywhere to do the work He did while on earth. They are to learn His meekness and lowliness of heart, to testify to His power, and to stand firmly at the post of duty to reveal righteousness and the principles of righteousness to needy souls.
His acceptance of invitations to meals with publicans and others shows how to use friendly social occasions to teach lessons suited to the hearers. At Levi's feast in his home, where publicans and others ate with them, He treated hosts and guests generously and let them know Him through godly character and conduct, giving them a chance to see how His life and teaching differed from the Pharisees' exclusiveness. His presence at such a meal was not worldly conformity but a way to bring heavenly benefits and let the light of truth reach them. His example in this taught His disciples how to conduct themselves among both religious and nonreligious people. He met people where they were, even at a guest table, to sow seeds of truth among those willing to admit they were sinners, seeds that bore fruit under the apostles' teaching after His resurrection and ascension.
His deliberate eating with publicans and sinners gives the tender, forgiving pattern to be practiced in helping the erring. He ate with them on purpose that He might speak words of encouragement to erring men that priests and rulers were unwilling to speak, to satisfy the inmost longings of the soul and to help sore-troubled ones who needed guidance and encouragement. The verse thus provides the example for speaking among unconverted people in a way that recommends Christ and lets the light of truth reach those willing to admit they are sinners. Though priests and rulers criticized His action and made all possible capital out of it, His words on such occasions were always spoken with wisdom and always exalted the truth, presenting principles that searched the recesses of listeners' hearts, reaching the diseased imagination and drawing the mind out after eternal realities.