Luke 5:27-32 Sermon for April 19, 2026

Luke 5:27-32 CSB

After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ So, leaving everything behind, he got up and began to follow him. Then Levi hosted a grand banquet for him at his house. Now there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others who were reclining at the table with them. But the Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ Jesus replied to them, ‘It is not those who were healthy who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’

Alright, so, I’ll be the first to admit that there have been times when I’ve looked at someone else with complete, utter disgust. Let’s admit it. So have you. And if you deny it, you’re lying. You all have a ‘type’ of person you have absolute zero regard for.

Whether it’s someone in your extended family, an ex, a political affiliate, a bully from the past, a class of people in society, you name it. Someone comes up in your mind. Am I right? And I’m sure you’ve got names for that person or those people. And I’m sure you’ve convinced yourself you pray for them but you actually don’t because you don’t think they deserve squat. You think you’re better than them, don’t you? Go on. Be honest.

Let me bring you really quick to a parable in Luke 18:9-14. Yes, we will eventually go through that parable in detail, sometime in the late year 2 timeframe, but let me read for you what’s going on. This is Jesus speaking.

“He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else: ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee was standing and praying like this about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other people- greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’ ‘But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.’”

Alright, now, it’s important to be honest and admit that we’ve all been like that Pharisee at one point or another, or at least the temptation in being one creeps up more often than we like to admit. Why do I share this?

I share it because we meet a tax collector in our passage today and this tax collector was socially despised, spiritually corrupt, and morally compromised. I mean, he was hated by everyone around him. And the message is threefold when it comes to all of this:

It’s that Jesus can save the tax collector. You once were the tax collector. And to look at other tax collectors as unworthy of grace is to severely misunderstand or forgot what God has done for you. And when I speak of this idea of being unworthy, I’m talking about the label YOU put on others.

Because, in a deep theological sense, yes, there is none worthy of the grace of God. But when we put that label on others, we’re saying we’re worthy and they are not and this is a gross negligence of Scripture. If there is anyone in this room who thinks for a minute that you were in the least bit lovely and this caught the attention of God and made God want to save you, you’re insane. We are not lovely. We never were. But God isn’t looking for lovely. He’s looking to create it. And He creates it through the person and work of His Son, Jesus.

Alright, let’s go back to our tax. We’ll deal much more with these themes shortly. Jesus goes out and he sees a tax collector. His name is Levi and Levi is sitting at the tax office. And what does Jesus say? He says, “Follow me.”

First things first. This isn’t accidental or luck or any of that heresy. This is intentional. If we are to believe in the whole counsel of Scripture, we know that God has chosen Levi since before the foundations of the earth for this very moment.

Have you ever heard of the golden chain of salvation? It’s based off of Romans 8:29-30 and it basically goes like this: God has foreknowledge of Levi. God predestines Levi. God calls Levi. God justifies Levi. And, eventually, Levi is brought up into glory with Jesus. It’s what’s know as the ordo salutis or the order of salvation. What this means is that salvation is monergistic; not synergistic. God alone saves. Salvation from start to finish is all God’s doing. Ok, so, Jesus calls Levi and if you’ll remember from last week, we understand that Christ’s call creates what it commands. Jesus says, “Follow me.” Irresistibly so, Levi gets up, leaves everything behind, and follows Jesus. That is what is known as effectual calling. It’s not a mere invitation. It is a regenerating power. And we all know this by now. Why? Because dead souls cannot respond.

Ephesians 2:1 tells us that you once were dead in your trespasses. Not just sick. But dead. And you need a regenerative power to awaken your soul to respond. That’s what we’re seeing here. This is why, and I’ll say it over and over again, conversion testimonies are the biggest and best miracle stories ever because it’s simply impossible without God. And the fact that this is a tax collector makes it even more great! So, already, we’re crafting a one-sentence main idea for you to walk away with tonight and it’s this: Jesus effectually calls unworthy sinners to repentance, exposes the blindness of self-righteousness, and reveals His mission to save those who know they are spiritually dead. Hence, blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed, in my words here, are those who come with empty hands and nothing to offer. It’s the greatest exchange ever. You trade in, well nothing except an acknowledgment that you’re spiritually unable to go anything to save yourself and you believe that salvation can only come from Jesus alone, and you get…the free gift of the righteousness of Jesus lavished on your unworthy soul.

Now, before we see that Levi throws a banquet, we can’t miss this call of repentance. Levi left everything. The text just tells us that he did it. He dropped everything. He simply got up, and followed him and I can guarantee you that this cost him. Repentance is visible, costly, and…get this, joyful. Levi leaves behind an identity and takes up one as an adopted son of God. Repentance isn’t just a sorrow feeling. It is a decisive break with the old life. You need to understand this. It’s an action. But it isn’t just a begrudging moral reform here. It’s joyful, hence the celebration that Levi puts on with this grand banquet. Look at what Christ has done for me! And I want to celebrate this!

Let me ask you something? Does your life reflect this type of perspective? Are you killing sin in your life because of the love of Christ? Or, are you killing sin in your life to get the love of Christ? One is gospel, the other is not. First, we need the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit to battle sin in our lives and this Holy Spirit comes upon regeneration and conversion. To live a moral life devoid of the Holy Spirit is simply a miserable thing and, frankly, a futile thing. Now, the banquet is on and it says that other tax collectors were there. Others were there too. And notice the ones complaining. The Pharisees and their scribes. They said to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

If you truly understand the gospel, you’ll understand why this is a problematic statement. However, I’m going to press you a little. What the Pharisees here and in that parable we read earlier are doing is displaying self-righteousness and Jesus has come to expose such an evil thing. Self-righteousness is self-deception. Self-righteousness is this attitude that you’ve done something worthy to be saved or are worthy of other people looking at you with a gawking sense of awe. It’s deception. And it’s important to understand that when we look at others as ‘unworthy’ of God’s grace or mercy (the label WE put on them; not God), we are acting in a self-righteousness manner. Who are YOU to determine who ought to have your time of day? Who are you to determine who is worthy of your forgiveness, love, grace, and mercy? And who are we to think in such a way as if we were cute, lovely beings when Christ came to call us?

You might have convinced yourself that this is not what you’re thinking but it’s absolutely the premise of your thought process when we look down on others as damable. We need to stay in our lane. You leave the who, what, when, where, why of God’s choosing and salvation business to God alone. You only deal with inviting others into the grace that saved you, no matter who they are. So, here’s the deal: grace offends the self-righteous. Jesus identifies with sinners, brings them into fellowship, and cleanses them. Christ does not wait for sinners to improve. It won’t happen. You’re not getting your house in order and cleaned up before coming to Jesus. It’s nonsense. And this is something pervasive in our society where we think we just need a little bit of Jesus on our own terms and conditions. No, you need all of Jesus all of the time. The gospel isn’t self-help. It’s not moral improvement. There is nothing you can do to make you at peace with a holy and righteous God and that’s ultimately the issue here.

The issue is that you have a problem and your problem is that your sin separates you from a holy God and thus ruptures any peace to be had. To remedy this, you need a complete rescue. And that rescue comes from Jesus alone. Without Jesus, you’re hell-bound. Without Jesus, you’re screwed. Without Jesus, there’s no hope, life, or peace. It’s a divine rescue. Jesus says in our passage that he didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Repentance. A complete break with your old life, habits, and way of thinking. And only the Holy Spirit can justify you and sanctify you.

So, as I sort of wrap up here, let me leave you with some tangible things to chew on this week.

First, the common question I get is this: How do I know I’m saved? It’s a great question and ultimately, it’s really the perseverance of the saints that’ll determine the long run answer here, but you know you are saved by not looking at the strength of your faith, but by looking at the object of your faith. Jesus. And then you know by seeing the Spirit’s ongoing work in you. The person that is bothered by sin in his or her life and is asking this question is oftentimes the person whom the Spirit has captured.

Second, since you know the salvation in your life is entirely the work of God alone and that He’s saved a wretch like you, you need to start viewing others as those whom Christ went to the cross for. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you in this. Ask the Holy Spirit to soften your heart towards “those” people you tend to despise. Begin to be a missionary in their life. Let go of bitterness, resentment, and unforgiveness.

And pray for them, truly. It’s really hard to pray AND hold a grudge against a person at the same time. Pray that the gospel will capture them. If you truly believe in the reality of hell, you’ll do this. As I invite the worship leader up, I really want to encourage you to think deeply on all of this as the week unfolds. Right those names of people or groups of people you struggle with and allow the Holy Spirit to do a deep and profound work in you. Pray that ‘those’ people would come to an awareness of their need for a divine rescue and don’t let your poor Christian witness block them because you’ll be held accountable to that one day. My friends, let’s stand and worship King Jesus.