DEVOTION – DAY 606

Mark 2:13-14 “Follow Me”

Mark 2:13-14 “Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to Him, and He began to teach them. As He walked along, He saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed Him.”

Levi was a tax collector. It was only after he became Jesus’ disciple was his name changed to Mathew meaning “gift of the Lord.” In Biblical times when Israel was under Roman rule, certain Jews were appointed by the Roman government on its behalf. They would set up tax collection booths similar to our modern-day toll booths along major roads to collect taxes as people use these roads. Tax collectors were despised by Jews for they were seen as traitors. They were social outcasts and to be avoided. 

When Jesus saw Levi sitting at the tax collector’s booth, He called him to “Follow me.” Instead of despising him, or to avoid looking at him, Jesus chose him despite all the prejudices surrounding Levi’s occupation and background. From this record, we learn a number of things. 1) Jesus does not judge anyone based on outward appearances or background, 2) Jesus is interested in the person and what is in his or her heart, 3) Jesus is not prejudiced, 4) Jesus knew Levi had faults but He did not tell Levi to stop doing bad things before following Him. Jesus accepted Levi as he was, imperfect and told him to follow Him.

We knew someone who was asked to be a follower of Jesus Christ. He heard the gospel message but when asked if he would follow Jesus, he gave reasons like, 1) he wanted to know more about the Bible, 2) he is too busy and he will follow Jesus when he has more time, when his workload is less, 3) he is not sure if he can give up some bad habits and think he will not make a good Christian. We shared with him these verses and told him that Jesus accepts people as they are and He will change them from the inside out. No one is perfect and holy and that is why we all need Jesus as our Savior and Lord. 

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for graciously accepting us as your children, just as we are, when we confess that Jesus is Lord. Please help us not to be judgmental or prejudicial towards others but to love others as Christ first loved us. In His precious name we pray. Amen.

Questions

  1. What are some groups of people you encounter that you may look down on, or have prejudices against? Will you look at them as Christ does, as people made in His image?
  2. What changes must you make in your attitudes towards others who are not from your same social or economic backgrounds or status?
  3. Jesus chose Matthew because He looked beyond outward appearances. Will you focus on character, potential and personality of others instead of trying to generalize and categorize them into people groups?
  4. Who will you treat differently from now onwards?