Jesus Calls Matthew and Eats with Tax Collectors

Jesus went out again where people were gathering, and he taught them. As he passed by, he saw a tax collector sitting at the tax office. In Matthew's Gospel this man is called Matthew. In Mark and Luke he is called Levi. Jesus told him to follow, and he got up and followed him.

Then Jesus sat down in the house with his disciples. Many tax collectors and sinners came and ate there too. Luke says Levi made a great feast for Jesus in his house, and Mark says many of these people were following Jesus. He shared the table with people others often looked down on.

When the Pharisees saw this, they spoke to Jesus' disciples. Mark and Luke mention their scribes as well. They asked why Jesus ate and drank with tax collectors and sinners. They were troubled by the company he kept.

Jesus heard them and answered with a simple picture. People who are well do not need a doctor, but sick people do. Then he said he had not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.

Matthew also records one more part of Jesus' answer. He told them to learn what it means that God desires mercy and not sacrifice. Jesus' meal and his call both pointed in the same direction: mercy for sinners, and a call to turn back. How does this story show the kind of people Jesus came to call?