The call of Levi as one of Jesus' disciples was the setting for the second instance of opposition from the religious leaders that Mark recorded in this section.
2:13 "Again"(Gr. palin) identifies this incident as a different occasion (cf. 1:16). Jesus had been in Capernaum, but now He returned to the Sea of Galilee where He could teach the large crowds that followed Him (cf. 1:45; 2:13; 3:7, 13; 4:1; 5:21; et al.).
2:14 "Levi"was this man's given name whereas Matthew ("gift of God") was a nickname. Matthew used the latter name for himself in his Gospel (Matt. 9:9; cf. Mark 3:18), but Mark and Luke spoke of him by his given name.
"It was not uncommon for a man to receive or assume a new name upon entering a new career."69
The Jews despised tax collectors because they worked for the Romans and because they often extorted money for Rome from their fellow Jews.70Levi worked for Herod Antipas since he lived in Capernaum. A major road passed through Capernaum connecting Damascus and the Mediterranean coast. The taxes Levi collected included export and import fees, sales and custom taxes, and various tolls.71Levi gave up a lucrative business when he chose to follow Jesus. A fisherman might return to fishing, but a tax collector could not return to his job since many people competed for this work even though it involved social ostracism. Nonetheless Levi responded immediately to Jesus' gracious and authoritative invitation to follow Him.
The fact that both Levi and James the Less had fathers named Alphaeus does not necessarily mean they were brothers. Apparently they were not. No Gospel writer linked them as they linked Simon and Andrew or James and John. Furthermore Alphaeus was a fairly common name.
2:15-16 Eating a meal together meant something in Jesus' world that it does not mean today in the West. Hospitality was a sacred duty in the ancient Near East. When someone invited someone else to eat with him, he was extending a pledge of loyalty and protection to that person. To accept an invitation to dinner implied a willingness to become a close friend of the host. Jesus' acceptance of table fellowship with sinners conveyed by action the forgiveness that He gave verbally in 2:5.72
"It was an offer of peace, trust, brotherhood and forgiveness; in short, sharing a table meant sharing life."73
This meal took place in Levi's house (Luke 5:29). Apparently he had a large house that accommodated the throng easily, which indicates that he had some wealth.
Normally the Jews of Jesus' day ate their meals seated. They only reclined on pillows or rugs when special guests were present or for festival meals.74Obviously Levi regarded Jesus' presence with him as a special occasion.
The antecedent of the "them"who followed Jesus is probably the tax gatherers and sinners, though it may be the disciples. The term "the scribes of the Pharisees"occurs nowhere else in the Gospels. These were teachers of the law who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees.
"The Pharisees were progressive, a party among, though not of, the people. Their goal was that Israel should become the righteous nation of the covenant. To this end they taught compliance with the tradition of the elders,' an oral code of conduct effectively adapting the law of Moses to later times and changing demands."75
Tax collectors had a bad reputation because they were often dishonest.76The term "sinners"refers to Jews who did not follow the Pharisees' traditions as well as worse sinners. Jesus' critics believed that He should not associate with such people if He had a genuine regard for the Old Testament, as they professed to have. To do so risked ceremonial defilement.
2:17 Self-righteous people such as these Pharisees saw no need for true righteousness because they viewed themselves as righteous. However the people the Pharisees labeled "sinners"represented real sinners, those lacking righteousness. Jesus said He spent time with sinners because they were the people who felt a need for what He had to offer, namely spiritual healing. He was evidently modifying a well-known proverb. Jesus was using the terms "righteous"and "sinners"ironically here.
"It would be true to say that this word of Jesus strikes the keynote of the Gospel. The new thing in Christianity is not the doctrine that God saves sinners. No Jew would have denied that. It is the assertion that God loves and saves them as sinners.' . . . This is the authentic and glorious doctrine of true Christianity in any age."77
This is a fine summary statement of Jesus' mission during His earthly ministry. It is one of only two sayings in Mark in which Jesus expressed His purpose in coming (cf. 10:45). Here He presented Himself as the Healer, a divine title in the Old Testament (Exod. 15:26).
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