Matthew 21:31-32
21:31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth,
tax collectors
and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God!
21:32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe. Although
you saw this, you did not later change your minds
and believe him.
Mark 2:14-17
2:14 As he went along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax booth.
“Follow me,” he said to him. And he got up and followed him.
2:15 As Jesus
was having a meal
in Levi’s
home, many tax collectors
and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.
2:16 When the experts in the law
and the Pharisees
saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
2:17 When Jesus heard this he said to them, “Those who are healthy don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do.
I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Luke 5:27-28
The Call of Levi; Eating with Sinners
5:27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth. “Follow me,” he said to him.
5:28 And he got up and followed him, leaving everything behind.