Jesus, Friend of Sinners: Called to Follow and Testify

Oct 18, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Called Out of the Tax Booth

Jesus doesn’t wait for tidy lives before issuing invitations. Levi sat at his tax collector’s post, compromised and despised, when two words shattered his old identity: "Follow me." This wasn’t a negotiation or a gradual shift. Levi left his booth immediately, exchanging exploitation for discipleship. Jesus still calls people out of destructive patterns into life-giving purpose. His voice cuts through shame, offering liberation from what traps us. The call isn’t to moral improvement but to radical reorientation. [54:48]

He saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.
(Mark 2:14, ESV)

Reflection: What “tax booth” has Jesus called you to walk away from? How does His command to follow reshape your view of past compromises?

Day 2: Feasting While the Bridegroom is Near

Fasting had become a performance, but Jesus reframed it as a response to His presence. Weddings demand celebration, not mourning. Jesus, the bridegroom, turned criticism about feasting into a declaration: true discipleship thrives in joy, not religious obligation. His physical presence on earth made this a season for connection, not deprivation. Fasting would come later, but first came feasting on grace. [01:10:41]

And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.”
(Mark 2:19-20, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you prioritized religious routines over celebrating Christ’s nearness? How might joy become your witness this week?

Day 3: New Wine Demands New Wineskins

Patchwork faith always tears. Jesus rejected mixing old religious systems with His new covenant, comparing it to pouring fermenting wine into brittle skins. The Pharisees’ rule-based rituals couldn’t contain the explosive grace of the Gospel. Jesus’ way requires fresh structures—hearts softened to hold the expanding work of the Spirit. Tradition without transformation always bursts. [01:16:32]

No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled.
(Matthew 9:16-17, ESV)

Reflection: What rigid habits or mindsets might hinder you from holding Christ’s renewing work? Where is He stretching you to trust His newness?

Day 4: When Following Draws Criticism

Religious elites sneered as Jesus ate with society’s rejects. Their question—“Why?”—exposed their blindness to mercy. Jesus reframed their accusation: physicians belong with the sick. Following Him means embracing misunderstood spaces and people. Criticism often reveals others’ discomfort with grace. The call isn’t to defend but to keep sitting at tables where hope is needed most. [59:49]

And the scribes of the Pharisees… said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”
(Mark 2:16-17, ESV)

Reflection: Who in your life needs the “physician” more than your approval? How will you move toward them this week?

Day 5: Testifying Through Open Doors

Levi didn’t preach a sermon first—he threw a party. His home became a bridge between his old world and Jesus. Testimony starts with proximity, not perfection. By welcoming fellow tax collectors, Levi let his changed life provoke questions. Our most powerful witness often happens when we simply create space for others to encounter Christ. [57:42]

And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them.
(Luke 5:29, ESV)

Reflection: What relationships or spaces can you intentionally open to let others “recline at the table” with Jesus? Who needs an invitation to your next meal?

Sermon Summary

Mark 2:13-22 gives one continuous picture of Jesus, friend of sinners, calling Levi from the tax booth and then sitting at Levi’s table. Levi was a Jew, but he was an outcast among his own people because he collected taxes for Rome and made his living by taking more than Rome required. Jesus sees him, calls him by name, and says, “Follow me.” Levi arises and follows, leaving behind the life that had marked him.

The call of Levi shows that Christ calls sinners out of sin and into a relationship with Himself. “Follow me” is not merely an invitation to walk behind Jesus. Jesus calls Levi to learn from Him, live with Him, pray with Him, suffer with Him, and ultimately be sent by Him. Discipleship is far more than a class or a Bible study. Discipleship is a relationship with God the Father through Jesus the Son.

Levi’s house becomes the first place his new relationship is made known. Levi invites fellow tax collectors and sinners, the people he knows, to sit near Jesus. Levi’s changed life testifies to Christ before he ever says much of anything. The call of Christ also brings criticism, because the scribes and Pharisees cannot understand why Jesus would eat and drink with such people. Jesus answers with the image of a physician: healthy people do not seek a doctor, but sick people do. Jesus came to call sinners to repentance, just as Mark 1:15 declares: “Repent and believe in the gospel.”

Mark then turns to the question of fasting. The Pharisees had taken a good spiritual discipline and made it a proof of their own piety. Jesus does not dismiss fasting, because fasting draws the heart near to God when it is done for God’s glory rather than public attention. Yet the presence of Jesus changes the moment. The bridegroom is present, and a wedding is a time for celebration, not mourning. Jesus also gives a glimpse of His violent removal, when the Bridegroom will be taken away and His followers will fast.

The unshrunk cloth and new wine make the purpose plain. Jesus does not come as another patch on the old system of man-made religion. Jesus brings the new covenant, and nothing can be added to Him. Old religious tradition, personal effort, baptism, and outward practices cannot save. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. It is all Jesus, or it is nothing.

Key Takeaways

1. Christ calls sinners by name Jesus sees Levi in the tax booth, not as a hopeless outcast but as a man He intends to call and change. Christ’s call reaches into ordinary places where sin has become routine and comfortable. Grace does not wait for a sinner to become respectable before saying, “Follow me.” [54:33]
2. Discipleship is a real relationship Jesus calls Levi into more than religious information or a weekly routine. Christ forms disciples through nearness, obedience, prayer, suffering, and being sent into the world. A relationship with Jesus cannot be reduced to knowing facts while resisting His claim on daily life. [56:02]
3. Changed lives testify to Christ Levi opens his home and brings the people he already knows into the presence of Jesus. A believer’s testimony is not dependent on having every answer arranged in the right sequence. Christ’s work in a cleansed heart gives sinners a true word about what He has done. [57:42]
4. Jesus came for spiritually sick people The physician image leaves no room for religious pride. Jesus does not join sinners in order to approve of sin, but to call sinners to repentance and forgiveness. The church must not allow criticism from religious people to keep Christ’s mission from moving toward broken people. [1:01:42]
5. Nothing can be added to Jesus The new cloth and new wine show that the new covenant cannot be mixed with self-made religion. Fasting, tradition, baptism, and outward discipline may have their place, but none of them can carry the weight of salvation. Jesus is not part of the answer; Jesus is the answer. [1:16:32]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[46:34] - Jesus, Friend of Sinners
[48:08] - Eating with Sinners, Fasting with Saints
[49:28] - Jesus Calls Levi
[52:29] - The Call Is Also Personal
[53:17] - Called Out of Sin
[55:12] - Called Into Relationship
[57:07] - Called to Testify
[58:36] - Called Into Criticism
[1:00:20] - The Physician for Sinners
[1:03:16] - The Clarity of Purpose
[1:05:05] - Fasting and the Bridegroom
[1:12:04] - New Cloth, New Covenant
[1:13:28] - New Wine in New Wineskins
[1:17:06] - It Is All Jesus

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Mark 2:13-22
“He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, “Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.” [46:18]

Mark 1:15
“and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” [01:01:21]

John 14:6
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” [01:17:23]

Observation questions

What details in Mark 2:13-17 show Levi’s position in society before Jesus called him, and what immediate response did Levi make to Jesus’ call? [53:10]
Who gathered at Levi’s house after he began following Jesus, and what concern did the scribes and Pharisees raise about the meal?
What image did Jesus use to explain His purpose in spending time with tax collectors and sinners, and what does that image say about why He came? [01:00:23]
In Mark 2:18-22, what three illustrations did Jesus use in response to the question about fasting, and what contrasts are present in each one? [01:03:33]

Interpretation questions

Why is Jesus’ call to Levi more than an invitation to change occupations or improve his behavior? What does “Follow me” involve for someone becoming a disciple of Jesus? [55:40]
Jesus eats with sinners but calls sinners to repentance. How does this keep believers from both avoiding broken people and treating sin as unimportant? [01:01:48]
Why would the presence of Jesus as the Bridegroom make this a time for celebration rather than fasting? How does Jesus’ statement about the Bridegroom being taken away point ahead to His death? [01:11:14]
What do the illustrations of the unshrunk cloth and new wine teach about trying to combine faith in Jesus with self-made religion, religious tradition, or personal effort? [01:15:53]

Application questions

Levi was called while sitting in the tax booth, in the very place where his sinful way of life had become normal. What part of life may have become too comfortable, routine, or resistant to Jesus’ call to follow Him? [54:50]
Following Jesus means more than attending a class or gaining Bible knowledge; it means living in relationship with Him. What would it look like this week to grow in nearness to Jesus through prayer, obedience, and time in His Word? [56:02]
Levi used his home and his existing relationships to bring people near Jesus. Who are the people already in your life who may need to see and hear what Christ has done in you? What is one simple, genuine way you could open a conversation or extend an invitation? [57:15]
Jesus moved toward spiritually sick people even when religious leaders criticized Him. Are there people or places you have avoided because you fear what others might think? How can you show Christ’s love without compromising His call to repentance? [01:02:04]
Fasting is meant to draw the heart near to God, not to display spirituality before others. Have outward spiritual habits ever become more about appearance, routine, or comparison than knowing God? What might a humble, God-centered practice of fasting look like for you? [01:09:17]
Jesus is not part of the answer for salvation; He is the answer. What things are you tempted to add to Jesus as a basis for feeling accepted by God—good behavior, church involvement, baptism, family background, or religious routines? How does trusting Christ alone bring both humility and assurance? [01:18:06]

Sermon Clips

37s

#NewCovenant

“That's the picture they're giving here. You don't take a old wine skin that has been used over and over again, and you take new wine that is still fermenting, that is still causing an expanse to take place, so that it expands so much that the wineskin simply bursts open, and then everything is lost. The wineskin as well as the wine. And the image is the same. Jesus is saying, listen, There's a new covenant. It's me. And you can't add anything to me.”

49s

#JesusOrNothing

“In fact, this new covenant, you can't marry that that that Old Testament thought with the the the binding of the the new covenant. You can't take the old religion and say, well, let's add a little old religion to Jesus. No. It's all Jesus. It's Jesus or nothing. Both of those illustrations are pointing to the new covenant in Jesus Christ. So this is what it means, eating with sinners, fasting with saints. One continuous story, Jesus calling, Levi to follow me. Jesus giving clarity of purpose. Even though the Pharisees couldn't understand it, even though his disciples are probably scratching the head, for us today, we know what Jesus is saying.”

37s

#TestifyYourFaith

“But I'm not very good at this. I'm not very good at sharing. I I don't have all the the the sequence down. No. God is calling us to testify the change that has been wrought in our lives when sin was emptied out and our hearts were cleansed and Jesus occupied our hearts. That's what we're called to do. We are called out of sin. We are called into a relationship, and we are called to testify of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.”

31s

#GospelMission

“Do you understand what that means about our mission? It doesn't stray too far from Jesus's. You see, we are called into criticism. We will be criticized, but that should not stop our mission. Our mission is to seek out sinners, help them to recognize that sin so that they can repent through the hearing and teaching of the gospel message and receive and believe in Jesus Christ.”

60s

#InvitePeopleToJesus

“Here's the third thing. Yes, we are called out of sin. Yes, we're called into a relationship, but we are called to testify. You see, that's what happens when Levi gets home. He opens his home to Jesus. And, oh, by the way, scripture says other tax collectors, other sinners. In fact, it says many people followed because many were flowing Jesus. And Levi was testifying to a new relationship. He was inviting people in his home. What he was doing is inviting people to Jesus. And every blood bought believer of god... Of of Jesus Christ are called. We are called to testify. We are called to testify of what Jesus has done in our heart. We are called to testify what Jesus is doing in our life. We are called to share the gospel to testify of Jesus Christ to others.”

46s

#NothingButJesus

“So what is Jesus telling us? Jesus is showing us that there's nothing that you can mix with Jesus. You see, the Old Testament, the Pharisees of that day were saying, why are they not fasting? Why aren't they following our tradition? Why aren't they following their version of the Mosaic Law? And Jesus is telling them, there's a new covenant that is taking place. And you cannot take this new covenant. And you cannot weave it alongside of that that old patchwork of the Old Testament law. It just won't work.”

43s

#CalledToFollow

“Matthew, that tax collector. He was called to leave behind his profession and to follow Jesus. He was called to stop collecting for Rome and start serving the Lord. And like Levi, we too are called out a sin. We are called into a relationship. We are called to testify of the truth of the gospel. And, oh, by the way, you will be criticized. Because if you're teaching Jesus, the world influenced by Satan will come against you. But this is the call of Levi.”

51s

#BridegroomTakenAway

“But the day will come. Listen, he gives us a glimpse. He gives us a glimpse to something that's gonna take place. He's given us a glimpse into his death. He says, but the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them. That that the the taken away from them is just one Greek word. And it and it gives the image of being snatched away, violently snatched away. And he says, but the day will come when the bridegroom will be snatched away, will be taken away from them. they will fast in those days. The time is coming, Jesus says, when I will not be here. I'm present now. Let's celebrate. The time will come when I'll be taken away, and fasting will take place.”

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First Baptist Church of Florence, SC This sermon · AI assistant

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