D. The Call of Levi (5:27-39)

Having already called Peter, James, and John to be his disciples, Jesus called Levi, a tax collector, also known as Matthew. The scribes and Pharisees criticized Jesus because of his readiness to eat with tax collectors and sinners. Tax collectors had a reputation for embezzlement, and sinners were probably people with notorious reputations. With a touch of sarcasm, Jesus affirmed that his mission was not to the righteous (as the Pharisees judged themselves) but to sinners.

When he was challenged about fasting, he did not advocate it with the same rigor as John the Baptist (vv.33-39). Although he recognized it as a religious discipline (Mt 6:16-18), he defended the less ascetic behavior of his own disciples. As new wine needed new wineskins, so his teaching needed a new life-style. He was not obliged to keep all the ways of his predecessors.

He recognized, however, that the moment of his death would be a time for fasting. And so he made the first of his prophecies about the fate that awaited him. He also referred to himself as a bridegroom, an image which recalls the idea of God as the husband of Israel (e.g., Isa 54:5).