Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 2:14
And as he passed by, he saw Levi the [son] of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.
14. Levi ] This was probably the name by which he was known to his Jewish brethren. He may have changed his name after and in memory of his call, so that he who had before been known by the name of Levi, was now known as Matthew, or Mattathias, a favourite name amongst the Jews after the Captivity, and = Theodore, the “Gift of God.”
son of Alphus ] Some have identified this Alphus with Alphus the father of St James the Less. But in the lists of the Apostles the two are never named together, like other pairs of brothers in the Apostolic body.
receipt of custom ] Situated as Capernaum was at the nucleus of roads which diverged to Tyre, Damascus, Jerusalem, and Sepphoris, it was a busy centre of merchandise, and a natural place for the collection of tribute and taxes.
Follow me ] Though he belonged to a class above all others hated and despised by the Jews, trebly hated where, as in the present instance, the tax-gatherer was himself a Jew, yet the Lord did not hesitate to invite him to become one of the Twelve.
and followed him ] We cannot doubt that the new disciple had already listened to some of the discourses and beheld some of the wondrous miracles of Christ, so that he was now in the eyes of Him, Who read the heart, prepared for his call.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Levi, the son of Alpheus – The same, undoubtedly, as Matthew, the writer of the gospel which bears his name. It was not uncommon among the Jews to have two names.
The receipt of custom – See the notes at Mat 9:9.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Mar 2:14-15
And as He passed by, He saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the receipt of custom.
The call of Matthew
The story is placed immediately after a miracle, as if to hint that Matthews conversion was a miracle. There are points of similarity between the miracle and the conversion. Matthew was spiritually palsied by his sins and his money making; hence he needed the Divine command, Arise and walk. There may be points of likeness also between Matthews personal story and our own. These may be profitably considered.
I. His call seemed accidental and unlikely.
1. Jesus had often been at Capernaum, which He had selected to be His own city; and yet Matthew remained unsaved. Was it likely he would now be called? Had not his day of grace closed?
2. Jesus was about other business; for we read, As He passed by. Would He now be likely to call Matthew?
3. Jesus left many other persons uncalled; was it not highly probable that the tax gatherer would be passed by? Yet Jesus called to Himself, Levi, the son of Alphaeus, while many another man had no such special call.
II. His call was altogether unthought of and unsought.
1. He was in a degrading business. None but the lowest of the Jews would care to gather taxes for the Roman conqueror. His discipleship would bring no honour to Christ.
2. He was in an ensnaring business. Money is bird lime to the soul.
3. He would not have dared to follow Jesus even if he had wished to do so. He felt himself to be too unworthy.
4. He would have been repulsed by the other disciples, had he proposed to come without the Lords open invitation.
5. He made no sign in the direction of Jesus. No prayer was offered by him, nor wish expressed towards better things.
III. His call was given by the Lord, with full knowledge of him. He saw Levi, and called him.
1. He saw all the evil that had been in him and was yet there.
2. He saw his adaptation for holy service, as a recorder and penman.
3. He saw all that He meant to make of him.
4. He saw in him His chosen, His redeemed, His convert, His disciple, His apostle, His biographer. The Lord calls as He pleases, but He sees what He is doing. Sovereignty is not blind; but acts with boundless wisdom.
IV. His call was graciously condescending.
1. The Lord called Levi, the son of Alphaeus, or, as he himself says, a man named Matthew,-that was his best.
2. He was a publican-that may not have been his worst.
3. He allowed such a sinner to be His personal attendant; yea, called him to that honour, saying, Follow Me.
4. He allowed him to do this immediately, without putting him into quarantine.
V. His call was sublimely simple.
1. Few were the words-Follow Me. It is very tersely recorded-He saw said and he arose and followed Him.
2. Clear was the direction.
3. Personal was the address.
4. Royal was the command.
VI. His call was immediately effectual.
1. Matthew followed at once.
2. He followed spiritually as well as literally.
3. He followed wholly.
4. He followed growingly.
5. He followed ever after, never deserted his Leader.
VII. His call was a door of hope for others.
1. His salvation encouraged other publicans to come to Jesus.
2. His open house gave opportunity to his friends to hear Jesus.
3. His personal ministry brought others to the Saviour.
4. His written Gospel has convinced many, and will always do so.
Application: Are you up to your neck in business? Are you sitting at the receipt of custom? Yet may a call come to you at once. It does come. Hear it attentively; rise earnestly; respond immediately. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Call of Levi
Such as sit at the receipt of custom are hard to be converted; but Jesus manifests His power by doing it with one word alone. Grace disengages Matthew from the love of money, to make him an apostle; the love of money will separate Judas from Christ, to make him an apostate: thus our Lord makes Himself amends beforehand. St. Matthews example had no influence on Judas, though perhaps it was Christs design to lay it before his eyes. Let us profit by the one as well as the other; and let us, with feat and trembling, adore the different judgments of God in relation to souls. (Quesnel.)
Calls to duty joyful
When the Saviour calls, follow Him gladly. Never regret a duty, or lament a responsibility, or grieve over a sacrifice required. If we were as wise as Matthew, we should celebrate with festive joy every call to duty. (R. Glover.)
The attraction of the Divine call
We read in classic story, how the lyre of Orpheus enchanted with its music, not only the wild beasts, but the very trees and rocks upon Olympus, so that they moved from their places to follow him; so Christ, our heavenly Orpheus, with the music of His gracious speech, draws after Him those less susceptible to benign influences than beasts, and trees, and stones, even poor, hardened, senseless, sinful souls. Let Him but strike His golden harp, and whisper in thy heart, Come, follow Me, and thou, like another Matthew, shalt be won.
The call of Levi
Well might he sit down here; for he had a great weight upon him, the burden of his covetousness, and the desires of gold, bred in him by the often traffic he had with it. Gold is heaviest of all metals; but it is made more heavy by covetousness. For it more oppresses the heart of him that loves it, than the back of him that bears it. And where was he sitting? At the receipt of custom. If it be more blessed to give than to receive, certainly to be a receiver of extorted oppression from the grudging people must be no happy nor blessed thing. This customhouse was such. The receiving of custom breeds a custom of receiving; and that, a desire still to receive more; which desire worldly men will ever seek to satisfy, though with the oppression of their poor brethren. This made this place and office hateful to the people. Publicans and sinners went ever together in their mouths Christ found him, as he was Levi, the publican; but looked on him, as he was Matthew, the apostle He called him to an office much more gainful where he should still be a receiver, and a gainer too; but not, as here, ten or fifteen per centum; but where one should bring forth thirty, one sixty, one an hundred-fold. (Wm. Austin.)
God often calls men in strange places
Not in the house of prayer, not in the preaching of the Word; but when all these things have been absent, and all surrounding circumstances have seemed most adverse to the work of grace, that grace has put forth its power. The tavern, the theatre, the gaming house, the race course, and other similar haunts of worldliness and sin, have sometimes been the scene of Gods converting grace. As an old writer says, Our calling is uncertain in respect of place, for God calls some from their ships, and some from their shops; some from under the hedges, and others from the market; so that, if a man can but make out unto his own soul that he is certainly called, the time when and the place where matter little.
The call of Levi, or Christs voice to the soul
I. That Christ calls men to follow Him.
1. That the call of Christ is antecedent to any human endeavour after Him.
2. That it is often effectively addressed to the most unlikely men.
3. That it is addressed to men when they are occupied with the secular duties of life.
4. That it takes men from the lower duties and sends them to the higher.
II. That Christs call to men must be immediately obeyed-And he arose and followed Him.
1. That obedience must be immediate.
(1) Not to be hindered by intellectual perplexities.
(2) Not to be hindered by commercial or domestic anxieties.
2. That obedience must be self-sacrificing.
3. That it must be willing.
4. That it must be continuous.
Learn:
1. To heed the calls of Christ to the soul.
2. To subordinate the secular to the moral.
3. That true religion consists in following Christ.
4. That it is well to speak to men for their moral good. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Matthew the publican
Alas! that the son of a devout, God-fearing Israelite should have fallen so low. Even the outcasts, the sons of Belial, hesitated long before they thus sold themselves to work iniquity. But he had gone freely and voluntarily into the service of the heathen. A fathers stern commands, a mothers earnest pleadings, the entreaties of a loving sister and the expostulations of manly and pure-hearted brothers, the fair fame of the family, upon whose proud escutcheon no such blot had ever come since the days of their great ancestor, David-all these were of no avail to turn this wayward young man from the evil course he had chosen, and at length his name had been blotted from their record and; to all outward seeming, he was to them as if he had never lived. The neighbours and friends left out his name when they spoke of the children of Kolas (as in Mar 6:3), and at morning and evening prayer no audible petition went up to heaven for the erring and sinful one. But, hardened as he was, and great as was the distress he had given to his family, Levi was not beyond the free grace of the Redeemer of men. Jesus was his cousin, according to the flesh, and though He knew how the hearts of that dear family at Nazareth were breaking with anguish over him as utterly lost, yet He, the Divine Redeemer, did not despair of his recovery from the depth of his degradation and sin. Having loved him with an everlasting love, He would draw him out of the depths by the power of His loving kindness. And so it came to pass that when Jesus had left Nazareth and the home of His youth for busy, bustling Capernaum, because there He could accomplish a more comprehensive and effective work in establishing the kingdom of God on the earth, His eye more than once rested on poor Levi, and He saw that, in spite of his bravado, his sins were making him wretched. And when on that bright summer morning He went from Peters house to His work of teaching and healing at the shore of the lake, as He passed the stall or booth where Levi was receiving the tolls and taxes, He said only, Follow me; and the tax gatherer, a few moments ago so hardened and brusque, instantly abandoned his books and accounts, his money and receipts, and, rising from his seat, followed Jesus. Nor did he ever return to the base employment he had left. The change of heart and purpose, though apparently instantaneous, was thorough and permanent. One evidence of its thoroughness was manifested in his desire to bring others who had fallen into the same degradation as himself under the gracious influence of Christs teachings. And Levi made Him (i.e., Christ)
, says the evangelist Luke, a great feast in his own house; and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. To these sinful souls our blessed Lord spoke words of forgiveness and pardon, and they became, as St. Mark tells, His followers thenceforward. As for Matthew, he undoubtedly grew in grace, and was restored to the loving favour of his family; for it was, at the farthest, but a very few months later that Jesus chose him as one of the twelve, and with him two, and possibly three of his brothers, the devout and exemplary James the Just being one, and gave him his new name Matthew, The gift of God. Matthews remembrance of his early history and sins seems to have kept him humble, and have prevented him from participating in those unseemly wrangles as to who should be the greatest, in which some of the others indulged; but he was a keen observer, and from the day when he abandoned his publicans stall to his death he must have felt more profoundly than any of the others the certainty that Jesus was the Son of God as well as the Son of Mary. Some practical lessons:
I. Family pride is not a sufficient preservative against deeds of shame.
II. Has dishonour been brought upon your family name by a prodigal? Do not despair of him. You have a great burden of shame and grief to bear; but do not cease to love the prodigal, to pray for him, to hope for him. He, like St. Matthew, may yet hear and obey the voice of Christ.
1. If you did your best to train him in the way in which he should go, be very sure that the healthful influences by which you surrounded him are still with him, fighting mightily against the degrading influence by which he is now encompassed, and they may yet prevail. Not in vain did you do your duty in regard to him.
2. Ah, but it may be that you cannot recall the days of his boyhood without personal shame. You permitted many things to prevent you from training him duly in godliness and true manliness; the example you set before him was not really ennobling. Well, humble yourself before God, and hope in God for your son as well as for yourself. He may yet yield to the persistent drawings of the Divine love.
III. No man should permit his business or his social surroundings to hinder him from following Christ.
IV. One of the very best evidences of a mans conversion is a real manifestation of care for the spiritual welfare of these of his own class. (Anon.)
The call of Levi
I. The person called, A publican, etc.
II. The manner in which he is called.
1. Externally-by the Word.
2. Internally-by Christs power and Spirit.
3. These two must ever be combined.
III. The manner in which Levi treated the call.
1. He did not disregard it, as many.
2. He did not promise a compliance like others.
3. He instantly obeyed, and is thus an example to all who are called.
IV. The call itself. Christ goes before-
1. To prepare Himself for sympathy.
2. To remove doubts as to the way.
3. To free from oppressive responsibility.
4. To show how we are to walk in the way.
5. To remove obstructions.
6. To be a companion. Are you following Christ? (Expository Discourses.)
The feast of Levi, or the festival of a renewed soul
I. It was a festival held to celebrate the most important event in the history of a soul.
1. It was indicative of joy.
2. It was indicative of gratitude.
3. It was indicative of worship. The newly converted soul is characterized by devotion.
II. It was held to introduce to Christ those who were in need of his loving mercy.
1. It was a time for the introduction of sinful companions to Christ.
2. It was a time of leave taking between Levi and his former friends. Not to leave the old life in a hostile spirit.
III. It was a festival too lofty in moral significance to be rightly interpreted by the conventional bigots of the age.
IV. It was a festival beautifully illustrative of Christs mission to the world.
1. We see from this festival that Christ came to save the morally sinful.
2. We see from this festival that Christ came to heal the morally diseased.
Lessons:
1. That the life of the renewed soul should be a constant festival of icy.
2. That Christians should endeavour to bring their comrades to the Saviour.
3. That humanity has a Divine Physician. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 14. Levi] The same as Matthew; he appears to have been a Jew, though employed in the odious office of a tax-gatherer. For an account of his call, see his Gospel, Mt 9:9, &c.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
We had this piece of history with some addition in Mat 9:9-13, where he was called Matthew: Mark and Luke both call him Levi: it was ordinary with the Jews to have two names. See Poole on “Mat 9:9“.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And as he passed by,…. As he went from Simon’s house, and from the city of Capernaum, to go to the sea side:
he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus; the same with Matthew, Mt 9:9, and son to the same Alphaeus as James was, Mt 10:3, Beza’s most ancient copy reads “James”, instead of “Levi”, very wrongly; but he was the brother of James, and also of Simon and Jude; so that there were four brothers of them apostles: and if Joses, called Barsabas, was the same Joses that was brother to these, as seems probable, a fifth was put up for an apostle, though the lot fell on Matthias. James, and Joses, and Simon, and Jude, are mentioned together,
Mt 13:55, because they lived together, and were men of religion and seriousness, and known by their neighbours; but Matthew, or Levi, is not mentioned: it is thought, by some, probable, that he was a loose, extravagant young man, and so might depart from his father’s family, and enter into this scandalous employment of a publican; and herein went contrary to his father’s will, Cleophas, or Alphaeus, who was the husband of the sister of Mary, the mother of our Lord:
sitting at the receipt of custom; the toll booth, or custom house, where he sat to take toll of passengers that came, or went in ships or boats, The Syriac version renders it, “sitting among the toll gatherers”; and the Persic, “among publicans”; not only signifying the business in which he was, but the company he was among; which makes the grace of Christ the more illustrious and distinguishing, in looking upon him, and calling him:
and said unto him, follow me; and he arose, and followed him. Christ, the great shepherd of the sheep, who came to seek, in order to save that which was lost, was now locking up his lost sheep; and Matthew, or Levi, being one of them, he finds him, and calls him by his grace. Christ is always first with his people; he first seeks them, and then they seek him; he first finds them, and then they find him; yea, he is found of them that sought him not. Levi took no notice of him, inquired not about him, and had no thought of leaving his employ; and going after him, but Christ knew him: his eye was upon him as he passed by him, and his time was a time of love, and so a time of life; he looked upon him, and said unto him, live; quickening power went along with his words, and he arose, and left all, and followed him: Christ, as the good shepherd, went before; and Levi, through the grace that was now given him, as one of his sheep, heard and knew his voice, and, without the least hesitation or reluctance, quitted his business, and became a follower of him. How powerful is efficacious grace! what is it, it can not do! it turns the heart of a sinner at once, inclines it to Christ, and causes it to leave all for his sake; it at once fills the soul with love to Christ, faith in him, and obedience to him; it works powerfully, and yet freely; it always obtains, and effects what it designs, yet puts no force upon the will: Levi, under the drawings of divine grace, followed Christ most willingly and cheerfully;
[See comments on Mt 9:9].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
And as he passed by ( ). Present participle active, was passing by. Jesus was constantly on the alert for opportunities to do good. An unlikely specimen was Levi (Matthew), son of Alpheus, sitting at the toll-gate () on the Great West Road from Damascus to the Mediterranean. He was a publican () who collected toll for Herod Antipas. The Jews hated or despised these publicans and classed them with sinners (). The challenge of Jesus was sudden and sharp, but Levi (Matthew) was ready to respond at once. He had heard of Jesus and quickly decided. Great decisions are often made on a moment’s notice. Levi is a fine object lesson for business men who put off service to Christ to carry on their business.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
See on Mt 9:9.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And as He passed by,” (kai paragon) “And passing along the seashore of the Capernaum area.”
2) “He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom,” (eiden Levin ton tou alphason kathemenon epi to telonion) “He recognized Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the custom house,” upon the tax collecting seat, near Capernaum. He is also called Matthew, his apostolic name, Mat 9:9-13; Luk 5:27-32.
3) “And said unto him, Follow me.” (kai legei akolouthei mou) “And He said to him, follow me,” follow after or to or toward the way I am leading, much as He had called Peter, Andrew, James and John, Mat 4:18-22; Mar 8:34-38.
4) “And he arose and followed Him.” (kai anastas ekolouthesen auto) “And rising up (taking a stand, or standing up) he followed Him,” he walked in the footsteps of Jesus, to become an Apostle, one of the Twelve, Mat 10:2-6; Mar 3:13-21. As Paul arose immediately, seeking to know and follow the will of the Lord, Act 9:5-7; Eph 5:16-18.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(14-17) Levi the son of Alphus.See Notes on Mat. 9:9-13. St. Mark and St. Luke agree in giving the name Levi, the former alone describes him as the son of Alphus.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
14. Levi the son of Alpheus We learn from the parallel passage in Matthew that this Levi was Matthew himself. If the Alpheus here mentioned was the same Alpheus as in Mat 10:3, then Matthew was the cousin of Jesus, being brother of James the Less.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And as he passed by he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the place where tolls were collected, and he says to him, “Follow me.” And he arose and followed him.’
This is a simple sentence and yet it contains a multitude of significance. Levi was a man who served the hated ruler Herod Antipas as a local official collecting tolls on his behalf from those who passed along that route, possibly the trade route from Damascus, or perhaps covering imports by sea. For Capernaum was basically a frontier town between the territory of Herod and that of Philip and near the sea shore. Such people were despised. They were considered to be betrayers of the people, for they were dishonest and lined their pockets by mean of extra ‘taxes’ at everyone’s expense. And with their constant contact with Gentiles and sinners they were seen as continually ritually unclean. Overall they were seen as rather unpleasant, and certainly irreligious, people.
Thus when Jesus approached Levi, and called him to follow Him as a disciple, eyes must have been raised. Indeed they must have wondered what Jesus thought He was doing. But Jesus clearly knew the man in one way or another, and had equally clearly been impressed with him. To Him what the man had been was unimportant. What mattered was what he was willing to become. The rich young ruler was a man admired by his contemporaries, but he was not willing to do what Levi did, leave his riches and follow Jesus. And Jesus knew His man.
We are then told simply that Levi arose and followed Him. Given the choice between the service of Herod Antipas and growing riches, and the service of Jesus and poverty, he did not hesitate. He followed the authority of the greater King, the Servant of God. Here was living proof of the presence of God’s powerful reign present in Jesus. That is Mark’s implication. And his action was total. Unlike the others there was no way he could ever go back to his job, and he knew that from the beginning. In one move he risked everything. From Mat 9:9 we know that he was also called Matthew, possibly a name he received on following Jesus, for in Mar 3:18 Mark himself calls him Matthew. And he used his skills and became the great writer who recorded so much of the teaching of Jesus.
We need not think that this was the first time that they had met. Levi had probably been in the crowds following Jesus and may well have talked with Him and discussed his problems and his searching after truth. Thus Jesus had recognised in him one who was suitable to be an Apostle.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.
Ver. 14. And as he passed by he saw Levi ] Our calling is of free grace, Eze 16:6 ; Isa 65:1 . The scribes and Pharisees are let alone; and this publican called to the work.
And he arose and followed him ] Leaving his gainful trade, and following his own ignominy, ruin, death. Nihil hic disputat unde vivere debeat: faith fears no famine: Christ is a universal good, an “All in all.”
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Mar 2:14 . . Levi, the son of Alphaeus, the name here and in Lk. different from that given in first gospel, but the incident manifestly the same, and the man therefore also; Levi his original name, Matthew his apostle name. Mk. names Matthew in his apostle list (Mar 3:18 ), but he fails to identify the two, though what he states about Levi evidently points to a call to apostleship similar to that to the four fishermen (Mar 1:16 ; Mar 1:20 ). The compiler of the first Gospel, having Mk. before him, and, noticing the omission, substituted the name Matthew for Levi, adding to it (Mar 9:9 ) to hint that he had another name. : a call to apostleship (in terms identical in all three Synoptics), and also to immediate service in connection with the mission to the publicans ( vide on Mt.).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Levi. Probably his former name before changing it to “Matthew”- the gift of God (Mat 9:9).
the son of Alphseus. Occurs only here (i.e. in connection with Levi) in N.T.
Alpheaus. Aramaic. See App-94.
at = in charge of. Greek. epi. App-104.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Mar 2:14.[17] , the receipt of custom) At the sea; Mar 2:13.
[17] Comp. on this history, note on Mat 9:9.-E. B.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
he saw: Mar 3:18, Mat 9:9, Luk 5:27
Alphaeus: Mar 3:18, Luk 6:15, Act 1:13
receipt of custom: or, place where the custom was received
Follow me: Mar 1:17-20, Mat 4:19-22
Reciprocal: Mat 10:3 – Matthew Mat 19:21 – come Mat 19:27 – we have forsaken
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
CHRISTS CALL
And as He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow Me. And he arose and followed Him.
Mar 2:14
This incident is narrated also in Matthews Gospel (Mar 9:9) and in Lukes Gospel (Mar 5:28). Luke adds that Levi (known to us at Matthew) not only rose up, but left all to follow Jesus. From Matthews own account we should never have learned that he had anything to leave. He had resolved to follow Christ. In following Him he had found the pearl of great price, and gave no thought to the price at which he had obtained it. So he never mentions what he left. But there can be no doubt that he did, as we should say, make a considerable sacrifice in order to obey the Lords call, even though he may have thought nothing of it in comparison of the higher gain which he won.
We have a double lesson to learn from this point in the history.
I. When God calls us to make any sacrifice for His sake, we are not to be the persons to speak of it, for we ought not to feel that it is any sacrifice at all. The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a man who sells all that he has to secure the pearl of great price. When a man sells all that he has in order to procure the pearl, he is doing a voluntary action. It is not like having your goods taken from you in exchange for something else. It is your own voluntary deed, which you do because you consider it to be well worth while; because you consider the priceless pearl to be well and cheaply won by the sacrifice of all; and, therefore, your mind is so much more set upon what you have gained than upon what you have given up, that you do not even think of mentioning what it cost.
II. See the example Matthew sets us.It would have been a loss to us if we had been left to imagine that Matthew had nothing to leave. And so this piece of information is supplied to us by Luke. From the way that Luke mentions it, it is clear that Matthew had much to give up. The word publican means tax-gatherer. And the tax-gathers of those days were a wealthy class of persons. They paid the Government a certain price for the taxes of a town or a district, and then made what profit they could out of their bargain. This being so, they were of course anxious to make as much as they could out of the taxes, and in most cases they grew rich by grinding the people to the uttermost. This is why they were so unpopular. The publicans are always mentioned in the New Testament along with sinners. An I the reasons were (1) that in most cases they were so extortionate that their very name was a by-word for swindler; and (2) that scarcely any one with a good character would become a publican at all. Matthew was one of these publicans. Up to this time he had given up all for money. Now he gives up all his profits and all his future opportunities of wealthgives them all up to follow Christ.
Illustrations
(1) On the shores of the Lake of Galilee many fishing villages were situated, and from amongst the hardy fishermen of this district Christ chose his first four disciples. Simon and Andrew were called to follow Him whilst casting a net into the sea, and James and John as they sat in their boat with the crew mending their nets. Bethsaida, the house of fish, was the native place of Simon, Andrew, and of Philip, and from the same region Matthew was called as he sat at the receipt of custom, by the lake, collecting dues levied on fish, fruit, and other produce conveyed by boat to the towns and villages on the margin of the lake.
(2) When, after a great missionary meeting, the offerings of the people were counted over, among the banknotes, gold, silver, etc., was found a card. Who put that in? was asked; and it was discovered that it came from a young man at the back of the assembly. On it was written, Myself. That was the young mans offeringhimself. It was just this which Levi offered when he obeyed the call of our Lord and, in reality, if not in quite the same way, it is with nothing short of this that we must be satisfied.
(3) How people do slave for money! The wonder is that they do not see that money is their god when they obey it and slave for it so. If this is not making a god of money I do not know what is. And then having thus slaved and worked for money, whether they have gained much or little, they worship what they have got. Having got it, the next thing is to keep it, except what, like Dives, they spend upon themselves. Any way, it is their god. And it draws off their whole mind and thoughts from all the many duties which God sent us into the world to do. The father of a family is so hard worked in money-getting for his children (as he says) that he cannot find time to attend to bringing them up so as to be good and upright and virtuous. That he must leave to others. He sees less of his own children than any one, and then when they grow up he wonders that they dont care for him, and he complains that nowadays young people have no respect for their parents. But it is his own fault. He was busy worshipping money when he ought to have been winning his childrens love and respect, and he must reap as he has sown. You cannot serve God and Mammon. It is the same with a mans other duties. How can a man be a good Christian, devout, prayerful, and God-loving, who makes money-getting his first object in life?
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Chapter 15.
The Call of Levi
“And as He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow Me. And he arose and followed Him. And it came to pass that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and His disciples: for there were many, and they followed Him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto His disciples, How is it that He eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? When Jesus heard it, He saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”-Mar 2:14-17.
The Man, the Call, and the Reason.
Levi-or to give him his more familiar name, Matthew-was a tax-gatherer, and to be a tax-gatherer in that country and at that time was almost equivalent to being a scoundrel and a thief. And yet this was the man Jesus called to be a disciple!
Why did Jesus call Levi? He called him because he was spiritually fit to be called. In this renegade publican’s heart Jesus saw the hunger and thirst after righteousness! Scribes and Pharisees, judging by outward appearances, regarded him as outcast, vile beyond contempt, lost beyond hope. But Jesus, penetrating through the outward appearance, read his heart and knew him to be fit for the kingdom of God!
This is characteristic of Jesus. He saw good where no one else saw anything but evil. In publicans and sinners like Levi and Zacchus He saw that “feelings lay buried which grace could restore.” And just because He saw good where no one else saw anything but evil, He hoped where every one else despaired. “A dimly burning wick” (Isa 42:3, R.V., margin), the prophet had said of Him, “He will not quench.” He saw the “dimly burning wick” of a desire for holiness in Levi’s heart, in the heart of the woman who was a sinner, in Zacchus’ heart. He did not quench that flicker. He fanned it into a flame.
The Prompt Obedience
“Follow Me,” said Jesus to Levi. And he arose and followed Him. Our Lord’s confidence in Levi was justified by his prompt obedience. Of course we are not to suppose Jesus came to Levi that day as a perfect stranger. No one could live in Capernaum and not know about Jesus. The probability is that Levi had been one of those publicans who “kept following” Jesus. In view of Levi’s action, we may well believe that, as he listened to Our Lord, he learned to loathe his life and to hate his sin and to long for holiness; and that it only needed this call to make him break away from his old associations and give his life and soul to holier and better things. “He arose and followed Him.”
-And ready Sacrifice.
What glorious and sacrificial obedience this was! Levi was not simply sorry for his life; he broke with it and left it, forever. As Dr. Salmond points out, it was a harder thing for Levi to rise up and follow Christ than it was for Peter and his comrades. Their occupation as fishermen was one to which they could easily return-as indeed they did return after the Resurrection. But there was no return to his toll-booth for Levi. When he left it, he left it altogether. Like St Paul, he suffered the loss of all things for Christ. And he did it without a moment’s hesitation. “O my sweet Lord Jesus,” he would say, with the seraphic Samuel Rutherford, “a smile from Thee is better than kingdoms.”
The Token of Joy.
He rose up and followed Christ, and then promptly made a feast, to which he invited all his old friends and associates. He did it in token of his joy. He had just made a stupendous sacrifice, for he had left all. But the thought of his sacrifice was swallowed up in the thought of his great gain. He had lost his toll-booth-he had gained the kingdom. And he did it in the second place, in order that he might share his joy. Joy is always communicative. When the woman found the lost piece of silver she sent for her friends and neighbours to rejoice with her. “Rejoice with me,” she said, “for I have found the piece which I had lost” (Luk 15:9, R.V.). And that is what Levi was saying by this great feast of his, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the pearl of great price.” Joy is always communicative, and especially the joy of a Saviour found. The saved man at once turns missionary. The man who has once really experienced the redeeming love and grace of Christ wants to tell to all the world around him of the Saviour he has found.
The Work of Grace.
What great things Divine grace did for Levi! It found him a publican, it made him an apostle! It found him an outcast, it wrote his name on the foundations of the New Jerusalem! And notice how grace works. It always conserves a man’s natural endowments. It destroys no power. It converts and consecrates it. Now Levi was clever with his pen. What grace did was to consecrate his natural gift. When Levi became a Christian, says Dr. Alexander Whyte, he took his pen and his ink-horn with him, only now instead of using them for purposes of extortion, he used them to write the story of his Blessed Lord.
From a publican to an apostle-what cannot grace do? It can lay hold of us in our weakness and sin, set us among princes, and make us inherit a throne of glory.
Fuente: The Gospel According to St. Mark: A Devotional Commentary
4
This man was Matthew Levi, one of the apostles and writer of the book with that name. Receipt of custom means the place where taxes were received, and this identifies him as a publican. Jesus told Levi to follow him which he did without any preparation further than what John the Baptist had done. (See Mar 1:20.)
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
XXXVI.
THE CALL OF MATTHEW.
(At or near Capernaum.)
aMATT. IX. 9; bMARK II. 13, 14; cLUKE V. 27, 28.
c27 And after these thingsa [after the healing of the paralytic] he went forth, aagain by the seaside [i. e., he left Capernaum, and sought the shore of the sea, which formed a convenient auditorium for him, and which was hence a favorite scene for his teaching]; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them. 14 And as he aJesus passed by from thence, he saw cand beheld aa man, ca publican, named {ccalled} Matthew, cLevi, bthe son of Alphaeus [It will be observed that Matthew, in his account of his call, does not make himself prominent. All [189] the evangelists keep themselves in the background. Because Mark and Luke give us the name Levi, it has been thought by some that they describe the call of a different person from the one mentioned by Matthew–an opinion which seems to have started with Origen. But the difference in name is not an important divergence, for many in that day had two names; as, for example, Lebbus, who was called Thaddus; Silas, who was called Sylvanus; John, who was called Mark; etc. Moreover, it was then common to change the name; as is shown by the cases of Simon, who became Peter; Joseph, who became Barnabas; Saul, who became Paul, etc. Therefore, as we have previously suggested ( Mat 10:3). It is not likely, however, that Matthew and James were brothers, for Alphus was a very common Jewish name, and brothers are usually mentioned in pairs in the apostolic lists, and these two are not so mentioned. Pool takes the extreme view here, contending that James, Matthew, Thaddus, and Simon Zelotes were four brethren], sitting at the place of toll [Wherever it is at all practicable, Orientals sit at their work. The place of toil was usually a booth or a small hut. Whether Matthew’s booth was by the lake, to collect duties on goods and people ferried across; or whether it was by the roadside on the great highway leading from Damascus to Acco, to collect taxes on all produce brought into Capernaum, is not material. The revenues which Rome derived from conquered nations consisted of tolls, tithes, harbor duties, taxes for use of public pasture lands, and duties for the use of mines and salt works], and he saith {csaid} unto him, Follow me. 28 And he forsook all, And he arose {crose up} and followed [190] him. [Such obedience was not, of course, performed in ignorance; it indicates that Matthew was already a disciple, as were the four fisherman when they also received a like call. Matthew was now called to become a personal attendant of Jesus, preparatory to being chosen an apostle. Nor are we to conclude from the abruptness of his movements that he went off without settling accounts with the head of his office. Though it may be more dramatic to thus picture him as departing at once, yet the settlement of accounts was indispensable to his good name in the future, and in no way diminishes the reality and beauty of his sacrifice–a beauty which Matthew himself forbears to mention, as became him ( Pro 27:2). But Matthew certainly neither delayed nor sought counsel ( Gal 1:15, Gal 1:16). By thus calling a publican, Jesus reproved the religious narrowness of his times.] [191]
[FFG 189-191]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
Verse 14
Levi. This collector is called Matthew, by the other evangelists. (Matthew 9:9.)–The receipt of custom; the office where he transacted the business of collecting the taxes or customs of this port.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
Mar 2:14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.
Matthew identifies Levi further as Matthew and Luke identifies him even further with the phrase “a publican.” Levi was a toll taker, probably not one of the more popular folks to deal with. Every time you saw him it cost you money. My father was the county treasurer in our town for many years. People would come from all over the county to see him, but it always cost them money – he gathered taxes of several sorts from the public.
Unlike my father, when called Levi responded immediately. My father heard the claims of Christ, but never to my knowledge accepted Him (though he may have at some point before his death). Levi just up and went with Christ. He did not stop to take care of business, he just followed. In fact Luke adds “And he forsook all, and rose up and followed him.”
Leaving all is the cost of following Christ properly. He may not ask us to leave all our worldly possessions, but we need to be willing to walk away from it all on a moments notice to honor Him. We know that Levi did not immediately leave everything because in the following verse it mentions that Levi fed the Lord in his house.Just what is a publican? The Lexicon mentions that they were tax gatherers; they were a class of society that was viewed by the people as detestable. They were not a class that people wanted to associate with, yet Christ saw something in this man who he wanted as a disciple.
Easton mentions that the publicans often farmed the tax gathering out to others. They would gain the job from the Roman government then hire others to collect the taxes. These underlings were not always honest in their dealings thus the hate for the tax gatherers of the day.
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
2:14 And as he passed by, he saw {g} Levi the [son] of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.
(g) Matthew’s other name.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
"Levi" was this man’s given name whereas Matthew ("gift of God," also Nathanael and Theodore) was a nickname. Matthew used the latter name for himself in his Gospel (Mat 9:9; cf. Mar 3:18), but Mark and Luke spoke of him by his given name.
". . . in Galilee it was common to have two names-one the strictly Jewish, the other the Galilean. (Talmudic tractate Gittin 34 b)" [Note: Edersheim, 1:514.]
"It was not uncommon for a man to receive or assume a new name upon entering a new career." [Note: Hiebert, p. 69.]
The Jews despised tax collectors because they worked for the Romans and because they often extorted money for Rome from their fellow Jews. [Note: See. A. W. F. Blunt, The Gospel According to Saint Mark, pp. 155-56.] Levi 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. [Note: Guelich, p. 101.] Levi 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.
"When a Jew entered the customs service he was regarded as an outcast from society: he was disqualified as a judge or a witness in a court session, was excommunicated from the synagogue, and in the eyes of the community his disgrace extended to his family." [Note: Lane, pp. 101-2.]
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.