Jesus Calls a Tax Collector: The Feast of the Tax Collectors

Luke 5:27-32

Click here for a description of the mark of the beast.

• Jesus calls people who are taxing to us to follow Him.
• We are living in the days of the feast of the tax collectors.
• Grumbling comes against Jesus Christ for sitting among taxing people.
• There is no repentance for the self-righteous.

Jesus calls people who are taxing to us to follow Him. We are familiar with a person being taxing, or a situation being taxing, or work being taxing, or blogging being taxing, etc. Taxing refers to our spirit, mind, and emotions being drained like a bowl of water in the hot sun. Those who govern by the mark of the beast taxes the flesh and blood humanness of a person to assume control of the mind and heart. The intent is to get us to live by the thoughts, emotions, and feelings that are imposed upon us by the thing that has power over physiology. It essentially creates flesh and blood robots. It especially taxes the presence of the Holy Spirit which comes to us through the faith we have in God through Jesus Christ. Imagine being around a tax-collector, or a group of tax-collectors, that makes it their business to tax the spirit and mind. They are agitating, frustrating, and aggravating. Jesus Christ called a tax collector named Levi to follow Him, who is also known as Matthew who wrote the Gospel of Matthew. Tax collectors like Matthew were Jews who collected money for the Romans from their own Jewish people. They were considered the bottom of the barrel and absolutely despised by everyone. “After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.” Luke 5:27-28

We are living in the days of the feast of the tax collectors. Everywhere we go, in every community around the world, the human spirit and emotions are being gobbled up. It’s a very taxing world in which we live. It’s a global feast for taxing people. For example, Levi would have been known by all of the other disciples who were close to Jesus. He was one of those who were getting rich by over charging the amount of taxes that his fellow Jews were obligated to pay. We can imagine how taxing of a situation it would have been to have a tax-collector in their midst as a fellow disciple of Jesus Christ. But those taxing situations are part of our sanctification process through the Spirit of Jesus Christ. I can imagine Peter and Levi being together in a small gathering as Peter’s mind and heart was probably filled with bitterness, and Levi filled with shame, remorse, and fright. Yet, Peter became the rock on which the Church is built, and Levi wrote the Holy Spirit inspired gospel of Matthew. After Levi was called by Jesus, He, and His disciples went to feast at the house of Levi, at his expense of course, and there was a lot of tax-collectors there, “Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them.” Luke 5:29

Grumbling comes against Jesus Christ for sitting among taxing people. The most taxing people towards Jesus and His disciples were the Pharisees and their scribes. They grumbled about everything Jesus said and done, leveling extreme taxes on the mind and emotions of Him and His followers. Once again, they level their grumbling taxes when they saw Him sitting with tax-collectors and sinners. “But the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled against His disciples, saying, “Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Luke 5:30. Today, those who govern by the mark of the beast doesn’t want the teachings of Jesus Christ anywhere near those who are working to tax the human flesh, spirit, and emotions They are working to make people the seat of government for the mark of the beast, but Jesus makes people the home of the Holy Spirit. Jesus covers the taxes of sin in full through the Holy Spirit in the process of sanctification.

There is no repentance for the self-righteous. This present system has done away with the acknowledgment of sin as they progress in the creation of their flesh and blood robots. They have no room for the Holy Spirit within them and discard the need for Jesus Christ. They do not tolerate criticism and are hostile towards hearing the teachings of Jesus. The affliction and persecution of God’s people come through them as this world trots towards the global tribulation. Their destiny is eternal torment as the only way to God is through Jesus Christ, and in Him is eternal life. They are like the Pharisees and scribes who consider themselves to be righteous and those outside their social network to be filled with blame. Yet, it’s not those on the broad road of mainstream society that will find Jesus through their money, possessions, and physical comforts. It is those on the narrow road who will find Christ within their minimalistic lifestyle of little money, few possessions, and few physical comforts. “Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Luke 5:31-32

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11