Who Needs a Physician of the Soul? Everyone!

Levi (Matthew) was a tax collector. He was despised by his fellow Jews. He was considered a traitor. He was excommunicated from the synagogue and an outcast of society. However, when Jesus looked at him, He saw one beloved of God, chosen before the foundation of the world. Christ called him to be His disciple. Levi left his immoral vocation and followed Jesus. Overjoyed, he hosted a dinner party for Jesus and invited the only friends he had, fellow tax collectors and sinners. When the scribes and pharisees saw Jesus eating with these unsavory people, they approached the disciples, demanding to know why Jesus would eat with sinners. Jesus said it is the sick that need a physician, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” The pharisees did not recognize that this was a call to repentance. They failed to see that they too were sick in heart. They needed Jesus, the Physician of the soul.