Lesson 20: Healing the Spiritually Sick (Luke 5:27-32)

Would you rather be sick or righteous? The answer to this seems like an obvious one; it likely did to the Pharisees also, only Jesus did not like their answer. However, meet Levi, a “sick” tax collector called of Jesus to apostolic ministry, a once-lost man who was chosen to call others to repentance. And that is the central focus of the message at hand: sinners who need to repent are introduced to Christ by sinners who have been redeemed. As we watch Levi walk through the phases of reprobate, repentant, rejoicing, and finally reaching out to others, we too are challenged to consider what it means to have been changed by Jesus. In light of the fact that the sick need spiritual healing, we ought to ask ourselves the question, “What if Levi’s friends were depending on me to proclaim the gospel to them?” In looking at our own hearts, we would be well advised to 1) Repent of our self-righteousness, 2) Love Jesus, 3) Engage the spiritually sick, and 4) Call sinners to repentance. This was Levi’s journey, and it is ours to embark on as well.

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff