Luke § 20

Then follows the spiritual calling of the tax collector, whom he orders to follow him not by steps of the body but by character of the mind. Matthew once greedily embezzled from fishermen the profits they earned from hard labor and dangers. When he was called, he abandoned his office, which was to rob others of their money. Yes, he left that shameful seat, to walk totally in the footsteps of the Lord with his mind.

(de con. Ev. l. ii. c. 26.) After the healing of the sick of the palsy, St. Luke goes on to mention the conversion of a publican, saying, And after these things, he went forth, and saw a publican of the name of Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom. This is Matthew, also called Levi.

And 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. The same Levi who is Matthew, but Luke and Mark, out of respect and honor for the evangelist, did not want to use the common name. However, Matthew himself, according to what is written, "A righteous man accuses himself" (Prov. XVIII), at the beginning of his own discourse calls himself Matthew and a tax collector: so that readers understand that no one who has been converted should despair of salvation, since he himself changed suddenly from a tax collector into an apostle, from a toll collector into an evangelist. And leaving everything behind, he arose and followed him. Understanding truly what it means to follow the Lord, Matthew leaves everything and follows him. To follow is to imitate. Therefore, that he might follow poor Christ not so much in step as in affections, he left behind his own goods who used to seize others' property, and giving us the perfect example of renouncing the world, not only did he leave the profits of the tax office, but also disregarded the danger that could come from the rulers of the world, because he had left behind the incomplete and disorganized accounts of the taxes. For he was so driven by the desire to follow the Lord, that he did not retain for himself any regard or thought for this life. Because of this, deservedly, while diligently abandoning human affairs, he earned the reward to be a faithful steward of the Lord's talents.

Now Luke and Mark, for the honour of the Evangelist, are silent as to his common name, but Matthew is the first to accuse himself, and gives the name of Matthew and publican, that no one might despair of salvation because of the enormity of his sins, when he himself was changed from a publican to an Apostle.

Now by the election of Matthew is signified the faith of the Gentiles, who formerly gasped after worldly pleasures, but now refresh the body of Christ with zealous devotion.

Second, how the disciples are called from the state of guilt.

And after these things he went out, etc. Above the Evangelist treated of the calling of the disciples from a lawful state, that is, of justice; here he treats of their calling from a perilous state, that is, of injustice, where he shows how he called Matthew sitting at the tax-collector's booth. Now this part has two sections, in the first of which he treats of the perfection of the calling; in the second, of the defense of those called, there: And it came to pass on the Sabbath, etc., in the next chapter.

Concerning the perfection of the calling, three things are introduced: the first is the calling of sinners; the second is the confutation of the proud, at the place: And the Pharisees murmured etc.; the third is the consolation of the weak, at the place: But they said to him etc.

The calling of the publican, moreover, is shown to be perfect from three aspects, namely from the part of the prevenient divine gift, from the part of the consenting free will, and from the part of the devout obedience that follows.

First, therefore, it is shown to be perfect from the part of the prevenient divine gift, when it says: And after these things he went out and saw a publican etc. And note that he is said to go out, to see, and to call. He goes out, indeed, in order to seek; he sees, in order to draw to himself; he addresses and calls, in order to convert to himself. He went out, indeed, through solicitude for seeking his own work, as it is said in the Psalm: "Man shall go forth to his work and to his labor until the evening." Hence he is signified by the householder, of whom it is said in Matthew twenty, that "he went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard." This is truly the Lord Jesus, who says of himself in John sixteen: "I came forth from the Father and have come into the world," because from the secret bosom he came into the open. — Nor did he only go out, but he also saw the publican, so that through the gaze of mercy he might draw him to himself, just as that one was asking to be seen in the Psalm: "See my humility and my labor" etc. And in this way he saw him, because, although he was a sinner in deed, he was nevertheless chosen in the divine purpose: Wisdom four: "His regard is upon his elect." Hence it is said below in chapter twenty-two: "The Lord turned and looked upon Peter, and Peter, going out, wept bitterly."

With this gaze Jesus saw a publican named Levi, that is, Matthew, who, as Jerome says, had two names; but Luke and Mark, out of honor for the Evangelist, are silent about the well-known name, while Matthew, having become his own accuser at the beginning of his narrative, names himself Matthew and a publican.

And note that publicans were so called either because they sinned publicly, as is understood below in chapter eighteen: "Two men went up into the temple: one a Pharisee, and the other a publican"; or because they made goods public to all by selling them, as merchants are accustomed to do, as is understood above in chapter three; or because they collected public taxes: and this is how the term seems to be properly understood here.

Whence there follows: Sitting at the tax office. According to Bede, "telos in Greek is vectigal in Latin"; according to Isidore, it is a place "where the wares of ships or the earnings of sailors are rendered"; according to Ambrose, it can be taken equivocally for the tax and for the house, in which it is paid; whence he says: "He who previously extorted harsh profits from labors and greedy gains from the wages of many, called by a word, left behind his own possessions—he who had been seizing the possessions of others." "Let no one therefore, as the Gloss of Bede says, despair on account of the enormity of sins, since Matthew was changed from a tax collector into an Apostle, from a toll-gatherer into an Evangelist."

Nor did he only see him so as to attract him, but he also spoke to him so as to convert him, when there follows: And he said to him: Follow me, namely through the renunciation of all temporal things, because, as is said in John chapter eight, "he who follows me does not walk in darkness"; and Ecclesiasticus chapter twenty-three: "It is a great glory to follow the Lord." Follow me is said with discernment, not temporal gains: because, Ecclesiasticus chapter thirty-four, "as he who grasps at a shadow and pursues the winds, so is he who attends to lying visions."

Follow me, not carnal desires; Ecclesiasticus chapter five: "Do not follow the concupiscence of your heart in your strength"; and Proverbs chapter seven: "He follows her as an ox led to the slaughter," etc.

Follow me, not worldly shameful deeds, as those of whom it is said in Second Kings chapter fifteen: "With their whole heart all Israel follows Absalom"; Hosea chapter twelve: "Ephraim feeds on wind and follows the burning heat; all day long he multiplies lies and desolation." And such are the vainglorious, who feed on the wind of worldly vanity.

Levi was a publican, a man greedy for dirty money, filled with an uncontrolled desire to possess, careless of justice in his eagerness to have what did not belong to him. Such was the character of the publicans. Yet he was snatched from the workshop of sin itself and saved when there was no hope for him, at the call of Christ the Savior of us all. For Jesus said to him, " 'Follow me.' And he left all and followed him." What most wise Paul says is true: "that Christ came to save sinners." Do you see how the only-begotten Word of God, having taken upon the flesh, transferred to himself the devil's goods?

For Levi had been a publican, a rapacious man, of unbridled desires after vain things, a lover of other men's goods, for this is the character of the publican, but snatched from the very worship of malice by Christ's call. Hence it follows, And he said unto him, Follow me. He bids him follow Him, not with bodily step, but with the soul's affections. Matthew therefore, being called by the Word, left his own, who was wont to seize the things of others, as it follows, And having left all, he rose, and followed him.

(Hom. 30. in Matt.) Here mark both the power of the caller, and the obedience of him that was called. For he neither resisted nor wavered, but forthwith obeyed; and like the fishermen, he did not even wish to go into his own house that he might tell it to his friends.

The publican who was chosen by the Lord, he adduces for a proof that he was chosen as a stranger to the law and uninitiated in Judaism, by one who was an adversary to the law.

And so from him that received toll from the passers by, Christ received toll, not money, but entire devotion to His company.

Or the publican is he who serves the prince of this world, and is debtor to the flesh, to which the glutton gives his food, the adulterer his pleasure, and another something else. But when the Lord saw him sitting at the receipt of custom, and not stirring himself to greater wickedness, He calls him that he might be snatched from the evil, and follow Jesus, and receive the Lord into the house of his soul.

(Reg. fus. tract. 8.) He not only gave up the profits of the customs, but also despised the dangers which might occur to himself and his family from leaving the accounts of the receipts uncompleted.

Secondly, perfection is shown on the part of the consenting free will by obeying, when there follows: And leaving all things, rising up, he followed him: in which is designated the perfect consent of free will both as regards withdrawal from evil and advancement in good and consummation in the perfect state. Therefore it is said that he left all things, that he rose up, and that he followed Christ, so that he could say that word of Peter in Matthew chapter nineteen: "Behold, we have left all things and followed you." And this is what the Apostle exhorts us to in Hebrews chapter twelve: "Laying aside every weight and the sin which surrounds us, let us run with patience," etc.

And note that under this distribution are included all things that hinder a person from following Christ perfectly, which are seven, namely criminal wickedness, bodily comfort, temporal business, personal strife, popular fellowship, paternal dwelling, and childish desire. Criminal wickedness must be relinquished: Proverbs twenty-eight: "He who conceals his crimes will not prosper." — Second, bodily comfort, as in Tobit two: "He left his meal and came fasting to the body." — Third, temporal business: thus Joseph left his cloak in the hand of the Egyptian woman, Genesis thirty-nine: "Leaving his cloak, he fled"; thus Elisha left his oxen and plow, Third Kings nineteen; thus the Apostles left their nets, as is said in Matthew four: "Leaving their nets, they followed him." By nets are rightly understood earthly affairs, because "those who wish to become rich fall into temptation" etc., First Timothy six. — Fourth, personal strife must be relinquished: Ecclesiasticus twenty-eight: "Forgive your neighbor who harms you, and then when you pray, your sins will be forgiven." Fifth indeed, popular fellowship: Jeremiah forty-eight: "Leave the cities and dwell in the rock." — Sixth, paternal dwelling: Jeremiah twelve: "I have left my house and abandoned my inheritance" etc.

Seventh, childish desire; Proverbs nine: "Leave behind childishness" etc.

He who relinquishes all these things is the one who rightly rises: he is signified by the converted Paul, of whom Acts nine says: "And Saul arose from the ground, and opening his eyes, he saw nothing"; because to a person converted to Christ and illuminated by his light, nothing earthly seems to be of any worth; Ephesians five: "Arise, you who sleep, and rise from the dead, and Christ will illuminate you." And he who rises thus unencumbered can follow along the way of perfection, so that he may say that word of Job twenty-three: "My foot has followed his steps."

And he did this swiftly, for he knew that "delay has harmed those who were prepared"; whence he did not wish to act against that word of Proverbs three: "Do not say to your friend: Go and come back, and tomorrow I will give to you, when you can give at once"; but rather that word of Proverbs twenty-two: "Have you seen a man swift in his work? He shall stand before kings."

Nevertheless, Porphyry the heretic reproaches him for this, because he immediately followed him without deliberation, as if a fool.

To which the Gloss responds that "he followed him not led by fickleness, but drawn by the power of his works"; for he had seen the miracles of Christ. Whence Jerome says that "the splendor of the hidden Divinity, which shone forth in the human face of Christ, was able at once to draw those who saw it to himself by its very appearance. Just as a force is said to exist in the magnet stone, such that it joins rings and straw to itself, how much more could the Lord of creatures draw to himself those whom he willed." According to what the bride says in the Song of Songs: "Draw me after you; we shall run in the fragrance of your ointments."

He also prepared a great feast, because he who receives Christ in the house inside him eats the finest foods—plentiful pleasures. So the Lord enters willingly and reclines in the character of one who has believed.

People are hungry when Christ is absent and they lack the abundance of good desserts. Truly, one for whom his own virtue suffices for pleasure, who receives Christ in his own home, prepares a great feast. It is a spiritual banquet of good works, at which the rich people go without and the poor one feasts. It says, "The sons of the Bridegroom cannot fast while the Bridegroom is with them."

But he who receives Christ into his inner chamber, is fed with the greatest delights of overflowing pleasures. The Lord therefore willingly enters, and reposes in his affection.

And Levi made him a great feast in his house. He who receives Christ within his home is nourished with the greatest joys far surpassing pleasures. Thus the Lord gladly enters and reclines in the affection of the one who has believed, and this is the spiritual feast of good works, which the rich crowd lacks, and the poor one feasts on.

And there was a great crowd of tax collectors and others who were reclining with them. They had seen a tax collector converted from sins to better things, finding a place of repentance, and because of this they too do not despair of salvation.

Third, the perfect calling is shown on the part of the devoted service that follows in ministering, when it says: And Levi made him a great feast in his house. Matthew was acting according to the resolve of the Wise Man, who said in Wisdom 8: "I resolved to bring wisdom to live with me, knowing that she would share with me her goods." Already in him was fulfilled the desire of Christ, according to Revelation 3: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone opens to me, I will enter to him and sup with him," etc. Already manifest is the joy of the eternal Father, of which it is said below in chapter fifteen: "It was fitting to feast and rejoice, because this son was dead and has risen again."

And since the greatness of the feast requires a multitude of those feasting, he therefore adds: And there was a great crowd of tax collectors and of others who were reclining at table with them. For Matthew had invited them so that, just as they had been companions in guilt, so also they might be companions in repentance, according to the last chapter of Revelation: "Let him who hears say: Come"; whence Jerome says: "They saw that the tax collector, turned from sins to better things, had found a place of repentance, and on that account they themselves also did not despair of salvation." For they considered that "it is better to be invited to vegetables with love than to a fatted calf with hatred," Proverbs 15. But this crowd of tax collectors called to the feast of Christ signifies what is to be fulfilled, which is said in Matthew 8: "Many shall come from the east and west and shall recline with Abraham in the kingdom of heaven, but the children of the kingdom shall be cast into the outer darkness"; whence in chapter twenty-one: "Tax collectors and sinners shall precede you." And as a figure of this, it is said below in chapter ten that "a certain woman named Martha received him into her house, and she had a sister named Mary."

But against this seems to stand the passage of First Corinthians 5: "If any man who is called a brother among you is a fornicator or covetous, with such a one not even to take food."

But that is said to the weak, lest they be corrupted by evil association, because it is said in Sirach thirteen: "He who associates with the proud will put on pride." Or certainly it is said concerning those who are publicly obstinate and convicted, according to what the Gloss says. But these could be moved to contrition by the presence of Christ. Hence Jerome: "Jesus went to the banquets of sinners, so that he might have an occasion for teaching and might offer spiritual food to those who invited him. Finally, although he is described as frequently going to banquets, nothing else is reported that he did there except that he taught, so that both the humility of the Lord in going to sinners and the power of his teaching in the conversion of penitents might be demonstrated."

(ubi sup.) But the Lord honoured Levi, whom He had called, by immediately going to his feast. For this testified the greater confidence in him. Hence it follows, And Levi made him a great feast in his own house. Nor did He sit down to meat with him alone, but with many, as it follows, And there was a great company of Publicans and others that sat down with them. For the publicans came to Levi as to their colleague, and a man in the same line with themselves, and he too glorying in the presence of Christ, called them all together. For Christ displayed every sort of remedy, and not only by discoursing and displaying cures, or even by rebuking the envious, but also by eating with them, He corrected the faults of some, thereby giving us a lesson, that every time and occasion brings with it its own profit. But He shunned not the company of Publicans, for the sake of the advantage that might ensue, like a physician, who unless he touch the afflicted part cannot cure the disease.

Do you hesitate about arts, and trades, and about professions likewise, for the sake of children and parents? Even there was it demonstrated to us, that both "dear pledges," and handicrafts, and trades, are to be quite left behind for the Lord's sake; while James and John, called by the Lord, do leave quite behind both father and ship; while Matthew is roused up from the toll-booth; while even burying a father was too tardy a business for faith.

For by His eating with sinners, He prevents not us also from going to a banquet with the Gentiles.

This was the voice of the Devil. This was the first word the Serpent uttered to Eve, Yea hath God said, Ye shall not eat. (Gen. 3:1) So they diffuse the poison of their father.

But again the envy of the treacherous is kindled, and the form of their future punishment is prefigured; for while all the faithful are feasting in the kingdom of heaven, the faithless will be cast out hungry. Or, by this is denoted the envy of the Jews, who are afflicted at the salvation of the Gentiles.

(de con. Ev. lib. ii. c. 27.) Now St. Luke seems to have related this somewhat different from the other Evangelists. For he does not say that to our Lord alone it was objected that He eat and drank with publicans and sinners, but to the disciples also, that the charge might be understood both of Him and them. But the reason that Matthew and Mark related the objection as made concerning Christ to His disciples, was, that seeing the disciples ate with publicans and sinners, it was the rather objected to their Master as Him whom they followed and imitated; the meaning therefore is the same, yet so much the better conveyed, as while still keeping to the truth, it differs in certain words.

And the Pharisees and their scribes murmured, saying to His disciples: Why do you eat and drink with publicans and sinners? While publicans were dining with the Lord, the Pharisees murmuring boasted about fasting. Here is first declared how great is the distance between the law and grace. Because those who follow the law endure the eternal hunger of a fasting mind. But those who have received the word in the innermost parts of the soul, being refreshed by heavenly nourishment and the abundance of the fountain, cannot hunger and thirst. Then the type of future retribution is prefigured, when the perfidy of the proud will be tormented by fasting, while the chosen are feasting with Christ. To whom it is said, Prostitutes and publicans will precede you in the kingdom of God (Matt. XXI). And if through the election of Matthew the faith of the gentiles is expressed, who previously were greedy for worldly gains, but now refresh the body of Christ with diligent devotion, it undoubtedly indicates the arrogance of the Pharisees, the jealousy of the Jews, tormented by the salvation of the gentiles.

And they murmured, etc. Above he treated the calling of sinners; in this part he treats the stirring up of the proud, because, as the Apostle says in First Corinthians one, "God chose the weak things of the world to confound the strong, and the ignoble and contemptible things of the world God chose, and the things that are not, to destroy the things that are, so that no flesh should glory in his sight." Therefore the refutation of the Pharisees, who were proud of their own merits and despised others, is described in this order. For first their pride is exposed; second, once exposed, it is rebuked; third, once rebuked, it is cast down.

It is exposed, therefore, first from the murmuring of their own talkativeness; and this is noted when he says: And the Pharisees and their scribes murmured, against the counsel of the Wise One, Wisdom one: "Guard yourselves from murmuring, which profits nothing, and spare your tongue from detraction." Which these men did not do; hence it is added: Saying: Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? Since they could not bite at any sin of his own, they bit nevertheless on account of another's; for this is the way of a wicked person; Sirach eleven: "Converting good into evil, he lies in ambush and places a stain upon the elect." In this the pride of the Pharisees is made manifest, because they did not consider themselves sinners. Hence the Gloss: "They sin doubly: both because they think themselves just, when they are proud, and because they think those others guilty, when they are already repenting." Hence they were like that Pharisee of whom it is said below in chapter eighteen: "I am not like the rest of men: robbers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector." And therefore below in chapter sixteen the Lord said to them: "You are they who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts." Concerning such people, Isaiah sixty-five: "Who say: Depart from me, do not approach me, for you are unclean." On account of the words and reproaches of such people, a person ought not to shun works of mercy; hence First Maccabees two: "Do not fear the words of a sinful man, for his glory is dung and worms." Hence Jerome: "It cannot happen that anyone should pass through the course of this life without the biting of men. It is the consolation of the wicked to criticize the life of the good, and from the multitude of sinners they think the guilt of their own sins is diminished."

But for what reason do the Pharisees blame the Savior for eating with sinners? Because it was the law to distinguish between the holy and the profane, that is, holy things were not to be brought into contact with things profane. They made the accusation therefore as if they were vindicating the law. Yet it really was envy against the Lord and readiness to find fault. But he shows them that he is present now, not as a judge but as a physician. He performs a proper function of the physician's office, being in the company of those in need to be healed. But no sooner had they received an explanation of their first accusation than they bring forward another, finding fault because his disciples did not fast. They wished to use this charge as an opportunity to accuse Christ.

(ubi sup.) But nevertheless the Lord was blamed by the Pharisees, who were envious, and wished to separate Christ and His disciples, as it follows, And the Pharisees murmured, saying, Why do you eat with Publicans, &c.