The religious leaders of Jesus' day sought approval through their actions and the way they kept the law. They held on to their religious practices so firmly that they even added extra laws on top of the laws in the Old Testament to follow. Living according to the law and having righteous actions became a burden that they placed on themselves and others. They believed that if they could just live the right way, they could be satisfied. The truth is that true satisfaction does not come from moral actions; it comes from Christ. He alone can satisfy us and meet our deepest needs.
Luke 5 reveals that Levi, more commonly known as Matthew, understood that Jesus was the only one worth following and looking to for satisfaction. Levi was a tax collector who was at work "sitting at his tax collector's booth" when Jesus invited him to follow Him (verse 27). Levi's response is remarkable. Levi did not ask for time to think about his decision, which would have required him to leave everything behind to follow Jesus. Levi "got up, left everything, and followed Him" (verse 28). He left everything in order to follow Jesus, including his lifestyle and loved ones. Why did he do this? He was beginning to see what the religious leaders, who were so focused on their laws and rituals, did not see: Jesus was no ordinary rabbi. He was worth giving up everything for in order to follow Him.
Still today, Jesus is worth giving up everything for in order to follow Him. He is the only one who can satisfy. Nothing in this world can satisfy us like Jesus. This life is fading. It is passing by more quickly every day. This earth and the things of this earth will not last. James says it this way in James 4, "Your life is like the morning fog—it's here a little while, then it's gone." Indeed, this world is fading away. That is why we must look elsewhere than the things of this world to satisfy us. We must look to Christ, who will remain forever. He is worth leaving everything for.
Like Levi, we, too, have been invited to follow Jesus. The question is, how are we responding to His invitation? Have we left everything to follow Him, or are we looking to this world to satisfy us? I urge you, friends, to look to Christ, who is the only one who can meet your deepest needs.
Where have you been looking for satisfaction? Have you been looking to the approval of another person, a material possession, good works like the religious leaders, or something else other than God? Confess that to God right now. Acknowledge that you have been looking for satisfaction in something else other than Him. Acknowledge that you know that none of these things can satisfy you. Commit to looking to Him and Him alone to satisfy your deepest longings and needs.
1What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? 2 You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. 3 And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.
4 You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. 5 Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him. 6 And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say,
“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”
7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. 9 Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.
11 Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. 12 God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?
13 Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” 14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. 15 What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” 16 Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.
17 Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.
