Luke Chapter 5, Verse 29
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29: και εποιησεν δοχην μεγαλην ο λευις αυτω εν τη οικια αυτου και ην οχλος τελωνων πολυς και αλλων οι ησαν μετ αυτων κατακειμενοι
29: And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there
was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down
with them.
29: And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: And there was a
great company of publicans and of others that were at table with them.
Made him a great feast. This circumstance Matthew, or Levi as he is
here called, has omitted in his own gospel. This fact shows how little
inclined the evangelists are to say anything in favour of themselves
or to praise themselves. True religion does not seek to commend itself,
or to speak of what it does, even when it is done for the Son of God. It
seeks retirement; it delights rather in the consciousness of doing
well than in its being known; and it leaves its good deeds to be spoken
of, if spoken of at all, by others. This is agreeable to the direction of
Solomon (Prov 27:2): "Let another man praise thee, and not thine own
mouth." This feast was made expressly for Jesus, and was attended by many
publicans, probably men of wicked character; and it is not improbable that
Matthew got them together for the purpose of bringing them into contact
with Jesus to do them good. Jesus did not refuse to go, and to go, too,
at the risk of being accused of being a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber,
a friend of publicans and sinners, Mt 11:19. But his motives were
pure. In the thing itself there was no harm. It afforded an opportunity
of doing good, and we have no reason to doubt that the opportunity was
improved by Jesus. Happy would it be if all the great feasts that are
made were made in honour of Jesus; happy if he would be a welcome
guest there; and happy if ministers and pious people who attend them
demeaned themselves as Jesus did, and they were always made the means
of advancing his kingdom. But, alas! there are few places where Jesus
would be so unwelcome as at great feasts, and few places that serve so
much to render the mind gross, dissipated, and irreligious.
