Luke 5:27–39

Jesus Chooses Levi ^[Matthew^[ to Be a Disciple—Matthew 9:9–13; Mark 2:13–17

²⁷After that, Jesus left. He saw a tax collector named Levi sitting in a tax office. Jesus said to him, “Follow me!” ²⁸So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him. 

²⁹Levi held a large reception at his home for Jesus. A huge crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 

³⁰The Pharisees and their experts in Moses’ Teachings complained to Jesus’ disciples. They asked, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 

³¹Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor; those who are sick do. ³²I’ve come to call sinners to change the way they think and act, not to call people who think they have God’s approval.” 

Jesus Is Questioned about Fasting—Matthew 9:14–17; Mark 2:18–22

³³They said to him, “John’s disciples frequently fast and say prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. But your disciples eat and drink.” 

³⁴Jesus asked them, “Can you force wedding guests to fast while the groom is still with them? ³⁵The time will come when the groom will be taken away from them. At that time they will fast.” 

³⁶He also used these illustrations: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new coat to patch an old coat. Otherwise, the new cloth will tear the old. Besides, the patch from the new will not match the old. ³⁷People don’t pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the new wine will make the skins burst. The wine will run out, and the skins will be ruined. ³⁸Rather, new wine is to be poured into fresh skins. 

³⁹“No one who has been drinking old wine wants new wine. He says, ‘The old wine is better!’ ”