Jesus specializes in calling unlikely disciples, as demonstrated when He called Levi, a despised tax collector, to follow Him. Tax collectors were hated as traitors who got rich by extorting their own people, yet Jesus saw past Levi’s reputation to his potential. When Jesus said Follow me, Levi immediately left his lucrative position and threw a dinner party to introduce his friends to Jesus. The religious leaders were scandalized that Jesus would eat with sinners, but Jesus explained that He came to call sinners, not the righteous. Every follower of Jesus is an unlikely disciple because we all fall short of God’s glory, yet Jesus calls us while we’re still sinners and offers transformation.
