The Call of Matthew (Levi)

Plain English Version (PEV)

Mat 9:9–13

9 So you have to ask God to send more workers out to tell everyone about me, just like the farmer has to ask for more workers for his crop.”

Mrk 2:13–17

13 At that time the Roman people were the bosses of all that country, and they got some Jewish people to take tax money from the other Jewish people and give it to the Roman government. One tax man’s name was Levi, and his father’s name was Alphaeus. Jesus walked along and he saw Levi and said to him, “I want you to be one of my followers. Come on, follow me.” And straight away Levi stood up and went with Jesus.
14 Later that day, after the sun went down, Jesus and his followers were having a feed at Levi’s house. There were lots of other people too. Some of those people were men that used to get tax money from people and give it to the Roman government, and some other people there didn’t live God’s way.
15 The Jewish law teachers and other law men, called Pharisees, they saw Jesus eating with all those people. The law men asked Jesus’s followers, “Why does Jesus eat with those people that don’t live God’s way?”
16 Jesus heard them, and said to them, “Listen, sick people need a doctor, but healthy people don’t need a doctor. I’m telling you, I’m like a doctor. You mob reckon these people do bad things, so I’m here to help them turn around and do good things. But you mob think you never do anything wrong yourselves, so I can’t help you.”
17 The Pharisee law men sometimes stopped eating food for a while to show God that they respected him. The followers of John the Baptiser did the same. Some people came to Jesus and asked him, “How come your followers don’t stop eating food to make God happy, you know, just like the Pharisee mob and John’s followers?”