story. The idea is to show Christ as God (v. 1), as Lord (7) and as the promised Messiah (v. 8), and then to contrast it with 727:T778,r e n n i s The ory Levi’s st Levi’s life (also known as Matthew) who is a man isolated from the religious life because of his profession (2.14) and the kind of friends he had (2.16). From the religious point of view, Levi would be the last to be invited by Jesus to follow Him, mostly if we consider that this calling would end up in the apostleship of a man who was considered a traitor by his people. The Christ of God calls a sinner, rejected by the “church” of his time, to be a follower of the Gospel. This is why the Gospel is not about merit but about grace. HELP: 1. Sinner: “Lit., a person who misses the target; meaning that must not be imposed. It is an adjective, used frequently as a noun; it is the most usual term to describe the fallen condition of mankind. It can be applied to every men (Ro 5.8,19). In the synoptic Gospels the term is used, quite frequently, by Pharisees, to talk about the publicans (tax collectors) and women with a bad reputation, e.g.: <> (Lk. 7.37); <> 819.7). In Gl. 2.15, in the phrase <>, the apostle is assuming the same area of the Judaizer, reminding them with irony their affirmation of moral superiority over the gentiles; then he shows that Jews are as sinners as gentiles are.” 2. Publicans: It denoted firstly a person who had the responsibility of collecting taxes, then, like in the New Testament, a subordinate of these, who collected taxes in a district, a tax collector. These were naturally greatly rejected by the people. They are classified among the <> (Mt 9.10,11; 11.9; Mc 2.15,16; Lc 5.30; 7.34; 15.1); with the prostitutes (Mt 21.31, 32); with the <> (Mt 18.17); in RT appears in MT 5.47; the manuscripts more commonly accepted have ethnikoi: <>; also see Mt 5.46; 10.3; Lc 3.12; 5.27,29; 7.29; 18.10, 11,13.”.