‘And after these things he went forth, and beheld a public servant, named Levi, sitting at the tollbooth, and said to him, “Follow me.” '
The Pharisees and scribes now being against Him Jesus adds to their cause for distress, for He walks past a customs post and tollbooth and calls a public servant serving there to follow Him. Levi (Matthew is his other name) need not necessarily have been on his own. There would be two or three manning the booth, supported by soldiers. But Jesus could hardly doubt that His action would provoke anger. He had no doubt had conversations with Levi before this when Levi had come to hear Him speak, and had recognised his genuine repentance and a heart that sincerely sought after God. Indeed the call may not have come as a surprise to Levi, only the timing of it. But Jesus clearly intended it to be public. It could hardly fail to cause a stir. Neither the Pharisees nor the Herodians (whom Levi served) would be pleased, and even the general public would look askance. It was a brave, even a daring, thing to do.
It is thus clear that Jesus wanted to make public the fact that repentance and forgiveness was open to even the lowest level of society, and that He did not mind what a person had been as long as they genuinely turned to God from the heart, even though it offended the very religious.
This would also be noted by Luke's Gentile readers. They too were to recognise that the way was open for them also.
It should be noted that the Pharisees would not necessarily have turned away a public servant who wanted to change his ways, any more than they would Gentiles. But they would have demanded deep humility, a period of penance, and his recognition that he began at a subservient level. The convert would have had to walk a hard and difficult path towards restoration. It would be many years before he could ‘redeem' himself. But with Jesus it was different. Levi was not only to be accepted, but he was accepted immediately and was given the privilege of being a called disciple, sharing equally with the other disciples.
‘He beheld.' Not a chance sighting, but a deliberate act of seeing. He had come there to find him.