Luke began chapter two with the call of the most
famous of the apostles, Simon Peter (5:1-11). Immediately following Peter’s call, Luke demonstrated the unusual nature of Jesus’ ministry: he touched society’s most pitiful outcast (5:12-16) and forgave the sins of an utterly helpless man (5:17-26). Significantly,
the very next event in Jesus’ life that Luke highlights is the call of another apostle. This time, he chooses a spiritual outcast, a notorious sinner: a tax collector.
