Chapter 2:14-22 Levi (Matthew) Called

2:14 And as He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow Me. And he arose and followed Him.

Levi - The same as Matthew; he appears to have been a Jew, though employed in the odious office of a tax-gatherer.

Matthew, that had been a publican, became an evangelist, the first that put pen to paper, and the fullest in writing the life of Christ.

2:15 And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and His disciples: for there were many, and they followed Him.

Many publicans and sinners sat with Jesus - Some of them doubtless invited by Matthew, moved with compassion for his old companions in sin. 

But the next words, For there were many, and they followed Him, seem to imply, that the greater part, encouraged by His gracious words and the tenderness of His behavior, and impatient to hear more, stayed for no invitation, but pressed in after Him, and kept as close to Him as they could.

2:16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto His disciples, How is it that He eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?

Sinners - By ἁμαρτωλοι, the Gentiles or heathens are generally to be understood in the Gospels, for this was a term the Jews never applied to any of themselves.

2:17 When Jesus heard it, He saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

When Jesus heard it, He saith to them,.... Christ either overheard what they said to His disciples, or He heard it from the relation of the disciples; and when He did, He turned to the Scribes and Pharisees, and spoke to them I came not to call the righteous - Therefore if these were righteous I should not call them. But now, they are the very persons I came to save.

2:18 And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto Him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?

Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast -The following vices are very common to Pharisees.
1. They are more busied in censuring the conduct of others than in rectifying their own.
2. They desire that every one should regulate his piety by theirs; and embrace their particular customs and forms of devotion.
3. They speak of and compare themselves with other people, only that they may have an opportunity of distinguishing and exalting themselves.

2:19 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

And Jesus said unto them,.... Both to John's disciples and the Pharisees, can the children of the bride chamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? Suggesting that He was the bridegroom, as John their master had called him, John 3:29, and that His disciples were the children of the bride chamber.

2:20 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

But the days will come,.... As they were in some sense now come to the disciples of John, their master being taken up by Herod, and confined in prison, and so it was a mourning time with them:
when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days: referring to the time of the sufferings and death of Christ, which would be, and was a sorrowful season to His disciples.

2:21 No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse.

No man seweth a piece of new cloth upon an old garment....else the new piece that filled it up, taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse; for by attendance to the traditions of the elders, the Jews were taken off from, and neglected the commandments of God; nay, oftentimes the commands of God were made void by these traditions, so that the old garment of their own righteousness, which was very ragged and imperfect of itself, instead of being purer and more perfect, became much the worse, even for the purpose for which it was intended;

2:22 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.

And no man putteth new wine into old bottles,.... By "old bottles" are meant, the Scribes and Pharisees, the whole, which needed not a physician, and the righteous, else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: the Gospel will only fill them with rage and fury, and they will despise it, and let it go; which will be an aggravation of their sin and misery, and so will prove the savor of death unto death unto them....but new wine must be put into new bottles; into the hearts of sinners, who are called to repentance, and are renewed in the Spirit of their minds; are newborn babes, that desire the sincere milk of the word, and wine of the Gospel.