Limitless Word
So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.
Luke 5:28 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB He left everything, and rose up and followed him.
  • KJV And he left all, rose up, and followed him.
  • BSB and Levi got up, left everything, and followed Him.
  • NASB And he left everything behind, and got up and began following Him.
  • NLT So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Levi leaves everything and follows Jesus at once. He responds to Christ's call with immediate, total commitment.

Overview

Levi abandons his lucrative tax office to follow Jesus without hesitation. Like the fishermen before him, he forsakes all, showing the transforming power of Christ's call. His decisive obedience exemplifies the response the gospel demands and the joy of being claimed by the Lord.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 4

  • Luke 5:11When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything, and followed him.
  • Matt 19:22–27But when the young man heard the saying, he went away sad, for he was one who had great possessions.
  • Luke 9:59–62He said to another, “Follow me!” But he said, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.”
  • 1 Kgs 19:19–21So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. Elijah went over to him, and put his mantle on him.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Luke videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Luke 5:28YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LukeMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.

How Luke 5:28 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.