Matthew 9:9-13

Matthew 9:9-13

And while moving along from there, Jesus saw a man while sitting upon a tax booth – being called Matthew – and He said to him, “Follow me.”  And after getting up he followed Him.  And it became that while he was reclining at the table in the house – behold! – after many tax collectors and sinners came they were reclining at the table by Jesus and His disciples.  And after the Pharisees saw, they were saying to His disciples, “For what reason does your teacher recline at the table with tax collectors and sinners?”  But the one who heard said, “The ones who are healthy have no need for a physician.   But the ones who are in bad health do have need.  Go and learn what this is: I desire mercy and not sacrifice.  For I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

This is the Gospel of Matthew.  This is Matthew’s calling story.  Here is the opportunity for Matthew to write about how he got to know Jesus.  And what is amazing is that in the Greek Matthew sums up his calling to 22 words.  We don’t see Matthew drawing glory upon himself.  We don’t see Matthew giving unnecessary details.  Matthew takes an incredibly humble approach and basically says, “Jesus came, he saw me, and he invited – commanded – me to follow.  I obeyed.”  That’s all.  It is a remarkable story when you think about it.  Matthew is clearly way more interested in keeping the emphasis upon Jesus and not putting the emphasis upon himself or his story.

Could you summarize your calling story to 22 words or less?  What does this really tell us about the importance of humbleness when it comes to giving our testimony of calling?

Second Thought:

I’ve never liked the Pharisees approach in this story.  It is almost like the Pharisees are a pack of hyenas, circling Jesus and His disciples and looking for the weak ones.  When they see Jesus hanging out with tax collectors and sinners, they go to Jesus’ disciples rather than talk to Jesus directly.  They go in under the radar as if to make trouble without Jesus knowing about it.  Only by the grace of God are these disciples spared.  Jesus sees their approach.  He knows their hearts.  He steps up and takes the Pharisees on head first, sparing his disciples from needing to defend Jesus.

Have you ever been the victim of someone talking behind your back?  What is the purpose of someone talking about someone else behind their back?  Is this proper behavior for a God-fearing person?

Third Thought:

I love Jesus’ rebuttal here because it forces us to accept truth if we want to follow Jesus.  He didn’t come to call the righteous.  The truth is that the righteous wouldn’t have needed a savior anyways!  Jesus came to call sinners back to God.  This means that if I am following the call of Jesus, then by definition I am a sinner.  Of course, I have no trouble acknowledging this fact.  I am a sinner.  I am in need of Christ’s sacrifice and His calling.  But it is good to remember this fact from time to time.  Just because Christ called me doesn’t make me any better than the next person down the row.  I am fundamentally a sinner.  The only thing that changes anything is Christ, not me or my qualities.

Why is it difficult to be reminded of our sinfulness?  How do you think the Pharisees would have responded to this assertion from Jesus?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 9:14-17