The Gospel and the Kingdom - Matthew - Jesus Meets with Individuals - Part 1

 

TEXT: Matthew 9: 9-13 – “As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him. ¹⁰ Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. ¹¹ And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹² When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Today we’re continuing our series in Matthew and Jesus is on the move ministering to people. Remember we said that Jesus treated both sickness and sin. When He removed sickness and disease, it was evident that a person had been miraculously cured, because there was an immediate improvement in their condition. But with sin it was different. He came to us because of our sin, and He forgave men their sins, but the result was not visible to the eye. He could forgive sin because He was God and because He would pay the penalty for sin by His death on a cross.

Matthew is going to tell us today about two different kinds of people that Jesus met and ministered to their souls. A Tax-Collector and some Disciples of John the Baptist. Consider the first one today – the Tax-Collector.

This account starts with the call of this one(verse 9). Jesus summons Matthew to become His disciple. One of the major differences between just being a student and being a disciple is that a disciple seeks to not only learn, but to emulate their instructor and to instruct others themselves.

The logical question then, is how do you see yourself? Are you just a student – or are you a disciple of Jesus each day?

Then in verse 10, we see that after Matthew responds to the call, he throws a banquet to celebrate this occasion. What was he celebrating? He was celebrating leaving everything behind to go forward with the Messiah. He wanted others to find Jesus, and to see that he had become a full disciple of the Master. Do others know that we are followers of Jesus?

In verse 11 we see that the Pharisees are upset because there are sinners at the banquet. Consider this, are we uncomfortable when “sinners” are invited into our church? Does it make us uncomfortable? The real question is that those who are in our church (including me or you) must understand “Who isn’t a sinner?” 

Finally, in verses 12 and 13 we see Jesus rebuking them, saying He has come to call sinners, not those who think they are good enough.

Is that what He is reminding me today? Do you hear Him saying this in your heart? Do we feel we are good enough, or do we truly understand we are sinners – yet sinners saved by grace. Ponder this truth today.