Matthew 9:9-13

9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. 10 Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. 11 But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum? ”12 When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” 13 Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

• CONVERSION– Vs 9

The second thing we need to notice is that Matthew got up. He stopped sitting, conversion is not complicated it involves responding and repenting. Responding to the Savior and repenting from sin, to turn away from and to turn to. Conversion involves change because it involves Christ. You can’t stay where you are and follow Jesus. A call to Jesus is always a call to action. Jesus called him to follow and that means leaving and loving. Leaving our former life and loving the Lord. Matthew gave up the comforts of money for the cost of following the Master. Where are you at and where are you going? Since conversion have you changed? Some of us are still sitting at the same table of sin we are not serving and following the Savior. Which begs the question have we really responded to the Redeemer? A disciple is a student and follower, so who or what are you learning from and who is leading you? Before Jesus Matthew followed money after he followed the Master. What a contrast between Matthew’s response and that of the rich young Jewish man in Matthew 19:16-22 who asked Jesus what he had to do to inherit eternal life. When Jesus called him to give up all his wealth and follow Jesus, the Scripture records his response: “When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.”Matthew went from collecting taxes for the Romans to sharing the truth about Jesus, he went from Tax to Facts. His life before Jesus reflected a submission to Sin after a submission to the Savior. Are you a student of sin or the Savior? Redemption reveals the freshness and fragrance of the gospel it frees us to repent instead of repeat sin. He was an educated man good at figures, money and accounting. He was used to keeping accurate and detailed ledgers as they related to the books in the tax-collecting offices. He didn’t stand in front of the group of Disciples like Peter did. He didn’t become the emotional ‘in your face’ like James and John. What he could do was compile the facts of the life of Jesus to collect his words and write them down. As a result, for over 2000 years we have benefited from reading what he wrote. That my friends is a changed life for Jesus, it’s not about you becoming like someone else it’s about following Christ the way He created you.

• CELEBRATION– Vs 10

Today we celebrate more and more possessions more power more prestige and the thing that often brings us more is money and like Matthew there have been many who mistakenly believed that money could buy everything important in life. But instead of money bringing success to Matthew it caused him to lose all the things that make life meaningful, his good name, his friends, his public esteem, his place as an accepted member in the community. So, what did Matthew celebrate, Christ! He wanted others to know about Jesus, so he invites them to his home to meet Jesus and when Jesus accepted the invitation Matthew filled his home with the people he knew, sinners! He went from taking to sharing and he shared the Savior with people in his circle of influence. So, who are the people you know? Matthews actions of wanting to reveal Jesus are also reflected in the Book of Matthew the first book in our New Testament written by a tax collector. He wrote about Jesus not Matthew because He wanted to tell his fellow Jews that Jesus was the promised Messiah. He was who the Jews had been looking for throughout their history. Matthew wanted to tell about Jesus’ life and his miracles and his teachings. He wanted to tell about why he died. He wanted to tell about the resurrection. Following Jesus is celebrating a life of looking forward not backward.

• CRITICISM– Vs 11

But celebrating Christ brought criticism. While Jesus “saw a man named Matthew” the Pharisees saw scum. Jesus saw a man who needed a Savior the Pharisees saw a sinner. The difference between religion and a relationship is that Jesus offers redemption while religion only offers rules that rebuke. The Pharisees had a question about why Jesus ate with sinners so who do they ask? They asked his disciples instead of going and asking Jesus. Notice they don’t get an answer until Jesus hears the question. If you have a question confront the source. The only reason they backdoor the question was because it wasn’t really a question but a criticism wrapped up neatly in the blanket of religion so it could be disguised. The real scandal was over supper with sinners. My question weren’t the Pharisees sinners so what was their problem? They didn’t see themselves as sinners but as self-made saints. Pride will always poison the heart and cause us to promote self while putting others down. Why do we need to see our sins, because when we seeing our sin we see our need for a Savior. Sin is a sickness we all struggle with but they saw themselves as saints because of their own standards. But we are not judged on our own standards but God’s and we all fall short and are in need of a Savior. Do you see the difference between the sick-sinner and the self-righteous, the sinner celebrates Jesus the self-righteous celebrates self and criticizes the Savior.

• CHASTENING– Vs 12-13

We are not called to shun sinners but show them the Savior. The Pharisees were putting all their energy into shunning not showing. What did Matthew do he showcased the Savior while the Pharisees were shunning sin. Today which are we more like? Matthew is the only Gospel writer to include this quote from Jesus, “Come unto me, all who labor and are heavy-laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Because Matthew understood the weight of sin and the washing away of that sin by the Savior. What is your life promoting self or the Savior?

Matthew 9:9-13

9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So, Matthew got up and followed him. 10 Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. 11 But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum? ”12 When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” 13 Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

It’s here in the midst of the call that we see Matthews:

• CONDITION VS 9 & 13

Just another ordinary day for Matthew sitting at his tax booth, outwardly this seems simple enough, but this was a despised lifestyle. He was a tax collector hired by the Roman occupiers, the tax collector purchased his position for a price and was authorized to collect a certain total of taxes each year. Jews regarded tax collectors as traitors to Israel and to their religion. They were considered equal to the lowest in society, the thieves and murderers. They were not welcome in the local synagogue and were regarded as cheats and liars, so much so that their testimony was not allowed in court. Matthew when recording the moment Jesus called him does not shy away from telling us what he did for a living. Jesus SAW him SITTING, going nowhere, He saw a life that was being wasted. Jesus saw a man…a human being…Jesus saw his heart, his mind, his thoughts, his hurt, his pain, his loneliness, his lack of meaning and purpose in life and Jesus went to him. Within the core of every person’s life is a little bit of hell… “for all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.”…. Jim Baaker was indicted for fraud in 1988 and sentenced to 45 years in prison and fined $500,000. When the scandal broke, Baaker’s Christian friends quickly deserted him. He became an outcast in the Christian world. And when he was sentenced, his wife Tammy Faye left him and then divorced him. Jim Bakker was asked in an interview while in prison… Who was the biggest surprise visitor you had in prison? He responded, Billy Graham was the biggest surprise because he is such a busy man. A few days before he arrived he had been voted the most respected man in the world. I heard that on my little radio in prison. He came just a few days before I found out that my wife was divorcing me. So, I think it was God preparing me for that moment. When he came to visit me, I had the flu. I looked like a man who had slept under a bridge. My hair was a mess and I had my old toilet-cleaning clothes on. My toes were sticking out of my shoes. I had just finished cleaning the toilets, and the guards came to get me. One of the guards led me across the compound, and I thought he was taking me to the lieutenant’s office. I thought maybe I was in trouble. But then they said, “Didn’t they tell you, Billy Graham is here to see you.” So, I walked into the room and he had his arms outstretched and he embraced me and told me he loved me. We sat and talked, and when he prayed everyone else in the room prayed. When you feel like you’re worthless, and then somebody like that comes, it’s really shocking. As soon as I was released from prison, Ruth Graham called the Salvation Army halfway house where I was and asked permission for me to go to church with her that Sunday morning. When I got there, the pastor welcomed me and sat me with the Graham clan—two whole rows of them. I’d only been out of prison 48 hours. The organ began playing and Ruth walked down the aisle and sat next to inmate 07407-058, telling the world that I was her friend. Afterwards, she had me up to their cabin for dinner. When she asked me for some addresses, I pulled this envelope out of my pocket to look for them. In prison you’re not allowed to have a wallet, so you just carry an envelope. She asked, “Don’t you have a wallet?” And I said, “Well, yeah, this is my wallet.” After five years of brainwashing in prison you think an envelope is a wallet. She walked into the other room, came back, and said, “Here’s one of Billy’s wallets. He doesn’t need it. You can have it.” The Grahams sponsored me, paid for a house for me to live in, and gave me a car to drive. When everyone else saw and treated Jim Bakker as a prisoner the Graham’s treated him as a person. In Verse 13 Jesus says that he didn’t come to call the righteous but sinners. It’s not the righteous that respond but the wretched. The Call is based on the Savior not the sinner. In Jesus day they based the call on people’s condition. That is why the Pharisees were upset that the Savior called sinners. Today some of you are basing the call on your condition and as a result you think you’re not good enough. But we need to be reminded that the call is based on Christ! Jesus came to call sinners He was intentional he sought the sinner, He meets us where we are at. Matthew based his decision to follow on the call not to his condition. What about you are you basing your life on Christ’s call or your condition?