THE CALLING OF MATTHEW

 

The Calling of Matthew

9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

 

1.      Jesus had just healed a paralyzed man and the people will filled with awe and praised God for such authority had been given to man.  Then Jesus did something no one expected.  He sees a well-known tax collector sitting in his tax collecting booth.  Everyone knows who Matthew is and what he does for a living.  Then just like today many people are defined by what they do not who they are. 

2.      Matthew was part of group who were hated because Tax collectors were regarded as sinners. They were Jews who worked for the Romans, so this made them traitors. People resented paying taxes to the foreigners who ruled over them.  We need to remember God does not see us as we are but what we shall be. 

3.      Jesus walks up to Matthew and gives him a simple command, “Follow me,” That is the same command He gives us.  It is a summons to lose your life and find new life and ultimate joy in him.  It means that Jesus wants a loyal commitment not partial surrender.  Jesus expects us to follow Him.  Do His will, live His lifestyle, follow His commands and be His representatives.  Jesus expects a changed heart and life. 

4.      He went all way to the cross for us and He expects nothing less in return.  Follow Me!” is a call to obedience. It is no mere invitation, but an imperative command.

5.      Matthew got up and followed Him.  That is what is amazing.  Without hesitation and not fully knowing what it meant Matthew did. 

6.      I asked myself this question why Matthew would get up immediate and do this? Scholars tell us The disciples believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the person who would rule Israel and the rest of the world.  I think Matthew was tired of his life, vocation, religion, the prejudice, and the hatred and this was a chance to start fresh and new. 

7.      This was also a divine appointment that Matthew was not going to miss.  God obviously been working on Matthew and when Jesus came along his heart was already prepared.  Then it was just an act of the will.  He had heard about Jesus and decided this was his new master, mentor, and role model. 

 

10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

 

1.      Jesus goes to dinner with his disciples.  Matthew is so pleased with what is happening he throws a massive dinner.  Many tax collectors and sinners came to the dinner and ate with Jesus.  Now this is natural because that is who up to this point Matthew hung out with.  These are the only people Matthew knew. 

2.      This just shows that Jesus saw the heart, not the social standing, culture, family background or possessions.  He saw the heart. 

3.      Eating with someone established a covenant relationship of friendship, which normally also signified approval. In one ancient story, two warriors stopped fighting each other when they discovered that their fathers had shared a meal! The issue of eating with sinners was sensitive in Judaism since some believed that eating with such company conveyed an acceptance of that person’s sin. Jesus preferred pursuing relationships that might lead sinners to God rather than “quarantining” Himself from such people

4.      This of course brought a criticism from the Pharisees and so they asked the question to His disciples.  Notice they never asked Jesus.  Satanic religious and worldly criticism never confronts directly.  Lies can never stand in the face of truth.  This is a form of gossip, slander, and defaming.  You see to the religious spirit acceptance is not a desired option.  The Pharisees saw this as afront and blasphemy.  In their eyes Jesus was lowering his standards.

5.      They saw Jesus as a teacher and rabbi.  An elevated position and to eat with sinners were beneath Him in their sight.

 

12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

 

1.      Jesus then confronts them with three truths and explains His view of people.  It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick.  Sin corrupts, rob, kills, and destroy a person. Jesus viewed all people as someone who need spiritual help, health, and healing.  Jesus is the great physician who heals the who person.  When you respond to God’s love, you get healed and then help heal others.

2.      The Pharisees were known for the sacrifice, piety and law keeping but they lacked mercy, love, and grace.  Jesus’ address this so did Samuel with Saul.  No amount of sacrifice will win you God’s favor or salvation only His mercy.  As God shows mercy so we must as well.  I love how Mike Warnke put it.  If a person is good enough for Jesus, then they are good enough for us. 

3.      Jesus did not come for the righteous but sinners.  Jesus did come for those in a covenant relationship already.  He came for those who Paul says have come short of the glory of God.  Jesus knew there were those in His world who would not accept His message, kingdom, and love.  That is why He said many are called but few make themselves chosen. 

 

Conclusion

 

1.       What can we learn today?  When Jesus calls us to follow him it means to lose your life and find new life and ultimate joy in him.  It means that Jesus wants a loyal commitment not partial surrender.  Jesus expects us to follow Him.  Do His will, live His lifestyle, follow His commands and be His representatives.  Jesus expects a changed heart and life. 

2.      Jesus saw Matthew not as he was but who he was going to become.  Matthew wrote a gospel, became a Hebrew scholar, storyteller, and missionary to Ethiopia where he was martyred. 

3.      Keep the right perspective about people.  See them as trophies of grace and heirs of salvation.  In our service to God remember mercy is a greater virtue than sacrifice.  Matthew was killed on the orders of the king of Ethiopia while celebrating Mass at the altar. The king wanted his own niece, and had been rebuked by Matthew, for the girl was a nun, and therefore the bride of Christ.