Click here for the Matthew 9:9-13 PODCAST
9 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.” ~ Matthew 9:9-13
Today, we continue our study of Matthew 9 where the Lord Jesus had just healed a paralyzed man at Peter's house and the religious leaders who were present there accused Him of blasphemy. They accused Him so because before He healed the paralytic, He told him his sins were forgiven him. The religious, as always, miss the Lord because they knew not that the kingdom of God is for those who are hungry and thirsty, and hurting and hopeless. Since the fall of man, it has always been that pride and cold-hearted self-righteousness has caused man to resist the work of God's grace in our hearts.
In v.9 of today's passage we read, "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."
After the Lord Jesus left Peter's house, He passed by Matthew as He walked along the shores of the Sea of Galilee. In Mark and Luke's gospels Matthew is referred to as Levi. It was not at that time uncommon for a man to have two names. So, Levi and Matthew was the same person. It was at that point that the Lord Jesus saw Matthew sitting at the tax office. He then implored him to follow Him. And, Matthew immediately followed the Lord.
After his conversion, Matthew was found to be a modest and humble man. He reduced his conversion to one verse here and he said absolutely nothing about himself. This is significant because before Matthew chose to follow the Lord, he was categorically the vilest person in Capernaum. In fact, this was why he used himself, in context here, as an illustration of those whom God forgives. Matthew's was an extreme case of forgiveness. Matthew understood that becoming a believer in the Lord Jesus is similar to getting healed of a disease. The sick will never get cured of a disease until they first admit their sickness.
In v.10 of today's passage we read, "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."
Matthew was known as a Publican, a type of tax-collector who served Rome. When Rome moved in and took over the land in Israel, they wanted to exact taxes from the people. In order to do this most effectively, they employed individuals living in the land of Israel who bought franchises from the Roman government. This gave these Publicans the right to operate the Roman taxation system in a certain district or town. So, when Matthew bought into the system, he revealed himself as a traitor to Israel. No one, in the mind of a Jew, was a heinous as the Publican Tax-Collectors. As all Publicans did, Matthew overcharged the people, and this was how they made their income. Tax-Collectors were known to extort the middle class and the poor. They became hated by the Jews overnight and Matthew was the most hated man in Capernaum.
In v.11 of today's passage we read, "And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, 'Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?'"
Now, Matthew didn’t tell us about this meal that he hosted because he had become such a humble man. Mark and Luke give the details. Matthew hosted this dinner because like so many new believers, His first thought was how to share the gospel with his friends. The gospel is not a message to be hidden, it's a life-changing miracle to be shared. At this dinner, the Lord Jesus was the honored guest. Meanwhile the religious leaders of Israel found fault with Him because He spent time with tax collectors and the sinners.
In v.12-13 of today's passage we read, "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.'"
The method of evangelism the religious leaders had adopted was finger pointing. They always lumped the tax-collectors with the most notorious sinners, ignoring the fact that they were in as much of a need for the Savior as the Publicans. Henry Drummond once insightfully asked, "How many prodigals are kept out of the Kingdom of God by those unlovely characters who profess to be inside?"
When the Lord heard the complaint of the religious leaders, He noted that He did not come to invite those who are convinced of their own goodness. Rather, He came to invite people who are convinced of their sinfulness. The gospel is not for good people. The gospel is for bad people who know they're bad and admit it. All of this had been predicated upon the earlier teaching of the Lord Jesus when He said, "Blessed are the bankrupt in spirit." Blessed are those who admit their own spiritual poverty, those who know they cannot be good enough to earn God's favor for themselves. The Lord Jesus came to the very people that the religious had written off. Sadly, those who saw themselves as deserving of an eternity with God will not enjoy it.
