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As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”(Matthew 9:9–13)
The church celebrates on this day, Matthew, the Apostle and Evangelist. He was once a tax collector; then he was called to be a disciple of Jesus; then he was elevated by God to apostleship. He was then elected by the Spirit of God as a evangelist to write what we know as the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew taught and preached about Jesus in the region of Ethiopia and Persia. Eventually, he died a martyr's death. We thank God for what He did in and through Matthew.
At the beginning of Jesus' ministry, it was important for Him to choose twelve disciples. Who will he choose to follow him for three years? What qualifications will they need to possess? The men who are here, would you qualify to be a disciple?
Jesus, of all people, chooses a tax collector to be a disciple. Tax collectors were despised by the people. They cheated. They worked for the Roman government. They handled pagan money. They were classified as sinners.
And yet, Jesus saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Jesus does not say, “Matthew, clean up your act first, do penance, and then I will see if you are worthy of following me.” Jesus does not give any condition. He just says, “Follow me.”
What will Matthew do? Will he leave his lucrative business and follow this preacher called Jesus? Will Matthew deny the world's definition of success and follow Jesus? Will Matthew put aside his desire for worldly wealth and follow Jesus? Yes. Matthew rose up from his table, gave up his business as a tax collector, and followed Jesus.
The hymn that we just sang said of Matthew:
Praise, Lord, for him whose Gospel
Your human life declared,
Who, worldly gain forsaking,
Your path of suff'ring shared.
From all unrighteous mammon,
O raise our eyes anew
That we in our vocation
May rise and follow You.(Lutheran Service Book #518 v. 25)
You are called by God to believe in Christ as your Savior from sin. You are called by God to follow Jesus on His path of righteousness. You are called to live a life that is centered on Christ, and Him crucified. The money that you have is a gift to you from God. All that you have and own is His. You can either use it wisely for your own welfare and, out of mercy, for the needy, or you can make it your idol god. Jesus once said that you cannot serve both God and money.
We prayed in our Collect for today, “…grant that we also may follow You, leaving behind all covetous desires and love of riches.” And, in the hymn we just sang, we asked that we may leave all unrighteous mammon and follow Jesus in our vocation.
You are Jesus' disciple. You are baptized. You believe in Christ as your Savior from sin. May God give you the grace and strength to deny the world's definition of success, to pick up your cross of suffering, and to follow Jesus on His path of righteousness all the way to heaven.
Matthew decided to host a banquet at his house. Who was present? Fellow tax collectors, the so–called “sinners” of the day, and Jesus was present. Jesus was not afraid to talk with the social outcasts of society. They did not make Jesus unclean. Instead, Jesus made the unclean, clean. He made the sinners, righteous. The tax collectors and the so–called sinners of the day were changed. They repented of their sin and believed in Jesus and in the mercy He brought.
This is something to rejoice in. Even today, we rejoice when a sinner turns from the ways of the world and believes in the mercy of God which is found in His Son. Matthew was a sinner; yet he was repentant, and he believed. I am a sinner; yet by God's grace, I am repentant, and I trust in the forgiveness of sins which Christ earned upon the cross. You are a sinner; yet by God's grace, you are repentant, and you trust in the forgiveness of sins which Christ earned for you upon the cross. The important thing is to identify our sin. Confess it. Be honest with God and believe in His promise of forgiveness.
But the Pharisees took offense at Jesus' presence among tax collectors and sinners. They complained and they grumbled. The very fact that Jesus was eating with those kind of people made him, in their eyes, a sinner.
They thought that one earned favor with God by doing good. They thought that only the just are accepted by God. They thought that one had to perfectly follow God's rules in order to be accepted.
We think the same way. There is a little Pharisee in all of us. We like to compare ourselves with other people. We like to make ourselves look better than others. We think that Christianity is merely following the rules and living perfect lives.
The truth of the matter is that we are all sinners through and through all the time.
When we are physically sick, we need a doctor. The doctor diagnoses the problem and prescribes a cure. Often times, we are afraid of going to the doctor, because we don't want to hear the outcome. There is a lump, for example, and we fear the worse hoping that it will just go away.
God's law diagnoses our problem. Our problem is sin. We don't like to be told that we are sinful by nature. We think, like the Pharisees, that we can overcome our sin and live perfect lives. Or, the problem in life is always with the other person.
But the law is like a mirror and shows us our sin. It exposes our sin of idolatry, greed, covetous desires, adultery, self–centeredness, and more.
We need Jesus, our Great Physician, to make us clean, to heal us, and to forgive us.
When Jesus heard what the Pharisees said, Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” The Pharisees thought that they earned God's favor by their good deeds. They thought that they were perfect and just. Therefore, they had no need for the cross, for the forgiveness of sins, and for mercy from God.
Woe to us if we ever neglect to see our need for God's mercy.
Jesus went on to say to the Pharisees, “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Jesus, basically said, “I do not want only sacrifice, but even more importantly, I want mercy.”
The sacrificial system of the Old Testament removed sin. It, also, pointed to the coming Messiah who will offer Himself as the ultimate Lamb of God. But the Pharisees turned the sacrificial system into a ritual apart from repentance and faith in the forgiveness of sins. They offered a sacrifice which they thought made them right with God, but they also thought that they were justified in condemning the sinners of the day who did not follow God's rule of law. They offered a sacrifice, but they did not have mercy upon others.
Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice. His sacrifice upon the cross was the one and only righteous sacrifice. He had done nothing wrong, but He had upon Himself my sin, your sin, and the sin of the whole world. Jesus is the Lamb of God upon the cross, bearing the world's sin.
It is because of Jesus' sacrifice upon the cross that God is merciful to you and me. God is merciful, not because we try hard and do good; but God is merciful toward you and me through His Son. Because of what Jesus did upon the cross, there is forgiveness for you and me.
Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners. Today, He eats with us sinners giving us His Good Friday body and blood for the forgiveness of all our sin. Today, He has table fellowship around those who trust that in this bread and wine, there truly is His body and blood.
This meal is our medicine of immortality. Here the Great Physician gives us the medicine which we poor sinners need. As a response, we offer our sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.
God works repentance and faith in our heart. Then, from the heart of faith, flows love toward the neighbor, the spouse, the friend, or the co–worker. Since God first loved us, we naturally love others. Since God forgives us on account of Christ, we naturally forgive one another. Since God has had mercy upon us, we naturally have mercy toward others.
Saint Matthew was a gift to the church. God blessed him in his office as apostle and evangelist. May God give us the grace and strength to also remain faithful as one who follows Jesus. Amen.
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