Matthew 9:9 - 13

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.

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?”

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.”

Jesus came to save us all from our sin.

Have you ever gotten interested in something to the point that the initial reason you sat down, say to write a devotion, became secondary to what you find yourself doing at that moment. You have? Good, I'm not alone as I keep looking at information regarding the pharisees, who they were, why they did what they did, and why they always seem to be near when Jesus is out being, well, Jesus.

Here is a quick blurb on the Pharisees from the Concordia Study Bible:

Preeminent Jewish sect, representing the Jewish authorities and strict observers and teachers of the Torah. The Pharisees did not control the government or the temple, but they were a large group and popular with the common people, so they were powerful. The Pharisees believed that in order to live under God’s favor, as Israel had in the days of Moses and David, the Jews needed to separate themselves from the Gentiles and their ways and return to strict observance of Mosaic Law. Rabbinic Judaism most likely stems from the Pharisees.

"...in order to live under God's favor, as Israel had in the days of Moses and David, the Jews needed to separate themselves from the Gentiles and their ways and return to strict observance of Mosaic Law."

Interesting, then, that Christ called Paul, a man who was a preeminent pharisee in his own right. Christ always seems to know these men are around, and he seems to understand exactly what they are going to ask or what the question is behind the question. They see Jesus with a "tax collector and sinners" and ask why a man of God would be with "tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus, prepared at all times with a story (parable) or answer, answers them with a metaphor, "Do you put people who are well in the hospital or send them to the doctor?" That's not exactly what he said, but it is the point he's making.

The tension always seems thick between Christ and the accepted religious leaders of the day. Do we have the same tension today? Do our religious leaders and their followers impose a system on people that is too difficult to follow, or do they (we) share the ability to shed the shackles of sin and put your burdens on Christ? Do we sit in moral judgement like the pharisees and not see our own illness is still there and in need of the same forgiveness? Do we act like we are good, when we are also sick and in need of healing (sinners)? 

When God invited Israel to turn to him in the passage earlier this week, note he didn't say, "A few of you," or, "Except for these people...." No, he said,

"1 “Come, let us return to the Lord;

  for he has torn us, that he may heal us;

  he has struck us down, and he will bind us up." (Hosea 6)

Paul, a Pharisee as well, knows how to speak to the pharisees and Jews in Rome. As we read this week, he says, "13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith." (Romans 4)

We are all sinners. We are always in need of the great physician. He came for all of us, including those who do not yet know him, like Paul at one time. He came to heal and bind the wounds.

Pray with me: Gracious Father, We know at times our actions to not speak well of our faith we have in you. Help us to see our own sin, confess it, and to turn to you so we can share the good news of freedom we have in you, unshackled by our faith and free to share your love with others. Amen. 

Hope Men's Ministry is a ministry in service to Hope Lutheran Church and School. Our purpose is to grow, unite, and share God's Word to all men through meaningful activities. These activities center on fellowship, service, conversation, prayer, study and devotion as we seek to become men of God as He created us to be.