Jesus Calls Matthew

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.”  Matthew 9:9-13 NLT

 

• The community and religious leaders saw a sinner, traitor, and tax collector, but Jesus saw the person and needs of Matthew.

• Matthew is the Greek name and Levi was the Hebrew name.

• Jesus values the outcasts and the marginalized.

 

“Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.

 

• Follow me = invitation

• Matthew immediately worked to connect his circle of influence to Jesus.

• To share a meal = friendship, connection, welcome

• Jesus enjoyed food, but He loved people.

 

JESUS IS ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS.

 

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.”

 

• Religion is man’s attempt to get to God.

• Jesus was God’s only way of redeeming a right relationship with man.

• Religion: believe + behave = invitation, then belong

• Jesus: invitation = believe + belong, then behave

• Religion tries to limit who deserves to sit at the table, but Jesus fights to expand who is welcomed to the table.

• We often forget what’s it like to be on the outside looking in.

 

9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” 12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him.13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:9-13 NLT

 

“The temptation of the age is to look good without being good.” Brennan Manning

 

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV

 

THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST WAS RADICAL AND REVOLUTIONARY.

• If we are comfortable with dead religion, we will not embrace the power of the Gospel.

• We see people based on what they have done. Jesus sees them based on what He can do!

 

For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. Isaiah 43:19 NLT

 

34 “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”  John 13:34-35 NLT

 

• Jesus shows us the power of personal touch and invitation.

• Who are you inviting to your table?

 

Next steps for me today…

• Invite someone to dine at our table today.

• Invite someone to church this week.

• Share with my circle of influence what Jesus has done in my life.