Back to the Bible: Matthew 9:9-13

Jesus called a tax collector named Matthew (the author of this account!) to follow Him. Tax collectors were despised by the Jews because they gathered taxes for the Roman occupiers. Some of them were corrupt and used their position for crooked practices to get rich.

But, even more tax collectors and people described as “sinners” came to Jesus.

The Pharisees could not believe that Jesus would eat with people like this. They were shaming these disciples for accepting Him as their teacher.

But, Jesus responded that sick people are the ones who need a doctor, not healthy ones. Jesus is not saying that the Pharisees are righteous (see 5:20). But, if they’re as well as they think they are, He won’t be of any use to them. But, if these others are as sick as they think, then that’s right where Jesus needs to be.

Jesus quotes from Hosea 6:6, which says that God wants mercy and not sacrifice. God wanted people who showed compassion, not just go through religious motions. This is a phrase that shows emphasis. He commanded sacrifices, but wanted something deeper– people’s hearts. They needed to learn that passage. They thought they were religious experts, but they didn’t know the fundamentals of what God desired.

Jesus said He came to call sinners, not the righteous. That is, He wanted people who saw their need, not people who thought they were just fine as they were.

Lessons to Learn:
Jesus is the Great Physician. He welcomes the sickest. Sinners can come to Him. That’s good news, because that is what we all are. We must be careful not to think of ourselves as righteous and miss the gift of forgiveness. God shows His love to us in giving Jesus for us even though we were sinners and His enemies (Rom. 5:6-11).

Remember that doctor’s jobs are to heal. His time with sinners wasn’t to condone their lifestyle, but to call them to repentance (Lk. 5:32). All are welcome just as they are, but Jesus will not have us stay that way. After listing sins that the Corinthians had been involved in, Paul says, “such were some of you, but you are washed, sanctified, and justified.” That’s who they were, but not who they were anymore nor who they needed to be.

Consider this with regard to sharing the gospel. Sometimes we reach out to the people who we think are basically on the same page. But, it is probably those who are “off the rails” who will see their need. We don’t need to discriminate who gets the gospel based on who we already get along with.

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