Today, we see Jesus do something that would have been very shocking to the Jews as well. Let's read this passage:
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.’[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
I like to say that we have the Call, the Ball and the Brawl.
In verse 9, we see Jesus call someone to follow him. The shocking thing is who he called, a tax-collector. Tax-collectors were Benedict Arnolds, traitors, people who deserted and sold out to the Romans to carry out Rome's oppression against the Jews. It is like a Jew during World War II leaving his people to fight for the Nazis. They were despicable people.
They were despicable because they collected taxes?
Yes.
This was one of the ways that Rome kept its subjects under its power. More than 90% of the Ancient world lived on what they made daily to provide food for that day. They didn't have saving accounts, IRA's, or salary's, If they worked, they got enough food for them to feed their family for that day. And on top of this, Rome was taxing up to 40% of what they were making!!! And when the tax-collector's would collect taxes, they would have to collect their own salary over and above what they were collecting for Rome. So if Rome required you to pay 5 dollars, the tax collector would charge you 7 and pocket two for himself.
They were despicable people. And because of them betraying their own people, they were hated by the Jews. The Romans didn't like tax-collector's either because they abandoned their own people and they weren't Romans, so tax-collector's were hated by everyone. Yet Jesus, seeing Matthew, called the guy to follow him. And he did. This was shocking!!!!
Not only was the call shocking, but a Ball occurred that was equally shocking.
In vs. 10-11 we see Jesus going to a Ball, a party. It is at Matthew's house and Matthew invites all the other outcasts, the tax-collector's and sinners.
What are sinners?
This could refer to two types of people. Moral sinners or social sinners. When we hear the term, "sinners" we think of someone who lives a sinful life. Like a prostitute or drug cartel, or gossip girl, people who do bad things (like root against the Dallas Cowboys, you sinners). This is possibly what this word is referring to, but most likely it is the second choice, the social sinners.
In the ancient world, sinners could refer to people who were not in your group, especially if your group was the religious elite. Since all the different political groups, Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and Zealots, were all trying to do what they thought would make them the true people of God, if you didn't agree with them, they called you a sinner. It is like Republicans or Democrats thinking the other party is so bad and evil. It is just a difference in viewpoints. This is what is going on here. The tax-collectors associated with other people who were not a part of the religious elite, who didn't do what they thought you had to do to be Jewish, and they called them sinners.
And Jesus eats with them!!!
As Robin talked about Sunday, the people you eat with defines what you believe and who you are. So if you eat with Pharisees, that is the group you are a part of. If you eat with Zealots or Democrats or Sadducees or Republicans, this is the group you are a part of.
Jesus ate with tax-collectors and sinners, this was shocking to the Jewish elite of that day.
So the result was, a brawl.
In vs. 12, Jesus responds to their question, "Why does your teacher eat with tax-collector's and sinners?".
He says: “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' defense for why he is eating with tax-collector's and sinners, the social outcasts, is found in a verse that he quotes from Hosea 6.6, "I desire mercy not sacrifice."
Do you know the story of Hosea?
Talk about shocking! It is the most shocking story of the whole Bible.
God commands a prophet Hosea to marry a prostitute named Gomer. The Holy Man and the Harlot. And homer has three kids, the first is definitely Hosea's, but the other two are results of her night life. A preacher has once said that Hosea would turn over in bed in the middle of the night to find an empty pillow. He knew where she was at, back on the street corner, selling herself. She ends up on the auction block, all the men bidding on her. Hosea goes to win her back. He buys her back for the price of a damaged slave, because that's how everyone else saw her. But not Hosea. He wanted her to be his wife!
Although she was unfaithful, he was faithful. He showed her mercy when he could have demanded restitution.
And this is all a picture of God and his people. They act like prostitutes, adulterating themselves to the world around them, to idols, drugs, sexual immorality, pride, anything that takes the place of ruler over our lives. And when we are unfaithful, God is always faithful. He shows mercy.
And in this small story about Jesus calling a tax-collector, he justifies his actions by referencing this story. Matthew is Gomer, the prostitute, the unfaithful one prostituting himself to the world and all it has to offer.
And you know what, this is the situation that all of the world is in. And what does God do? He comes to this earth and dies on a cross for all of the rebellion and unfaithfulness.
He shows mercy.
And as followers of Jesus, we are also called to show mercy to the unfaithful, the outcasts, to the hurting and sinners. And you will never imagine what these people might end up doing.
This story about a tax-collector actually ends up effecting you right now.
When he was shown mercy and called by Jesus to follow him, when the broken and the unfaithful and the sinners are shown mercy, they do incredible things. This tax-collector ended up writing the book of Matthew we have been studying for three months now, impacting billions of people throughout the history of the world.
When people are shown mercy, the nations are blessed.
So bless somebody today.
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.’[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
I like to say that we have the Call, the Ball and the Brawl.
In verse 9, we see Jesus call someone to follow him. The shocking thing is who he called, a tax-collector. Tax-collectors were Benedict Arnolds, traitors, people who deserted and sold out to the Romans to carry out Rome's oppression against the Jews. It is like a Jew during World War II leaving his people to fight for the Nazis. They were despicable people.
They were despicable because they collected taxes?
Yes.
This was one of the ways that Rome kept its subjects under its power. More than 90% of the Ancient world lived on what they made daily to provide food for that day. They didn't have saving accounts, IRA's, or salary's, If they worked, they got enough food for them to feed their family for that day. And on top of this, Rome was taxing up to 40% of what they were making!!! And when the tax-collector's would collect taxes, they would have to collect their own salary over and above what they were collecting for Rome. So if Rome required you to pay 5 dollars, the tax collector would charge you 7 and pocket two for himself.
They were despicable people. And because of them betraying their own people, they were hated by the Jews. The Romans didn't like tax-collector's either because they abandoned their own people and they weren't Romans, so tax-collector's were hated by everyone. Yet Jesus, seeing Matthew, called the guy to follow him. And he did. This was shocking!!!!
Not only was the call shocking, but a Ball occurred that was equally shocking.
In vs. 10-11 we see Jesus going to a Ball, a party. It is at Matthew's house and Matthew invites all the other outcasts, the tax-collector's and sinners.
What are sinners?
This could refer to two types of people. Moral sinners or social sinners. When we hear the term, "sinners" we think of someone who lives a sinful life. Like a prostitute or drug cartel, or gossip girl, people who do bad things (like root against the Dallas Cowboys, you sinners). This is possibly what this word is referring to, but most likely it is the second choice, the social sinners.
In the ancient world, sinners could refer to people who were not in your group, especially if your group was the religious elite. Since all the different political groups, Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and Zealots, were all trying to do what they thought would make them the true people of God, if you didn't agree with them, they called you a sinner. It is like Republicans or Democrats thinking the other party is so bad and evil. It is just a difference in viewpoints. This is what is going on here. The tax-collectors associated with other people who were not a part of the religious elite, who didn't do what they thought you had to do to be Jewish, and they called them sinners.
And Jesus eats with them!!!
As Robin talked about Sunday, the people you eat with defines what you believe and who you are. So if you eat with Pharisees, that is the group you are a part of. If you eat with Zealots or Democrats or Sadducees or Republicans, this is the group you are a part of.
Jesus ate with tax-collectors and sinners, this was shocking to the Jewish elite of that day.
So the result was, a brawl.
In vs. 12, Jesus responds to their question, "Why does your teacher eat with tax-collector's and sinners?".
He says: “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' defense for why he is eating with tax-collector's and sinners, the social outcasts, is found in a verse that he quotes from Hosea 6.6, "I desire mercy not sacrifice."
Do you know the story of Hosea?
Talk about shocking! It is the most shocking story of the whole Bible.
God commands a prophet Hosea to marry a prostitute named Gomer. The Holy Man and the Harlot. And homer has three kids, the first is definitely Hosea's, but the other two are results of her night life. A preacher has once said that Hosea would turn over in bed in the middle of the night to find an empty pillow. He knew where she was at, back on the street corner, selling herself. She ends up on the auction block, all the men bidding on her. Hosea goes to win her back. He buys her back for the price of a damaged slave, because that's how everyone else saw her. But not Hosea. He wanted her to be his wife!
Although she was unfaithful, he was faithful. He showed her mercy when he could have demanded restitution.
And this is all a picture of God and his people. They act like prostitutes, adulterating themselves to the world around them, to idols, drugs, sexual immorality, pride, anything that takes the place of ruler over our lives. And when we are unfaithful, God is always faithful. He shows mercy.
And in this small story about Jesus calling a tax-collector, he justifies his actions by referencing this story. Matthew is Gomer, the prostitute, the unfaithful one prostituting himself to the world and all it has to offer.
And you know what, this is the situation that all of the world is in. And what does God do? He comes to this earth and dies on a cross for all of the rebellion and unfaithfulness.
He shows mercy.
And as followers of Jesus, we are also called to show mercy to the unfaithful, the outcasts, to the hurting and sinners. And you will never imagine what these people might end up doing.
This story about a tax-collector actually ends up effecting you right now.
When he was shown mercy and called by Jesus to follow him, when the broken and the unfaithful and the sinners are shown mercy, they do incredible things. This tax-collector ended up writing the book of Matthew we have been studying for three months now, impacting billions of people throughout the history of the world.
When people are shown mercy, the nations are blessed.
So bless somebody today.
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