Thursday, January 12

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax's collector's booth.  "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples.  When they saw this, the Pharisees asked, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  But go and learn what this means:  'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'  For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

(Matthew 9:9-13)

In today's passage, we read about the calling (and immediate obedience) of Matthew, a tax collector who would later write the Gospel bearing his name.  This change in Matthew sparked quite an interest in the Rabbi Jesus, who gathered a party at Matthew's house.  We may imagine that, in this party scene, Jesus might have demonstrated his love and concern for people in a natural setting.

The Pharisees bristled at Jesus's welcoming attitude towards "tax collectors and sinners."  One might have rightly looked on tax collectors with some skepticism, as the majority supplemented their income through taking bribes or miscalculating taxes.  Today's IRS involves a clear formula and a well-structured collection system; in the days of Christ, tax collectors motivated compliance through direct and indirect coercion.  The Pharisees distanced themselves from "sinners" in order not to be corrupted by their presence; in their minds, righteousness demanded separateness.

Jesus blew up their expectations and heard their criticism immediately.  They implied that Jesus has not committed Himself to holiness to the same extent as they had.  Jesus's response points to the very heart of the Gospel message:  that each person, having fallen short of God's stands, requires God's mercy through the blood of Christ on the Cross.  Once we have truly experienced that mercy, we would be hypocritical to deny similar mercy to others.  Since Jesus canceled our vertical debt of sin once for all, we have freedom to forgive others on a horizontal level.

In addition, as with the Parable of the Tax Collector and the Pharisee, we see that "sinners" display gratitude upon receiving God's grace, while the Pharisees harbored indignation and pride.  "Sinners" know that they do not deserve mercy and therefore celebrate it; those who think of themselves as "righteous" expect mercy, believing that they have earned it.

To make this account personal, where do you sit today?  Do you find yourself among the disciples, among the sinners, or among the Pharisees?  Are you learning to love others with a fully abandoned love like Christ?  Are you looking to receive God's mercy to start a lifelong relationship with the loving Creator of the universe?  Or have you fallen into judgmentalism and self-righteousness like the Pharisees?

In order to step back from that third state, we may follow Jesus's example and interact with people who do not yet know Christ.  We may pray that God would move our hearts with compassion, as Jesus experiences in Matthew 9:35-10:2.

Lord Jesus, thank You for demonstrating great compassion and love for lost and hurting people like us.  Help us to learn from Your example and to imitate You in Your sacrificial outreach, healing, and mercy to those who don't know You.  Give us a fresh heart of gratitude for Your grace in our lives.  We love You and honor You today.  In Your Name, amen.