Text: Matthew 9: 9-13
In some ways, Christianity has always been a kind of scandalous religion. Think about the first followers of Jesus. Among them was a man known as Simon the Zealot. That’s what he had been; a kind of radical Mideastern revolutionary. Or think about the apostle Paul. This great missionary of the Lord Jesus admits he had been a vicious persecutor. And this same apostle would later write of Jesus’ followers coming from the ranks of the: the sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexual offenders, thieves greedy, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers. Scandalous some would say.
Here in Petaluma when someone applies to be a police chaplain, they do an extensive background investigation by a former FBI agent followed by a lie detector test. Things we had tried to forget about in our lives had to be disclosed. Things we were ashamed to admit. And in one instance the police department did a double take. One very dedicated pastor disclosed his involvement with drugs years before. Twice he had used LSD. Scandalous some would say.
And what about us here today. Most of us have some kind of skeletons in our closet. And all of us have at times wiped our feet on God’s holy will for our lives. If not outwardly for others to see, then inwardly, in our hearts that God has seen.
That seems surprising to some. Scandalous even. It did to these Pharisees in our text. But it shouldn’t be. For whom did our Savior come? Whom does he call to follow? Jesus tells us here as he reaches out this man named Matthew. And thank God that he does. Jesus seeks sinners, people who realize that their hearts and lives are fouled with sin. He seeks after sinners whose hearts yearn for what only he can give.
So should we be surprised to find such people, us people, in Jesus’ church. For this is something that people forget. The church is not a showcase for gold plated saints. The church is a refuge for recovering sinners. It is not a place for the proud, religious person to strut his stuff. No, the church is a place where Christ comes to fallen sinners in His Word and sacrament. He comes to rescue us from ourselves. He comes to reclaim us as God’s own. He comes to change us with his amazing grace. And he calls us sinners to follow him. In facts, sinners are the only ones he calls. Sinners are the only ones he seeks. One might even say it this way:
WANTED: FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST;
ONLY SINNERS NEED APPLY
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. If you asked a Jewish person of Jesus day, who is the most low down slimy person you can think of,, many would say, a tax collector. And for good reason. The Romans would hire Jews to collect the taxes from their people. It worked like this, The Romans expected a certain sum of money. Beyond that, the tax collector got to keep for himself. So in their greed, they often made their people pay more than they owed. In effect they robbed their own people. It’s no wonder tax collectors were put out of the Jewish synagogue.
Matthew’s tax booth was in Capernaum, the center of Jesus’ ministry. No doubt Matthew has heard about Jesus, his miracles and message even without Twitter or internet. Maybe Matthew was in the audience when Jesus preached. In any case, the Holy Spirit was at work in Matthew’s heart when Jesus came to him and said: Follow me.
You can almost read Matthew’s mind here. You mean me? You want me, a tax collector to follow you and be your disciple? What are we told? Matthew got up and followed him. He left his tax booth and a very good income. He turned his back on his former way of life. And he followed Jesus. And not just for an hour or a day. He followed him for the next three years. He listened to Jesus teach his way through the land. He saw Jesus heal people who had never seen the light of day or their mother’s smile. He heard him call sinners like himself to repent and believe the good news of God’s forgiveness. And then he would mourn Jesus’ death like the others—but only for a time. For Matthew would rejoice to see his Savior alive, risen from death. Matthew would rejoice to know what God had done for him in His own Son.
We do not know where Matthew went after the day of Pentecost. Maybe he stayed right there in his homeland. For today we read from the Gospel he wrote for his own Jewish people. Think about that. Once Matthew had stolen from his people. But here in this Gospel, Matthew became God’s chosen instrument. In fact, the the name Matthew means, gift of God. That he was. The Holy Spirit made Matthew God’s gift to bring his people a great treasure in his Word- Jesus and the life he gives.
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’? Luke helps us picture this occasion. He tells us this was a big banquet with Jesus as the honored guest. But Matthew wanted to do more than feed Jesus a nice meal. He wanted the people he knew to meet Jesus, those sinners. He wanted them to know the joy and peace that Jesus had given him.
So do we. We want the people we know to meet Jesus. We want them to share in what he has given us. We want them to join us in following him.
But how? We can’t have Jesus as our honored guest. Or can we? Jesus says, where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. We have Jesus as our honored guest when we gather around His Word. And that’s what I want to encourage you to do. The vicar and I will be talking about it more. Look to your friends, your loved ones, those you know who don’t know Jesus or have wandered away. Look to our Friendship Sunday this fall.
But maybe the first place to invite them is not the church but to your home or someone else’s. We’re going to talk about forgiveness. Can you come? We’re going to talk about marriage? Can you come? And why not do as Matthew did. Enjoy some food together. It doesn’t have to be banquet. Enjoy some food together as we help others to know our Savior.
But what Matthew saw as a blessed opportunity for his friends to meet Jesus, the Pharisees saw as a scandal. They asked Jesus disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” Here you see why Jesus would later call these men, blind guides. These super religious men could not see why Jesus would have anything to with this scum. Their only response to such people was to keep their distance and shake their heads at them.
But think of Jesus’ answer. 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.” What was Jesus telling them? Why shouldn’t I reach out tot these people? They are sick with sin. They need mercy. That’s why I have come. For them. For sinners.
Yet there’s something else here. Jesus words exposed a terrible ugliness inside. They were not merciful because they did not know God’s mercy themselves. They saw no need for it because they were righteous and respectable in their own eyes.
You know our Lord once said. It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. People well off face a special danger in thinking they have all they need without Jesus. Well it seems to me the same could said for the respectable. How hard it is for those whose lives are pretty good to enter the kingdom of God. They love their spouse and children. They give to the United Way. They are good employees and friends. They are respectable people like these Pharisees. How hard it is for them to see that they too are sick. They too are sinners in need of God’s mercy. They too need Jesus and the forgiveness he made possible by his suffering death. They too need Jesus and the gift of life that is found in Him. But until they realize this, until we realize this, Jesus has nothing for us. So we say: Wanted Followers of Christ, Only sinners need apply.
You see, it comes down to this. I have two glasses up here. One is full right to the brim. There is no room left in this glass. Some people are like that. They are full of something that leaves no room for Jesus. I was like that for a time in my life. My problem was that I could not see that I was empty. Without God and without hope.
Now look at this glass. It is empty. How blessed we are to know its empty. How blessed we are to know what Matthew did. He knew he was a sinner in need of God’s grace. He needed Jesus. And you know that too. That’s why we are here.
And Jesus doesn’t disappoint us. Like this glass, he fills us. He fills us with forgiveness and hope. With strength to go on. And yes our glass leaks because we still are sinners. But follow Jesus and he will give you all you need. Amen.