Matthew 9:9-13, Jesus Calls Matthew

10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. [Hosea 6:6]’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Comments

In Capernaum trade routes passed through by land and water, where men like Matthew acted as customs officials and collected taxes. The Pharisees and most Jews despised their “unclean” profession. The difference between Jesus and the Pharisees lay in their conception of priorities in the will of God. For the Pharisees the priority was obedience to regulations; for Jesus it was a mission to people separated from God. He knew a healer must get his hands dirty.

Jesus called this outcast to follow him, and Matthew accepted his offer and invited him over to dinner to meet his “unclean” friends. To share a meal was a sign of intimacy and of Jesus’ willingness to identify himself with the undesirable, a prominent feature of Matthew’s portrait of Jesus. Whereas Luke and Mark called this man Levi, a tribal name, Matthew autobiographically gave us his true name.

Prayer

God our Father, we want our priorities to align with your will. Encourage us through your Spirit to get our hands dirty when it comes to healing and serving our broken world as we follow Jesus in identifying with the undesirable.