The Day that Jesus Passed By

Introduction

How many of you this morning have ever met or went to see someone who was famous?

Now, they could be famous for a number of reasons…i.e. maybe they were rich or maybe they were just well known, but for whatever reason they were famous and you either met them or went to see them in person.

I’ve heard some of you here say that you’d been to Billy Graham crusades in the past and I’d dare say that Billy Graham was a famous person for the Lord Jesus, Amen!

Ciara and I and the kids have been to the Chris Tomlin concert a couple times now and I’ve got to see one of my favorite authors and Pastor Max Lucado a couple times now.

I’d say many of us at different times in our lives have either seen a famous person in person or crossed paths with one at some point.

Well, the story we are going to look at today is about a divine encounter between two famous people in their own rights.

One was known for doing right and the other known for doing wrong.

The title I’ve given to today’s message is The Day that Jesus Passed By and I hope this message is as much a blessing to you as it has been to me while studying it!

Today we will be looking at Matthew 9:9-13.

The Call of Matthew — (Vs. 9)

A. It was a Deliberate Call

The first thing I want us to look at this morning is the fact that Jesus call of Matthew was a deliberate call.

Now, in order to understand where I’m going with this it would do us well to have a little history lesson on how things worked in this day and time.

John MacArthur — Matthew was a publicani (whence the title publican in some translations), a man who served occupying Rome against his own people as a collector of taxes. By the nature of his position, his first loyalty had to be to Rome. Nationals of a country or province occupied by Rome could buy franchises that entitled them to levy certain taxes on the populace and on travelers. A franchise required collecting a specified amount of taxes for Rome and allowed anything collected beyond that figure to be kept as personal profit. Because his power of taxation was virtually unlimited and was enforced by the Roman military, the owner of a tax franchise in effect had a license for extortion. For those reasons the publicani were understandably considered traitors by their own people and were usually even more despised than Roman officials or soldiers.

The noted Jewish scholar Alfred Edersheim reports that a Jewish publicani was barred from the synagogue and was forbidden to have any religious or social contact with his fellow Jews. He was ranked with the unclean animals, which a devout Jew would not so much as touch. He was in the class of swine, and because he was held to be a traitor and a congenital liar, he was ranked with robbers and murderers and was forbidden to give testimony in any Jewish court.

Edersheim goes on to state that there were two categories of publicani.

The first, whom the Jews called gabbai, collected general taxes, which included those on land and other property, those on income, and those referred to as poll, or registration, taxes. The basic land tax (the amount paid to Rome) was a tenth of one’s grain and a fifth of one’s fruit and wine. Income tax amounted to one percent of one’s earnings, and the amount of the poll tax varied.

The second type of tax collector was called a mokhes, who collected a wide variety of use taxes—taxes similar to our import duties, tollway fees, boat docking fees, business license fees, and the like.

The mokhes had almost unlimited latitude in their taxing powers and could attach a tax to virtually any article or activity. They could, for instance, levy a tax on a person’s boat, on the fish he caught with it, and on the dock where he unloaded it. They could tax a traveler’s donkey, his slaves and servants, and his goods. They had authority to open private letters to see if a taxable business of some sort might be related to the correspondence.

There were two kinds of mokhes. One kind, called the great mokhes, hired other men to collect taxes for them and, by virtue of partial anonymity, protected at least some of their reputation among their fellow countrymen.

The other kind, called small mokhes, did their own assessing and collecting and therefore were in constant contact with members of the community as well as with all travelers who passed their way.

The gabbai were despised, the great mokhes were more despised, and the small mokhes were despised most.

Matthew was obviously a small mokhes, because he himself was sitting in the tax office as Jesus passed through the outskirts of Capernaum. John MacArthur — (Matthew Commentary)

Now, the reason I wanted to give you that little lesson in Jewish tax collecting during Jesus time is because of what takes place here next and I don’t want you to miss it.

Here sat a man who was hated by his own people…does that sound familiar?

Here was a man who was despised and rejected by his own people…does that sound familiar?

Here was a man who had it all but at the same time was empty inside!

Everything his lifestyle afforded him wasn’t fulfilling him and then, on this glorious day, as he sets at his table collecting his taxes, Jesus walks by and what the Bible says next I don’t want you to miss because it’s so wonderful!

The Bible says “as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the receipt of custom.”

Now, that may not seem like much but I want you to stop and think about this for a second.

Here sits a man and every Jew that passes by turns their face from him, trying with everything that’s within them not to make eye contact for fear that they may have to pay him something in taxes.

Everyone that passes by Matthew turns from him in disdain but this day, the day that Jesus passed by, all that changed because the Bible says that Jesus saw Matthew!

Now, that may not seem like much but when you do a little studying on that word “saw” what you’re going to find is that here in Matthew it simply means to see but when you look in Luke’s gospel, Luke uses the more descriptive Greek word theaomai which means "to view attentively, to see with admiration, to desire or regard."

It stresses more especially the action of the person doing the beholding.

Here’s Matthew doing his job, probably hating every minute of it, and everyone and their brother avoids him like the plague and no doubt he longs for the day when someone, anyone would just see him for who he really is!

Well guess what Matthew, Jesus sees you!

Jesus not only seen Matthew, but admired him for qualities that only He could see!

Not only did Jesus admire him, but he desired him hence the next action on Jesus part…which is His call of Matthew.

“Matthew, Follow me.”

Do you know what the name Matthew means?

The name Matthew means “gift of Jehovah” and oh what a gift Matthew would be to the Lord Jesus Christ!

The world seen a wretched man, but Jesus seen a gift of God!

The world had nothing for Matthew but Jesus had everything for Matthew!

The world had written Matthew off, but Jesus seen a diamond in the rough new what a wonderful gem lie inside!

Listen to me this morning, Jesus finds you and calls you where you are. No one has come to know the Lord Jesus by accident!

He found Peter, Andrew, James and John fishing, He found Philip in Galilee, He found Nathanael under the fig tree and He found Matthew sitting at his tax table.

He finds you and He sees you and He calls you…and I wonder who He’s calling this morning?

Who has Jesus found here at NHMBC and He’s calling you?

Who has He found right where you are in that pew?

Who is He speaking to right here, right now at this very moment and saying “Follow Me?”

Listen friend, I don’t know who you are but Jesus does.

Those disciples had no idea Jesus was about to call Matthew but Jesus knew. Jesus found Matthew, He looked at Matthew and He said, “follow me”!

When Jesus says to Matthew here “follow me” he says it in the present imperative sense and what that means is this…it wasn’t a suggestion but rather a command.

And it wasn’t a temporary command but an ongoing command to last a lifetime!

Matthew, if you’re tired of being looked over, follow me.

If you’re tired of living this mundane life you’ve been living, if you want something more, if you can feel deep down in your bones that there has to be more to this life than what you have right now, then follow me.

If you want to be noticed for the right reasons instead of the wrong ones, follow me.

Matthew, if you’re tired of being down in dumps, if you want joy, peace and happiness, then follow me!

Is Jesus calling you this morning?

If so, won’t you heed that call just as Matthew did?

Won’t you come, even now if He’s calling?

You don’t have to wait until the invitation, come right now and decide that you are going to follow Jesus with everything that you are just as Matthew did!

Be obedient to the call of Christ this morning!

Not only was it a Deliberate Call, but it was also a Desired call!

B. It was a Desired Call

Matthew was too humble a fellow to ever pen these words, but he could have very easily written, “He saw me! Jesus saw me and He called me!”

In Matthew 10:3, as Matthew lists out the twelve disciples, he even refers to himself as “Matthew the publican.”

I think Matthew refers to himself as such so that everyone who reads his account down through the ages would remember the shape that Jesus found him in and so that it would be a testament to Jesus.

“He found me, a man despised and rejected of men, he looked at me with eyes of love, seeing me for who I really was. He seen the deepest part of me, who I could be, and then, seeing something no one else could see, seeing who I could be and not what I was, seeing something He could take and mold and use, He called me!

And oh when He called, I could not help but to heed! When He called, something inside of me said go! So I went!

I got up from that tax table and I left it all behind! I left my old life behind to follow this man named Jesus and let me say this, it was the greatest decision I have ever made in my entire life!!!

My old life brought problems and pain, my new life brings joy and happiness!

My old life brought anguish, stress and strife.

My new life brings a sense of belonging, a desire to grow, a desire to do good for my Lord!”

Not only did Jesus deliberately call Matthew but deep down inside, that mustard seed of faith desired to follow Jesus!

And if you’re here and feel Him calling you, then answer that call today! I believe you will find just as Matthew did that it will be the best decision of your life!

Not only was it a deliberate call and a desired call but it was a determined call.

C. It was a Determined Call

Luke tells us that Jesus called, Matthew or “Levi” as he is referred to in Luke’s gospel, and that Matthew left everything behind to follow Jesus.

Jesus said come and Matthew went!

Edersheim says that Matthew, “said not a word, for his soul was in the speechless surprise of unexpected grace."

This was a moment in time where there was no need for words only action!

And maybe for someone here this morning or listening online, this moment we’re in right now, this moment where your heart is beating a little bit harder and faster in your chest and you know deep down inside that Jesus is calling you as well…this moment isn’t a moment for words, only action!

Jesus knows your heart…He sees you…He’s found you where you are and He’s calling you!

The only thing you need to do is move!

No words needed, only action!

I love what William Barclay wrote — “He left his tax-collector’s table; but took from it one thing—his pen … this man, whose trade had taught him to use a pen, used that skill to compose the first handbook of the teaching of Jesus, which must rank as one of the most important books the world has ever read. When Matthew left the tax-collector’s table that day, he gave up much in the material sense, but in the spiritual sense he became heir to a fortune.

John MacArthur said — "Because of his position as an agent of Rome, he knew that once he forsook his post he would never be able to return to it. He knew the cost and willingly paid it. Of all the disciples, Matthew doubtlessly made the greatest sacrifice of material possessions; yet he himself makes no mention of it. He felt with Paul that “whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ” (Phil. 3:7).

All of the rest of the disciples could go back to their fishing jobs if they decided following Jesus wasn’t cut out for them but not Matthew.

He left his livelihood behind. He left his source of wealth behind. His protection from the Roman army, He left behind.

Luke’s gospel records, “he left all, rose up, and followed him.”

Will you do the same if Christ were to call you?

Would you be willing to rise up and leave it all behind like Matthew did?

It was a deliberate call, it was a desired call, and it was a determined call but the call of Matthew is but half of the story.

Next, I want us to see the Callousness of the Pharisees.

The Callousness of the Pharisees — (Vs. 10-11)

A. The Obedience of Matthew

Now, in order to understand what’s going on here we need to look over in Luke’s gospel because Matthew’s don’t tell us who’s house we’re at.

When you look in Luke’s gospel though, the Bible tells us that Matthew himself made Jesus and his disciples a great feast at “his own house.”

Luke 5:29 — And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them.

This is just like Matthew to leave out that it was his house the feast was in. We can gather that Matthew was a very humble follower of Christ.

He could have bragged about it being at his house but he simply records “as Jesus sat at the table in the house.”

Matthew had taken what he had gathered materially and began immediately putting it to use spiritually!

What a testament to the obedience of Matthew!

He wasted no time getting to work for the Lord! He immediately made the Lord, his newfound Savior, a great meal and not only did he immediately begin serving the Lord and the other disciples by preparing them a meal, but he also invited a bunch of his outcast friends to the meal as well!

“Jesus, I have some friends who also need to meet you!”

And just like that, Matthew went from being a tax collector to a soul collector, Amen!

Matthew gives us such a wonderful example of what we as born again children of God ought to be doing with our newfound lives in Christ!

We need to take what God has given us materially and immediately start finding a way to serve Him spiritually.

We need to get busy bringing friends to Jesus! Now, I want to throw a spin on this…we so often think of bringing people to Jesus as bringing them to Church, right?

But what did Matthew do here? He brought Jesus to them!

Which leads us to the next section which I will be very brief on and that’s The Outcasts of the Hour.

B. The Outcasts of the Hour

The Bible tells us that many publicans and sinners joined Jesus and His disciples at this dinner. This was a dinner of the despised and dejected.

One writer said, (Barton?) "At Matthew’s house there gathered a crowd that Jesus could not reach in the synagogues for the tax collectors had been excommunicated."

These men were outcasts and weren’t allowed in Church!

Now, with that being said, we ain’t turning down anyone from coming to our Church but the point I’m trying to make is that sometimes we have to bring Jesus to them!

Sometimes they may not feel comfortable coming to Church. That’s ok! That simply means then that we have to find a way to take Jesus to them where they are, Amen!

So, we see here Matthew gets busy being obedient to the call of God upon his life.

He puts the tools he has been blessed with to use for the Lord without hesitation and he creates a gathering place for sinners and the Savior alike to be together and this didn’t sit well with some of the religious elite in town.

Look what happens next here as we see The Outcry of the Pharisees.

C. The Outcry of the Pharisees

Undoubtedly, when Jesus called Matthew into the fold and he immediately left his post and began to follow Jesus, this probably caused some excitement in town.

I mean Jesus is already famous. People have been following His every move and the Romans and the Jews alike have had an eagle eye’s watch on Him His entire ministry thus far.

So, when Jesus causes a little ruckus in town by calling Matthew to follow Him and Matthew heeds the call, this undoubtedly caught the attention of the religious elite.

“You mean He’s now calling those wretched publicans to follow Him as well?

This man has no limits as to who He will align Himself with. Seems as if the worse they are the more He tends to want to befriend them!

Some Savior He is!”

And so they hear of this great feast and as they have done the entire time and continue to do throughout the ministry of Christ, they seemingly show up out of nowhere on the scene and begin to criticize the work of Jesus.

“Why is your Master eating with publicans and sinners?”

I love the NLT version… “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?”

That was the opinion of the religious elite toward anyone whom they saw as less deserving as themselves.

You can just hear the callousness of these Pharisees hearts oozing with every word?

“Really? Your Master truly doesn’t have any limits does He? We can’t believe He’s eating with these scum!”

I think deep down they were just mad He wasn’t eating with them. Jesus wasn’t giving them the attention they thought they deserved and so instead of getting on His playing field and finding out why, they’d rather cast snide comments and disdained thoughts towards Jesus.

Now look with me at the last section here…The Communication of Jesus Commission.

The Communication of Jesus Commission

After hearing the pious comments of the Pharisees, Jesus immediately replies with, “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. Go and learn what the scripture means when it says, ‘I want you to show mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

Jesus sends these Pious Pharisees back to the Book they leaned on as a crutch to prove to them that they were missing the big picture!

They wanted the Bible but as many people today also do, they only wanted what they wanted and not the whole thing.

This scripture that Jesus referred them to was Hosea 6:6 which says...

Hosea 6:6 NLT

6 I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.

Jesus was leading them to Him through His word but sadly, they were to blind to understand.

What He was trying to say to them was this...

“If you knew me, which is the ultimate goal, you would know that I desire love and mercy over sacrifices but since you don’t know me, the real me, you don’t know what I really want or desire.

If you knew me, you would see that what I’m doing is who I am! I am love! I am mercy! I am peace! I desire these above anything else!

If you’re going to use the word, then understand the word and when you gain a proper understanding of the word, then you’ll gain a proper understanding of me and my true identity!

This right here, having dinner with Publicans and Sinners is right where I need to be! This is my wheelhouse! This is who I came to save!

I didn’t come for those who are self righteous and think they are good enough on their own but I came for those who know they are sinners, who know they’re at rock bottom, those who are despised and rejected of men, that’s who I came to save because they know deep down in their hearts their need of a Savior and that Savior is me!

If only you too could see! If only you could set your pride and self worth aside long enough to realize that without me you are lost! That without me there is no hope or future! That without me the only thing you have to look forward to is doom and despair in a place called hell prepared for the devil and his angels! Look to me today and trust in me for there is no other way!”

Unfortunately, there’s a good chance that those Pious Pharisees left in their same lost condition in which they came.

And as we come to a close today I want to say to you, please don’t make that same mistake!

Please don’t miss the day that Jesus passed by!

Please don’t dismiss that call of Jesus upon your heart!

Please don’t shun Him away and say not today!

Please take the same action that Matthew took! See your need for a Savior and heed that call upon your life today!

And if you are here and you’ve heeded that call from Jesus upon your life, I would like to ask you, are you being obedient to the call of Christ upon your life?

You know without a shadow of a doubt He called but are you being obedient to the call?

What are you doing with the newfound life that Jesus has given you?

Matthew took the new life that he’d been given and immediately went to work for Jesus. Have you done the same?

Are you taking advantage of the time that Jesus is giving you to lead people to Him?

I’d dare say a good portion of people sitting in this room right now know that they aren’t heeding the call of Jesus upon their lives to their fullest extent…and some aren’t heeding the call of Jesus upon their lives at all!

What is He calling you to do?

What do you keep putting off?

What is it that’s keeping you up at night because you know He’s calling you to do it?

I’m here to tell you this morning that you will never peace until you totally, completely, and absolutely 100% submit to that call. And once you do, and I can attest to this from personal experience, you will find a peace and satisfaction and joy that you’ve never felt before.

The day that Jesus passed by was a life changing day for Matthew that had eternal consequences.

And as we come to a close, I truly believe with all my heart that Jesus has passed by someone here today and said, “Follow me.”

The only question that now remains is this…will you answer the call?

If Matthew were here he’d tell you “Don’t hesitate! Get up and go! It was the best decision I ever made and it will be the best one you will ever make as well!”

Won’t you answer the call the call this morning whatever that call may be?

Let us pray.