Jesus Dines with Mankind

Matthew 9:10  And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.

Jesus Dines with Mankind

To begin with Brothers and sisters, Christian Friends, Well Wishers, and Saints of God on Superbowl Sunday it is in the precious, potent, powerful, prolific, and prophetic name of Jesus that I come with a message from on high. There are two kinds of roads we can travel. Everybody say Two roads. Listen One road presents The way of life as narrow, lonely, and costly. The other road is on the broad way and we keep our “baggage” of sin and worldliness. But make no mistake about it we choose the narrow way,or the broad way. There are two roads and Jesus in verse 9 approaches Matthew with two words Follow Me.

My constitutional theological approach with God’s people is just like the Apostle Paul “Follow Me as I follow Christ”. Matthew is called into discipleship. Matthew is already Prominent, already Prosperous but yet Persecuted . He had too be to be a tax collector. Tax collectors were not a household favorite. A lot of people didn’t care for the tax collector profession.

Nobody in their right mind in 2023 likes a visit from the IRS, because it ain’t never good. It isn’t ever a good thing when the Internal Revenue Service audits you. Say Amen. So Matthew is seen as a shady character.

Jesus look at him and says Follow Me. I get the feeling that Jesus knew that Matthew was Thomas’ twin brother because Thomas was called didtymus meaning twin.

Isn’t funny how God does the selecting, because I certainly wouldn’t chose an IRS agent to be my disciple.But Jesus chose Matthew. The name Matthew means Gift of Jehovah. He was the son of Alphaeus and was of the tribe of Levi. But although Matthew is called Levi in the books of Mark and Luke he degraded the priestly name and so many theologians believed that Jesus changed!! his name to Matthew so now his name would means The gift of God.

And the bible says Matthew Follows Christ. Can you imagine Jesus the discerner of souls looking right through you and knowing the contents of your character and still say Matthew Follow Me?

And we can infer that Matthew invites Jesus to come and dine at his house. Brothers and sisters it give me a plum, pleasing, pleasure to talk about Jesus sharing a meal together with Humankind.

The bible says that Jesus is having a meal in the Matthew’s house. The Publicans, the sinners, and His disciples were sharing a meal together. In the Greek Vernacular this type of fellowship is called kiononia. They were having fellowship together. We must never forget to have genuine agape fellowship with one another.

Because how are you going to say I love the Lord but I hate His people. And here’s some food for thought. What if hah?

What if Jesus only dined with the upper echelon, only the rich, only the powerful only the strong and mighty, or only the well connected?

What if Jesus only dined with the intelligentsia or the top prognosticators or the elite Academia?

What if Jesus only dined with the politically astute, or the slick silky congressional savvy congressman, or the fair firm and faithful Judge or prosecutor.

What if Jesus only dined with the grammarians or the scribes or the Pharisees or the Sadducees ?

What if Jesus only dined with the Zealots or the strict Nazarite Order, or Temple Assassins?

What if Jesus only dined with the naysayers the gossipers and tattletales?

What if Jesus only dined with the Hypocritical Judiezers with their dogma doctrines?

The question is where would we (the gentiles), because we’re not Jews, “where would we fit in? !!!” Last question

What if Jesus refused to eat or to Dine with Humankind at all!! what if He stuck to the Nazarite order and never defile Himself with sinners?

Where would our Salvation be? Because the text implies a pathway to salvation, and in the end we all want God’s Salvation we all want to go to Heaven?

And Jesus was probably having a meal at Levi / Matthew’s house. (Same person). Everybody say same person. Jesus was probably solidifying the Conversion of the old man Levi to the new man Matthew.

Jesus was Probably completing the name change of Levi to Matthew so that his name meant the gift of God rather than his disgraceful tax collecting job which was against his Levitical family priestly role.

However Matthew and his constitutes are loving it. They are eating it up.They are saying we get to come from being a disgrace to having God’s Amazing Grace in our presence and the Pharisees hated this!!! They saw this and complained.

In essence why is Pastor Jesus hanging out with those kind of people? but when Jesus heard it, verse 12 says Jesus said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. 13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

In other words everybody in here got some kind of problem that need fixing.

Jesus employed a Holy Standard on our behalf. Here’s a black History moment There we many restaurants, and dining areas that African Americans were not allowed to eat in. You work in the kitchen but you couldn’t eat in that restaurant. And so what if Jesus would have felt like the awful oppressors of early American Life did?

Thank God Jesus stood up for the down trodden the left out cast out thrown out The overlooked the under paid the under appreciated and the disrespected.

What if Jesus would have been a snob? Mankind would have been doomed, damned, and destined to go to a low bottom hell.

The more I think about this text the more I’m grateful Jesus sat and ate with sinners and the least of these.

Think about that 3x in Superbowl Sunday

And so what is the book of Mark’s account of this story. Turn to Mark 2:13  NCV Jesus went to the lake again. The whole crowd followed him there, and he taught them. 14 While he was walking along, he saw a man named Levi son of Alphaeus, sitting in the tax collector’s booth. Jesus said to him, “Follow me,” and he stood up and followed Jesus.15 Later, as Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” were eating there with Jesus and his followers. Many people like this followed Jesus. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with the tax collectors and “sinners,” they asked his followers, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”17 Jesus heard this and said to them, “It is not the healthy people who need a doctor, but the sick. I did not come to invite good people but to invite sinners.” What I gather from the lens of Mark’s story is even though some people can see you being transformed from Levi to Matthew, and They can clearly see your turning around for the better in their faces and they still don’t want you in their end crowd with them!

You don’t get to come in here!!! Not no you!! And Jesus responds perfectly to their divisive rhetoric, perfectly to their hateful disposition, and perfectly to their open hostility toward folk who needed a mericful Savior’s embrace.

The Pharisees were saying I don’t care if Jesus is getting you straightened out, Jesus doesn’t belong with the likes of them. Jesus said in essence nobody waits until after they are sick to go to the doctor, but they go because they are in dire need of a Physician. People go to the doctor because they need help. People come to church because they know this is where they will get help will, get spiritual renewal, will get mercy, will get grace, will get lovingkindness, will get hope for a brighter day, and ultimately will get to experience the Jesus Factor. They will experience the Jesus Factor In the Word,In the praise period, in the songs selections, and in the powerful prayers being prayed.

The Jesus Factor is real oh yes He is. because I can feel Him every time I come into this house. And that’s why the Publicans and the sinners came and sat down and dined with the savior of Mankind.

Well let me close here on Superbowl Sunday and for the record, It doesn’t matter who win tonight because I’m on team Jesus Christ who represents Gloryland Heaven from the city of New Jerusalem,

And I’m reminded of a story that comes to my mind um um yes Once upon a time there was a world class runner, um um who had never lost a race great God

And one day while touring over in Europe um um And an old man came along side him and said aren’t you the one who’s won all kind of races all over the world um um And the young runner said yes Sir that’s who I am um um um . And the old man said I’m also a great runner who never lost a race Oh Lord!

And the old man said I wonder would you mind running in a race with me. The young man said no, it wouldn’t be fair Mr old man ah Lord! But I heard that after much argument back and forth The two men went down to the track. Um Um Yes And I heard the both got down in the starting blocks And somebody said On your get set ready Go.

And both men started running around the track um um um. Yes and at the close of the first lap the young man said I’m going to put on a little more speed Yes and to his surprise the old man put on a little more speed too. Yes they went on around the second lap and then the third lap But the Old man was still right bu him side Oh Lord

In the final lap of the race the young man started going faster and faster Oh Yes he did but the Old man was right by his side. He was straining every muscle and every nerve in his body but the old was still right by his side.Please sir to have mercy oh Lord Yes

On the final stretch of the race the old man moved on out in front and crossed the finish line first. And the young man said Mr. Sir wait a minute tell me who you are and where did you come from? Please sir to have mercy oh Lord oh Lord.

The Old Man said I’m the Oldest runner that ever lived and many folk have tried to out run me um um um Methuselah ran 969 but I caught up with him. Yes, I caught up with Noah Ham, Shem, and Japheth yes I did.

I caught up with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I caught up with Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and Joshua Oh Lordy.

And I caught up with Samuel David and Solomon yes I did. And I caught up Elijah and Elisha um um And I caught up with Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi I caught with everybody oh Lord

But then out of Nowhere Jesus showed up and said Wait a minute Death this young running man is covered by my Blood oh yes he is.

And old man death had to back off and behave, yes he did Lord

I got to close here ya’ll but that’s exactly what Jesus did for you and I when He took our place on the cross at Calvary Oh Lord He died one Friday um um um but Early 3x. Sunday Morning he got up! With All Power in His Hand oh Lord.