Jesus Calls Matthew

The Gospel of Matthew, tells us of how Jesus went about interacting with people. These stories are not random, but rather it has been chosen to give a unique theological insight into the life of Jesus. The stories really want to expand the understanding of God and his new establishment. The new establishment is the possibility of belonging to the new Kingdom under the rule of the Lord Jesus. In essence, the reading is about the identity of our Lord Jesus. Who is this new ruler and what is he trying to accomplish?

We can observe two types of actions. Firstly, Jesus is proactive in that he goes out and calls people to follow him. In our story, Jesus is specifically calling Matthew. Secondly, we see how Jesus is mingling with people. There are two acts of Jesus, firstly going out and secondly going in (gathering in). This movement of Jesus is for the purpose of creating his own community of followers. He is creating this community over and against the establishment of the day. It is very striking that he is choosing and mingling with the oddballs. He is getting people to follow him which is a bit strange. The reason Jesus is doing this is to communicate a direct message to the Pharisees. The Pharisees were the so-called officials upholding the religion of the day. They determined what was right and what was wrong. Sinners and tax collectors fell outside their norms and were seen as being in the wrong. It was exactly, those people that Jesus called and embraced. Matthew is writing this to communicate something very important. The importance is that Jesus has the ability to forgive and heal sinners. This directly creates a new norm making the old establishment of the Pharisees redundant. The so-called outcast does not have to go to the Pharisees for salvation, rather Jesus goes to them to save and heal. The emphasis is on the identity and actions of Jesus - our Lord (our God). God in our New Testament, through Jesus, creates a new community based on grace, mercy and love. The old is gone and the new has arrived.

For this very reason, the Pharisees wanted to know what this is all about. They wanted to know why is Jesus acting in this way. Well, Matthew explains this in a beautiful way. He writes: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”

Jesus is there for the sick and the dying because he has the capacity to understand and show mercy. I really want to emphasise the following: Our faith in God, and our understanding of the Word of God, is there to bring deep comfort in the face of trauma and sadness. If we experience a very deep sense of loss then reminded of our King that seeks mercy, and not sacrifice. In other words, he has the capacity to understand and to heal. He does not require performance but rather a mercy. In any case, Christ became the sacrifice, therefore, we do not have to sacrifice ourselves. Rather, we can uphold and honour Jesus who already sacrifice himself on our behalf. We worship God who through Jesus is a sacrificial God who acts first on our behalf. What is striking about these actions of God is that Jesus calls and Jesus shows grace. Jesus is the clear emphasis.

If we take this reading seriously and we understand it as the word of God the following questions we may ponder: How will we respond to the call of Jesus? Will we follow? Will we put away all our ideology and affairs to follow Him and Him alone? How will we respond?

I once heard about a doctor who had a private practice in Africa. He was not running a charity and therefore asked for money for his service. A very old cripple lady came to see him for an illness she was hoping he could cure. After the consultation, the doctor stood at the till waiting to receive his payment. The cripple lady realised with shock that she did not have money since she spend her last to buy food for the week. At that moment the doctor was convinced by the HS to show mercy by giving that consultation for free. The lady was so overwhelmed by the kindness of this otherwise stern doctor that she walked miles to her sisters to borrow money. She walked back to the Doctor to give him the money she owed him. The doctor’s reply was: Why did you do that? I wrote your debt off. I showed you mercy. This cripple lady responded to the mercy of the doctor in her own unique way.

How will we respond to the call of Jesus? How will we respond?

However, we decide the point is clear in that Matthew is telling us that the action of our Lord is based on his own sacrifice, mercy and grace.