I Couldn’t Help Myself

Introduction- Outsiders who are not measuring up to the standard

Good morning my name is Matthew and I’m the author, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, of this wonderful book which I have the blessing, honor, and privilege of sharing the good news.

I was the man whom everyone hated

I was a tax collector

And I know some of you in here today have issues with tax collectors- especially during this time of the year.

The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1 (The Man Whom Everyone Hated (Matthew 9:9))

Every country dislikes its tax officials, sometimes to the point of hatred; but the hatred of the Jews for them was doubly violent. The Jews were fanatical nationalists. But what roused the Jews more than anything else was their religious conviction that God alone was king, and that to pay taxes to any mortal ruler was an infringement of God’s rights and an insult to his majesty. By Jewish law, a tax-gatherer was debarred from the synagogue; he was included with things and animals unclean, and Leviticus 20:25 was applied to them; he was forbidden to be a witness in any case; ‘robbers, murderers and tax-gatherers’ were classed together.

When Jesus called Matthew, he called a man whom everyone hated. Here is one of the greatest instances in the New Testament of Jesus’ power to see in a man not only what he was, but also what he could be. No one ever had such faith in the possibilities of human nature as Jesus had.

Society’s View of Tax Collectors In Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 5:46 ESV

46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

Transition To Body- according to man, an unlikely call

New Testament 9:9–13—A Physician for Sinners

9:9. Levi may have been a tax farmer working for Herod; situated at an office in Capernaum, he was more likely a customs agent, charging import duties on wares brought through this town on important nearby trade routes. Even more than the fishermen, he had a secure and prosperous job, which he surrendered to follow Jesus’ call.

New Testament 9:9–13—A Physician for Sinners

Tax gatherers, however, were regarded as collaborators with the Romans and were despised by religious people. Some commentators have argued that “sinners” may refer to all who did not eat food in ritual purity, but the term probably refers to anyone who lived sinfully rather than religiously, as if they did not care what the religious community thought of them.

The Gospel according to Matthew f. Love for Enemies, 5:43–48

Tax collectors have never been popular in any culture, but in first-century Palestine they were especially unpopular. Partly this was because they gathered taxes for the Romans, and anything that helped the conquerors was anathema to the subject Jews. Partly also it was because they tended to be extortionate. In the eyes of Jesus’ audience there were no more wicked people than tax collectors as a class. If even they would respond to love with love, then anyone would. They are the last people one would expect to show love, but they do—to their own kind. This example shows that there is nothing wonderful about this kind of love.

The phrase "I couldn't help myself" is an idiomatic expression used to convey that a person was unable to resist or control their impulses or actions. It implies that the individual acted in a certain way despite knowing that they probably should not have or that it might have been inappropriate. It suggests a lack of self-control or an overpowering urge that led to the action or behavior in question. It can be used in various contexts to describe situations where someone succumbs to a temptation or acts impulsively.

Matthew’s call was both similar and unlike some of the other disciples:

John 1:40–42 ESV

40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).

The Gospel according to Matthew a. The Calling of Matthew, 9:9–13

He concentrates on the one central thing: Jesus called him with the words “Follow me”; the present imperative seems to indicate a continuing following, and there is no doubt that Matthew is describing a call to discipleship with all that that means. And Matthew obeyed: he got up and followed him. He says no more, but concentrates on that one decisive action.

Matthew Counted With Sinners

The term “sinner” (hamartōlos) is often used by the Pharisees to point to an identifiable segment of the people opposed to God’s will as reflected in their understanding of obedience to the law and their interpretations (e.g., Luke 7:36–50; cf. Matt. 26:45).16 These are people who willfully ignore rightful boundaries of appropriate Jewish behavior. Matthew’s cohorts are not only traitorous tax collectors but also other Jews who live outside of the law. In the minds of the Pharisees, for Jesus to share a meal with these types of persons indicates that he includes them within his own fellowship; it also suggests to them that he condones their behavior.17

Sinner

A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. ἁμαρτωλός

to behavior or activity that does not measure up to standard moral or cultic expectations (being considered an outsider because of failure to conform to certain standards

Body- Jesus is Compassionate (Jesus’ ministry to the outcasts of Jewish society)

Jesus Sees Sinners- Matthew 9:9

Matthew 9:9 ESV

9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

Jesus saw a man called Matthew sitting at a tax booth

Jesus saw-

to perceive by sight of the eye, see, perceive

The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament οἶδα

“to recognise” (“to know about someone”)

a man (human being)-

a person of either sex, w. focus on participation in the human race, a human being

Jesus saw a human being before he even saw the name Matthew

I Was Someone’s Son- Son of Alphaeus

Mark 2:13–14 ESV

13 He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. 14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

What do the Pharisees see?

Matthew 9:11 ESV

11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

The explosion of Methodism in eighteenth-century Britain resulted to no small degree from the fact that cultured women opened their homes to the “riffraff” of the lower classes. In every generation the “tax collectors and sinners” will assume a different appearance, but those who claim to be disciples of the Good Shepherd must diligently seek ways of reaching out and drawing them into the banquet of God’s people.

Jesus Summons Sinners- Matthew 9:9

And He said to him, “Follow me.”

And he rose and followed Him

Matthew 9:9 ESV

9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

The Message of Matthew The Calling of Matthew (9:9–13)

That is truly amazing—amazing that Jesus should bother about someone so universally despised and hated; amazing that Matthew should leave everything to follow this carpenter; amazing that Jesus had such authority that when he said to a businessman, ‘Follow me’, the man obeyed; and amazing the transformation in Matthew’s life that resulted.

Matthew Accompanied Jesus

Follow- to follow someone as a disciple, be a disciple, follow

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 15.156 ἀκολουθέω

to follow or accompany someone who takes the lead in determining direction and route of movement—‘to accompany as a follower, to follow, to go along with

Jesus Chose Me!

John 15:16 ESV

16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

Jesus Satisfies Sinners- Matthew 9:10

Matthew 9:10 ESV

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.

The Gospel of Matthew 5. Jesus Calls Tax Collectors and Sinners (9:9–13)

‘the house’ will mean the house of which Jesus was making use (with his disciples).

The Gospel of Matthew 5. Jesus Calls Tax Collectors and Sinners (9:9–13)

ἀνάκεισθαι is used of seating arrangements (reclining on couches or cushions) at festive meals. So its use here indicates a celebration of some sort (presumably of the fact that Matthew has become a follower of Jesus).

The Gospel of Matthew 5. Jesus Calls Tax Collectors and Sinners (9:9–13)

The presence of καὶ ἰδού (lit. ‘and behold’) marks the presence of tax collectors and sinners with Jesus in meal fellowship as the second focal point of the episode. On the general image of tax collectors see the comments at 5:46. ‘Sinners’ here should be understood primarily ‘sociologically as identifying those publicly known to be unsavoury types who lived beyond the edge of respectable society’. But the presence of the term creates a link back to 9:2, 5, 6.

WhereDoes Jesus Go To Seek The Lost?

Matthew Jesus’ Mission is for Those Who Acknowledge Their Sinfulness (9:12–13)

Jesus’ Mission Is for Those Who Acknowledge Their Sinfulness

Jesus at Matthew’s Party

Matthew 3. Paradigmatic Healing (8:1–9:35)

On some later occasion, Matthew throws a party for Jesus (cf. Luke 5:29, in which the antecedent of “his” is less ambiguous than in the Greek of Matthew).

Reclining-

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 34.10 συνανάκειμαι

to be associated with others in eating—‘to eat together, to associate in a meal.’

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 34.10 συνανάκειμαι

‘many tax collectors and outcasts came and associated with Jesus and his disciples in eating’

What was the significance of table fellowship in that time and place?

Sharing a meal was seen as solidifying important social bonds, and as indicating very close fellowship and mutual approval [CC]. It implied deep unity [BECNT], friendship and fellowship [NAC, NTC], close association [PNTC]. Sharing a meal was a sign of identification [NICNT], indicating closeness and even oneness with one another [WBC].

Jesus’ Fellowship With Tax Collectors

Luke 15:1 ESV

1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.

Matthew 11:19 ESV

19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”

Luke 18:9–14 ESV

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Transition To Close- Jesus mercifully healed me!

Jesus Saves Sinners

Matthew 9:11–13 ESV

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.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Physician-

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 23.141 ἰατρός, οῦ

one who causes someone to be healed—‘physician, doctor, healer.’

Mercy- show kindness & concern for someone in serious need…

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 88.76 ἐλεάω or ἐλεέω; ἔλεος, ους

to show kindness or concern for someone in serious need—‘to show mercy, to be merciful toward, to have mercy on, mercy.’

Mercy & the Image of a Doctor

The Gospel of Matthew 5. Jesus Calls Tax Collectors and Sinners (9:9–13)

those who are merciful manifest kindness to people who are in serious need; this is the world of thought pointed to by the image of a doctor with those who are ill.

The LORD Desires Steadfast Love

Hosea 6:6 ESV

6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament) 2876 II. חֶסֶד

loyal love, unfailing kindness, devotion, i.e., a love or affection that is steadfast based on a prior relationship

I Had The Opportunity to Visit one of Your Hospitals

CHURCH is like a hospital. It’s where people who are sick, broken, bruised, beaten, and battered with life because of sin and unrighteousness come for help. It’s okay if you are here and don’t have all your life together. If you had all your life together, you wouldn’t need to be here.

However, hospitals do not tolerate sick people hanging around who don’t want to get better. No doctor is going to keep fooling with a patient who won’t take his medicine or won’t accept a needle but wants to occupy a room.

What would you think if someone said, “Look, I know I’m sick. I’ve decided to stay sick because I just like this hospital. I’m going to put my name on the door to this room and live here for a while”? You would condemn such a person for a misuse of the hospital because a hospital only exists to give life. That is what the church does. Just as people are born and go to a hospital to get equipped to live, you are born again to come into the church.150

Evans, Tony. Tony Evans' Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More Than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (pp. 60-61). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Jesus Leads Me!

Psalm 23 ESV

A Psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

The Steadfast Love of the LORD Never Ceases

Lamentations 3:22–23 ESV

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

There’s A Friend!!!

Proverbs 18:24 ESV

24 A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Jesus is my Friend- Satisfy Me With His Love- The Love of Jesus!

John 15:12–17 ESV

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

Matthew means Gift of God

Matthew 3. Paradigmatic Healing (8:1–9:35)

“Matthew” comes from the Aramaic for gift of God.

Salvation is a gift of the LORD God through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ

For God So Loved the World!

John 3:16 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Close- Satisfied Because Jesus Loved Me!

Satisfaction in the LORD God Scriptures

In Your Presence There is Fullness of Joy

Psalm 16:11 ESV

11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Satisfied With Jesus’ Likeness (Holiness)

Psalm 17:15 ESV

15 As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

Jesus’ Satisfies the Longing Souls

Psalm 107:9 ESV

9 For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

Satisfy Me With Salvation

Psalm 91:16 ESV

16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

Oh What a Friend!

What a Friend we have in Jesus,   All our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry   Everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit,   O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry   Everything to God in prayer!

Jesus Was Acquainted With Being Both Despised & Rejected

Isaiah 53:3–5 ESV

3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

Jesus Sees Sinners!

Jesus Summons Sinners!

Jesus Satisfies Sinners!

Jesus Saves Sinners!

Your Contemporaries Sang It This Way

Living, He loved me Dying, He saved me Buried, He carried my sins far away Rising, He justified freely forever One day He's coming Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountain,   One day they nailed Him to die on the tree; Suffering anguish, despised and rejected;   Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He.