Matthew and Thomas

INTRODUCTION

We've been discussing twelve remarkable individuals—men handpicked by our Lord to be His disciples

Their mission?

To spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world

It's intriguing that the Lord chose just twelve men for such a monumental task—twelve seemingly unqualified men, at that!

Yet, they profoundly impacted the world for Jesus Christ

God can accomplish remarkable feats against tremendous odds with just a few men

The Old Testament provides numerous examples of this:

God used Elijah to single-handedly defeat 450 false prophets (1 Kings 18:40)

He empowered Samson to kill 1,000 Philistines with only the jawbone of a donkey (Judges 15:15)

He enabled Shamgar to overcome 600 Philistines armed with nothing but an oxgoad, which was essentially a sharpened stick (Judges 3:31)

He guided Deborah and Barak, leading a mere 10,000 soldiers, to victory against the formidable Canaanite army, including Sisera and his 900 iron chariots (Judges 4)

According to Josephus, Sisera's forces also boasted 10,000 horsemen and 300,000 footmen

He also empowered Gideon, with just 300 men, to defeat an army of 135,000 Midianites (Judges 7)

God can achieve His goals with many or just a few—it makes no difference

When we examine the apostles that’s what we see

We witness twelve men who profoundly changed the world

God used them to found the church, to expand the kingdom, and to reach the far corners of the globe with the Gospel of Jesus Christ

In our study of the twelve disciples, we have been asking the question, “What kind of people does God use?

We have discovered that God uses common, unqualified people

People like…

Simon Peter, who was a strong, bold leader who took charge, who initiated, who planned, who strategized, who confronted and who commanded people to Christ but yet made many mistakes along the way even denying the Lord

He used people like…

Andrew who was humble, gentle, inconspicuous, who sought no prominence but quietly brought people to Christ

He also used people like…

James, the Son of Zebedee, who was zealous, passionate, uncompromising, task-oriented, insensitive and ambitious

And also people like his brother…

John, who was sensitive, tender, loving, people-oriented, believing and an intimate truth-seeker

He used people like…

Philip, who was skeptical, analytical, mechanical, who had weak faith, who was visionless, pessimistic and insecure

And people like…

Nathanael Bartholomew who was also a truth-seeker, honest, open, clear-minded, meditative, deeply surrendered

And now we come to…

I. Matthew

He is also known as “Levi” in Mark 2:14 and Luke 5:27.

In his own gospel, he refers to himself as “Matthew” (Mat.9:9; 10:3)

The Bible doesn’t tell us where Matthew was from but tradition said it was from Capernaum

He is mentioned in each of the four lists of apostles

And he’s always in the same group with Philip, Bartholomew (Nathanael), and Thomas

Very little is said about him in the gospels

The only picture we have of him is in one incident

It’s found in Matthew 9:9-13.

Both Mark 2:14-17, and Luke 5:27-32 record it as well

Those three passages speak of this one account

We already looked at it in Mark 2:14-17 in our study of Mark

Let’s consider it once again but this time from Matthew’s own account

Read Matthew 9:9-13.

First we see…

His Recognition of Jesus’ Forgiveness of Sin

In verses 1-8, Matthew gives a demonstration of Jesus’ forgiveness of sin

In verses 5-6 Jesus says, ““For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.””

Then in verse 9, Matthew slips himself into the account to show that Jesus does indeed forgive sin, since He forgave a vile sinner as himself

The OT taught that the Messiah would forgive sin:

Isaiah 53:5-6.

Peter directly quotes this verse indicating that Jesus Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross (1 Peter 2:24-25)

Our forgiveness of our sin is based on a promise in…

Jeremiah 31:34.

Matthew would have seen and heard this from Jesus

He already heard and saw it when Jesus forgave and healed a paralyzed man in Matthew 9:2-8.

He would have also see it in Jesus forgiving the sins of a sinful woman who anoints His feet with perfume in Luke 7:36-50.

John 8:1-11 records Jesus forgiving the woman who was caught in adultery

After Jesus tells her accusers “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her” (v.7), “they began to go out one by one beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court” (v.9)

Jesus says to her in verse 10, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?”

He says, “I do not condemn you, either. Go, and from now on sin no more” (v.11).

And now Matthew says, “Jesus also forgave me…the tax collector”

Tax Collectors were individuals who collected taxes on behalf of the Roman government

The Jewish people saw them as traitors to their country

One practice that exacerbated the situation was their ability to collect more than the required amount and keep the excess for themselves

This made them wealthy but also corrupt and greedy

They were also called “publicans” from the Latin publicanus, which means, “collector of public revenue” or “tax farmer”

Another man who Jesus forgave who was also a tax collector was Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10)

He was a chief tax collector which meant he was in charge of overseeing other tax collectors in his region

He too experienced the forgiveness of his sin and even stated to the Lord in Luke 19:8, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor, and if I have extorted anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.””

Jesus responded to him in verses 9-10 saying, “9 “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.””

Notice Matthew’s…

His Response to Jesus’ Call

Jesus said to him in Matthew 9:9, “And as Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax office; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he stood up and followed Him.”

Luke says in Luke 5:28, “And he left everything behind, and rose up and began to follow Him.”

This was a call to salvation

After his calling, he throws a “reception” for Jesus and His disciples

Luke 5:29 says, “And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a great crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them.”

These other “tax collectors” and “people” were Matthew’s friends and coworkers

They too were outcasts and treated as traitors

Matthew wanted them to understand that they too could be forgiven of all their sin

Matthew understood what it meant to be forgiven of all his sin

He found that forgiveness in Jesus Christ

If you have never been forgiven of all your sin, you can right now

Put all your trust and hope in Christ

Confess your sin to Him

He will forgive you

What kind of people does God use?

Stained glass saints? No!

Vile, wretched, rotten sinners

He uses the most despicable people in society—as long as they repent from their sins and are willing to be forgiven through faith in Jesus Christ

How did God use Matthew?

What’s the name of the first book of the NT?

Tradition says Matthew died as a martyr

One account says he was stabbed to death with a spear in the city of Nadabah or present-day modern Ethiopia

Another tradition holds that he was killed by a sword in the city of Hierapolis, located in present-day Turkey

Our next disciple is the last one in the second group

His name is…

II. Thomas

Most people when they hear that name think of “doubting Thomas”

But “doubt” isn’t the right word for Thomas

There are three passages in John that tell us about Thomas

The first is…

John 11:14-16.

He was Willing to Die with Jesus

The second is…

John 14:1-5.

He Wanted to Be with Jesus

The last text in John is…

John 20:24-29.

Before you call him a doubter, remember none of the other disciples believed Jesus rose from the dead until they saw Him

So instead of labeling him a doubter, label him a “believer” and an “affirmer” of truth

He was a believer that…

He Made the Greatest Proclamation about Jesus

“My Lord and my God”

These are not the words of a doubter

CONCLUSION

What kind of man was Thomas?

He was melancholy, moody, pessimistic, comfortless, and shattered

But when he saw Jesus, he gave the greatest testimony ever given

In fact, that one little statement literally destroys the lie that Jesus is not God

All those who say Jesus is not God are put to silence by Thomas

Tradition also says Thomas died as a martyr

Some say it was in India

Another says in was in Parthia, which covers parts of modern-day Iran, Iraq, and Armenia

God used each of these men and He can use you

Ask Him how He wants to use you and get busy

As we have stated on many occasions, God has given each of us a spiritual gift

The purpose is for ministry to each other

These are also seen in the “one another’s” in the NT

Another responsibility we have is evangelism

Evangelism is the responsibility we all have toward those outside the church

All of us are to “make disciples” (Mat.28:19)

If you are without Christ today, I urge you to come to Him confessing and repenting of your sin, believing God raised Him from the dead for your salvation

Call on Him now as we pray

Let’s pray