Mercy Extended (8)

Introduction

Mercy Extended: Matthew 9:9-26

Just like Pat talked about last week in regards to how Jesus valued individuals, especially the outcast, we will see how Jesus valued individuals in today's stories as well. Similarly, as we look at the concept of Jesus extending mercy to others, we can also go back to the stories from last week and see how Jesus extended mercy to those individuals as well.

Both of these go hand in hand: we will see how Jesus valued people and how He extended mercy to them.

This is a major point, in fact: We have to start with the heart attitude of actually valuing individuals in order for us to extend our hands of service to actually assist them. These two lessons—Pat's and mine—go hand in hand in Jesus’s teaching and in His example.

Scripture Passage

Matthew 9:9–26 CSB

9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, “Follow me,” and he got up and followed him. 10 While he was reclining at the table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came to eat with Jesus and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 Now when he heard this, he said, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.” 14 Then John’s disciples came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests be sad while the groom is with them? The time will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 No one patches an old garment with unshrunk cloth, because the patch pulls away from the garment and makes the tear worse. 17 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. No, they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.” 18 As he was telling them these things, suddenly one of the leaders came and knelt down before him, saying, “My daughter just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 So Jesus and his disciples got up and followed him. 20 Just then, a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years approached from behind and touched the end of his robe, 21 for she said to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I’ll be made well.” 22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Have courage, daughter,” he said. “Your faith has saved you.” And the woman was made well from that moment. 23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house, he saw the flute players and a crowd lamenting loudly. 24 “Leave,” he said, “because the girl is not dead but asleep.” And they laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. 26 Then news of this spread throughout that whole area.

Today’s Teaching Points

Teaching Point 1: It is an act of mercy to call people to repent.

Teaching Point 2: It is the Spirit of God that overcomes the flesh, not religious activity.

Teaching Point 3: It is an act of mercy to contradict culture for the sake of bringing people to the redemption and restoration of Christ.

Explore the Text 1

Teaching Point 1: It is an act of mercy to call people to repent.

Scripture

Matthew 9:9–13 CSB

9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, “Follow me,” and he got up and followed him. 10 While he was reclining at the table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came to eat with Jesus and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 Now when he heard this, he said, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Study

A.

Jesus’s statement to go and learn was a rebuke. Jesus quoted Hosea 6:6, emphasizing mercy over sacrifice. Pharisees thought their religious duty involved following rabbinic rituals. The Pharisees needed to learn that God is more interested in repentance and forgiveness than man-made rules.

Jesus declared He had not come to call the righteous, but sinners. By “righteous,” Jesus meant people who considered themselves to be righteous, even though they were sinners like everyone else. In referencing “sinners,” Jesus was not offering criticism or condemnation. These people understood their need of forgiveness. They came to Jesus because He offered mercy.

I.

Young or Immature Christians: Must be cautious about both who and what they surround themselves with.

Mature Christians: While still careful about “what” they surround themselves with, should be intentional in reaching the "who," regardless of who that person is.

And that is what we are seeing Jesus do in this passage. He is eating with sinners. Even early in His ministry, Jesus immediately sought out the troubled and rejected—tax collectors and sinners. Because Jesus was completely perfect and unable to be tainted, He could approach any human and impact them with:

Healing, restoration, and transformation.

The essential Gospel message: "Go and sin no more."

II.

John 8:1–11 ESV

1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

In the account of the woman caught in adultery, Jesus approaches the situation with mercy, yet remains the only one qualified to judge.

Since Jesus was without sin, He was the only one who could have cast the first stone, yet He chose not to.

He did not engage with her as if she hadn't sinned. He called her sin "sin" and told her to stop sinning (repent).

Calling sin "sin" is not an act of condemnation; it is actually an act of mercy.

3.

Modern culture often defines love as "non-judgmentalism" or total acceptance of behavior, claiming Jesus as the example for this.

The world’s perspective is flawed and deceived. To call that which is holy "unholy" is the utmost of deceptions.

Jesus did not simply "accept" behavior; He ate with sinners and simultaneously called them to repent.

4.

Jesus extended mercy specifically to those rejected by the religious classes due to their lifestyles.

He offered fellowship where others offered rejection.

The fellowship was the bridge to the call for repentance.

Teaching Point 1: It is an act of mercy to call people to repent.

Explore the Text 2

Teaching Point 2: It is the Spirit of God that overcomes the flesh, not religious activity.

Scripture

Matthew 9:14–17 CSB

14 Then John’s disciples came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests be sad while the groom is with them? The time will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 No one patches an old garment with unshrunk cloth, because the patch pulls away from the garment and makes the tear worse. 17 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. No, they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Study

(v. 15) Jesus did not rebuke John’s disciples. Fasting is a good practice when used correctly. Instead, He taught them using three analogies. First, He noted that wedding guests are not sad while the groom is with them. Weddings are a cause for celebration, not mourning. The groom represented Jesus and the wedding guests referred to His followers. While they were together, it was appropriate that they rejoiced.

However, the time will come when the groom will be taken away. The term “taken” connotes being led away involuntarily. Neither Jesus’s disciples nor John’s followers understood that He was referring to His death on the cross.

At that time, they will fast. Like John’s disciples who grieved over John’s imprisonment, Jesus’s disciples would mourn for Him. The metaphor could also include Jesus’s departure back to heaven when the disciples would no longer enjoy His physical presence.

(v. 16) Jesus’s second analogy involved repairing clothing. An old garment often developed holes from wear and tear. But no one patches the hole with unshrunk cloth. Such cloth was often made from wool and needed to be washed before being applied so it would shrink to its permanent size. Without the shrinking, the cloth pulls away from the old garment and makes the tear worse.

Trying to incorporate the old trappings of ritualistic religion with the fresh spirit of Christ damages both. In some ways, John’s disciples had been trying to follow the teachings of John while clinging to the rituals of the scribes and Pharisees. They didn’t yet comprehend the totally new relationship with God that Jesus made possible. Mixing the new and the old was detrimental to both.

(v. 17) Similarly, no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Wineskins were made from animal skins that grew hard and brittle over time. Fresh wine would ferment, creating gases that would expand and cause the skins to burst. Consequently, both are lost as the wine spills out and the skins are ruined. Like the analogy of the new and old cloth, this illustration showed the problem of trying to combine the old and the new. People knew to put new wine into fresh wineskins. In the same way, the new covenant of Christ needed a fresh container—the church.

The Story of Fasting Instead of Seeking God

Teaching Point 2: It is the Spirit of God that overcomes the flesh, not religious activity.

Explore the Text 3

Teaching Point 3: It is an act of mercy to contradict culture for the sake of bringing people to the redemption and restoration of Christ.

Scripture

Matthew 9:18–26 CSB

18 As he was telling them these things, suddenly one of the leaders came and knelt down before him, saying, “My daughter just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 So Jesus and his disciples got up and followed him. 20 Just then, a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years approached from behind and touched the end of his robe, 21 for she said to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I’ll be made well.” 22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Have courage, daughter,” he said. “Your faith has saved you.” And the woman was made well from that moment. 23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house, he saw the flute players and a crowd lamenting loudly. 24 “Leave,” he said, “because the girl is not dead but asleep.” And they laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. 26 Then news of this spread throughout that whole area.

Study

In the culture of Jesus’s time, men would be the most valued in society, boys would be second, women would be third, and girls would be fourth. Jesus engaged everyone based on their need; He didn't engage them as the Jewish cultural leaders or the Pharisees would have at the time, based on their place in society. The girl He raised from the dead would have been the lowest of the four classes of society, and the woman with the issue of blood was not only a woman but was also unclean according to Jewish customs. The point is that He saw all individuals as equally created in the image of God and equally worth and worthy of His full attention and focus, including women and girls.

And this is a point that actually distinguishes Christianity from any other world religion. I remember sharing with my daughter when she was young that if you defined Jesus as the founder of the religion of Christianity and you looked at the founders of all the other religions of the world—both major and minor—the founders of all the other religions devalued women. Jesus is the only religious founder and leader who valued women as equally created in the image of God as men.

The very first person Jesus ever revealed that He was Lord to was the Samaritan woman by the well. She was a woman and she was a foreigner. She wasn’t Jewish. Jesus sees all individuals as equally created in the image of God.

We see this throughout Paul’s letters as well - the valuing of women who:

Supported his ministry

Held churches in their houses

Trained up their children in the scriptures (Timothy)

This makes me think of 1 Peter 3:7 “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.”

First of all, do not overthink the phrase “weaker vessel”. I heard a pastor on YouTube recently say that this just means that if husbands were to arm-wrestle their wives, they should win. I think this defines this well.

But even if we look at that phrase, it is in the larger phrase “showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel” - so we are to show honor to our wives. Why? Because the next part of the verse says because “they are heirs with you of the grace of life”.

Women are heirs right alongside men of the grace of life. Women are fully and equally valued in Christianity unlike they are in any other religion of the world.

This reminds me of a story:

Story of woman in China

Conclusion

Final Thoughts

So we see in this lesson that Jesus didn't just value individuals who others didn't value and in that way show us an example of value in others. We see that when He valued others, He actually extended Mercy to them.

Story: Results from dissertation