Sermon--Matthew 9:9-13--Pentecost 3 (A)--2017

Jesus’ Hospital is Open for Sick People…Is Ours?

Imagine that you are very sick and can hardly stand up. A family member takes you to the hospital and as you are entering you see a sign that says: “Healthy people only. No sick people allowed.” Or you have a bad cold and you call your doctor’s office and the receptionist asks you, “Are you sick, because you sound really sick?” You answer, “Yes, that’s why I want to see the doctor.” She replies, “The doctor doesn’t want to get your germs; you’ll have to wait until you’re better to come and see him.” Click. Sound ridiculous? Doctors and hospitals exist to heal sick people; it would be a contradiction to refuse to serve them, and I don’t think that ever happens. Some people can’t afford medical help, but sometimes it’s because we don’t realize or don’t want to admit that we are sick. My wife's Spanish teacher in Colombia was married to a doctor who saw the signs that he had colon cancer but even as a doctor he convinced himself that he just had an intestinal bug. Guess what he died of: colon cancer! Our bodies get sick, but we have a soul as well, and many people don’t think that much about the health of their soul. We should, because our soul will live forever either in heaven or in hell! We need good spiritual care and we need a good physician for our soul. In we will see that “Jesus’ Hospital is Open for Sick People,” and we will ask the question: “Is Ours Also Open?”

Jesus welcomes all who know they are sick with sin

The Pharisees refused to acknowledge that they were sick

What is the most popular movie story line? The good guys versus the bad guys, right? As human beings we like to divide the world into the good guys and the bad guys. Good guys go to heaven and bad guys go to hell. That sounds like the religion of the Pharisees. The calling of Matthew is a case study. Jesus has already chosen some of his twelve disciples, and he has his eye on another one: Matthew (also called Levi), a Jew who collected taxes in Capernaum, next to the Sea of Galilee. He may have collected taxes from fishermen bringing their fish from the Sea into town. For Jesus he was a first round draft pick, but he was also despised by most Jews because he worked for the hated Romans and probably collected too much money from them. But the Pharisees had another complaint against them: They were ceremonially unclean because they had so much contact with non-Jews, and they worked on the Sabbath day. In the eyes of a Pharisee, there was scum and then there was tax collector scum! The word “Pharisee” means “one who separates himself,” and they lived up to their name, refusing to have contact with people whom they saw as unworthy because they did not obey the law like the Pharisees thought they should.

In 1993, during Middle East peace talks, Yassar Arafat and Yizhak Rabin shook hands at the White House, and the western press was all excited. What they failed to notice was that Arafat and Rabin refused to eat together at the White House with President and Mrs. Clinton, and that meant there would be no peace. In middle eastern culture sharing a meal means much more than it does in the West, and has for millennia. It means you are open to friendship with the other person. So, when the Pharisees see Jesus eating at Matthew’s house with his filthy tax collector friends, they are amazed that someone who claimed to represent the Lord would make friends with such sinful people. They wrongly assumed that Jesus was OK with their sin; he was not, but he was not afraid to be with them. Even though the Pharisees didn’t even have the guts to ask Jesus why to his face, Jesus answered their question like this: “Hey, It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick…I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” ().

We human beings are very good at convincing ourselves that the symptoms of sin that we see in ourselves are not really a problem, that they are just little defects that don’t mean we are one of the “bad guys” who go to hell. The Pharisees considered themselves to be righteously healthy, but they were blind to their real sinfulness before God. What was Jesus trying to show them? God does not divide the world into “the good guys” and “the bad guys,” but instead into “sinners who realize they are sick,” and “sinners who don’t realize they are sick.” Matthew and his tax collector buddies wanted to be with Jesus because in him they saw a God who was merciful and willing to forgive them. In the Pharisees they saw unmerciful, self-righteous people who wouldn’t even let them into the door of the church.

Objection to tax collectors: worked for Romans, their commission (extortion), unclean (contact with Gentiles), worked on Sabbath. The Pharisees’ very name means “those who separate themselves.” Edersheim (I, 516)

At the time of the peace treaty between Jew and Arab, much was made of the shaking of hands by Rabin and ARAFAT 1993.," observes author Madeleine L'Engle:

The newscasters skipped over the fact that the two leaders had been invited to have dinner together with the Clintons at the White House, and they refused. What matters in the Middle East is eating together. You cannot kill someone you have shared a meal with. And so my heart sank.

When will they eat together? When will we all eat together, God’s children of all colors, all ways of worship? When will we be one in the kingdom, sharing in the unity of the Trinity?

We human beings are also very good at convincing ourselves that the symptoms of sin that we see in ourselves are not really a problem, that they are just little defects that wouldn't put us into the camp of those who will be condemned to hell.

The Pharisees consider themselves to be righteously healthy before God because they define righteousness by their observance of the law—their “sacrifice.” But they are blind to their real sinfulness before God.

The Pharisees consider themselves to be righteously healthy before God because they define righteousness by their observance of the law—their “sacrifice.” But they are blind to their real sinfulness before God.

Many tax collectors and sinners did acknowledge that they were sick

Objection to tax collectors: worked for Romans, their commission (extortion), unclean (contact with Gentiles), worked on Sabbath.

The Pharisees saw tax collectors as damaged goods who had to repair the damage themselves, change their lifestyle by becoming law-abiding Pharisees and separate themselves from everything bad, and then the Lord would accept them. Matthew probably saw himself as a legitimate businessman trying to make a living, but Jesus showed him that he was really a thief disguised as a businessman--terminally ill in spiritual terms and without a place in God’s Kingdom. But Matthew also learned that Jesus was the spiritual doctor he needed.

The Pharisees saw tax collectors as damaged goods who had to repair the damage themselves, change their lifestyle, turn away God’s anger by becoming law-abiding Pharisees and separate themselves from everything bad, and then the Lord would accept them. Matthew probably saw himself as a legitimate businessman trying to make a living, but Jesus showed Matthew that he was really a thief disguised as a businessman. Jesus showed him that he was terminally ill in spiritual terms and had no place in God’s Kingdom. But Matthew also learned that Jesus was the spiritual doctor he needed.

Why do doctors advertise? Because they want to be your doctor. They don’t know if you are sick, but they want to be your doctor. Jesus wants to be your spiritual doctor because he already knows that you are sick. He knows that for every act of disobedience against God—even a white lie—you are condemned to be eternally separated from his holiness and majesty. He knows the hateful thoughts about your boss in your mind, the shameful lust you hide from your spouse in the dark corners of your heart, the disdain you feel for other people who are not like you and haven’t figured out yet that being like you is the best way to be. He knows all the lurid details of your life like the back of his hand, but he doesn’t despise you or separate himself from you. He is not a Pharisee, who prescribes some lifestyle changes so that God will accept you. He knows that that no change would ever be enough. Instead Jesus is a merciful physician who offered his holy life to God in place of yours so that God would be satisfied with you. Jesus offered his back to flogging, his hands and feet to nails, his side to a spear and his soul to hell itself so that you would not suffer God’s punishment for your sins. The medicine he offers you is the unconditional and free forgiveness of his Heavenly Father, earned by him. Jesus’ Hospital is Open for Sick People like you! When you recognize that you are too spiritually sick to co-exist with God, you are ready to see the physician who has the cure. The Pharisees refused to see themselves as sick with sin and refused the cure Jesus was offering them, and unfortunately that had consequences for others as well...

C.S. Lewis: “God is the only comfort, He is also the supreme terror: the thing we most need and the thing we most want to hide from. He is our only possible ally, and we have made ourselves His enemies. ... It is after you have realised that there is a real Moral Law, and a Power behind the law, and that you have broken that law and put yourself wrong with that Power--it is after all this, and not a moment sooner, that Christianity begins to talk. When you know you are sick, you will listen to the doctor.”

Jesus’ church needs to welcome all who know they are sick with sin

Jesus showed the Pharisees how the Lord intended the church to be

The Pharisees were supposed to be the Lord’ s representatives, but their religious system was so exclusive that it only included them! They taught people that if they just obeyed all the laws and did the right rituals, God would accept them. The Pharisees, as the pastors of the Jewish people, were like doctors who refused to let sick patients into their clinic!  They insisted that people become healthy first, and then they could approach God.  Jesus knew the truth: Humans must come to God the way we are: stained with sin and with humility and a contrite heart ().  When Jesus told the Pharisees “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” he was sending them back to school, to the prophet Hosea. At Hosea’s time the Jews were offering all the right sacrifices and rituals, but they were treating each other cruelly and without mercy. The Lord told them through Hosea that he would rather see faith in him and love for each other much more than correct rituals. Religious rituals without faith are nothing. The Lord’s church was supposed to be a hospital where sick sinners were welcome, a place where they could receive God’s mercy and grace, at that time, and now also.

Cornerstone Commentary explains Jesus' TT "Go and learn what this means": "A common formula used by rabbis to direct their followers toward a particular passage in the Scriptures. Jesus’ use of this formula might be a subtle jab at the Pharisees, who are not His disciples and represent the learned of Jewish society. Because they have failed to properly understand the spirit of the law, Jesus treats these experts as beginners." Hermeneia mentions this in a footnote: "Rabbinic expression צא למד (Str-B 1.499)"

Jesus shows us how he wants his church to be

Jesus’ hospital is always open to sick people. Is ours? We might say, “Well of course sinners are welcome at Divine Savior Church! Our doors are open and anyone can walk in who wants to.” True, but does that mean that they are welcome here? Doesn’t it start with ourselves? Don’t we first have to say whenever we walk through these doors, “I’m the tax collector; I’m the Pharisee; I’m the sinner, and this is the place I need to be”? Don’t we need to realize that every other member who walks through these doors is in the same boat as us? Are we willing to bear with the failings of our pastors, leaders or fellow members? Are we willing to forgive, or will we hold them to a higher standard than the one to which we hold ourselves? Do we sometimes look down our noses at those members of this congregation who don’t seem so faithful, or who don’t seem to volunteer much? Do we want the Lord’s forgiveness for our own sins, but want to see others punished for theirs? Or do we try to “punish” them by an unforgiving attitude toward them, even though Jesus has already forgiven them and is happy to eat with them? Remember that the fisherman disciples were called to forgive and treat Matthew as a brother, someone who represented a class of people who had taken away too much of their meager earnings in the past! Our attitude toward our sinner/saint fellow believers will also influence our attitude toward those who are not...

We may confuse sanctification with justification. The Holy Spirit is sanctifying our lives, but that sanctification is not what saves us; it is justification that saves us! Sanctification is the result, not the cause, of our justification. The Pharisees thought that their obedience to the Law was what saved them, when the Lord wanted it to be an outward sign of their faith in him and his Messiah. Christians could look at themselves in the mirror and say, "I'm better than most people in the world, and therefore that is why God accepts me."  What we need to do is remember what we were before the Holy Spirit converted us ().  Whatever we are is because of the work of the Spirit in us and is not grounds for boasting.  We also were saved by grace!  Many people in the world see their need for a relationship with God but feel unworthy to go to a church.  They think that one needs to change before one steps into the door of the church.  Maybe they have gotten that idea from Christians who look down their noses at them like the Pharisees did the tax collectors and other "sinners."  They had no mercy on them; they only thought themselves better because of all their sacrifices. 

Do we sometimes look at our religiosity in the mirror and smile because we are such religious people, who are in church every Sunday? Do we sometimes look down our noses at those members of this congregation who don’t seem so religious, or who don’t seem to volunteer much or give large offerings? When we do that, aren’t we acting like little Pharisees?

Do we see a reflection of our former self in every unbeliever who comes here? If not, Divine Savior may become more of a museum for saints and not a hospital for sinners. That could happen if we confuse sanctification with justification. The Holy Spirit is sanctifying our lives, but that is not what saves us; it is justification that saves us! Whatever we are now is because of the work of the Spirit in us and is pure grace!  Do we sometimes look at our religiosity in the mirror and smile because we are in church every Sunday, and think less of people who are not as religious as us? When we do that, aren’t we acting like little Pharisees? Are we willing to make the effort to reach out to visitors who come through our doors in order to really make them feel welcome because we really care about them and their souls? Will they feel the warm embrace of Jesus when they walk through these doors?

One church leader that I know referred to his congregation as a “good ol’ boys club.” What he meant was that his congregation had become essentially a comfortable hangout for church members and was no longer a welcoming place for sinners in need of grace. It may not reflect a holier-than-thou attitude on the part of the members, but instead a sinful preference for the status quo and a desire for the church to be like a warm blanket, a place where having their own needs served was the main goal.

Do we sometimes look at our religiosity in the mirror and smile because we are such religious people, who are in church every Sunday? Do we sometimes look down our noses at those members of this congregation who don’t seem so religious, or who don’t seem to volunteer much or give large offerings? When we do that, aren’t we acting like little Pharisees?

Are we willing to make the effort to reach out to visitors who come through our doors in order to make them feel welcome. (Philip Yancey illustration about down-and-out in Chicago?) Will they feel the warm embrace of Jesus when they walk through these doors? One church leader that I know referred recently to his congregation as a “good ol’ boys club.” What he meant was that his congregation had become essentially a comfortable hangout for church members and was no longer a welcoming place for sinners in need of grace.

R.C. Buckner, a big, bold and brash man, lived about 100 years ago in Texas. This imposing figure had a very tender heart for children, starting Buckner's Children's Homes all across the state. The children affectionately called him "Papa Buckner" and would run up to him every time he visited. He would always take the time to pick up each and every child and give them a hug. One day he was visiting one of the homes and was hugging all the children gathered around him when he noticed a little girl who was standing with her face against the wall. He discovered that she had been seriously burned in an accident and had a terrible scar on her face. He went over to her and asked, "Sweetheart, don't you want Papa Buckner to hug you?" Without turning around she snarled, "No, I'm too ugly." Papa Buckner knelt down, picked her up in his burly arms, turned her face gently toward his, looked right into her eyes and then planted a tender kiss right on the burned portion of her face. After he kissed her, he said, "Sweetheart, you are beautiful to me, and you are beautiful to God."

One day he was visiting one of the homes and was hugging all the children gathered around him when he noticed a little girl who was standing with her face against the wall. He discovered that she had been seriously burned in an accident and had a terrible scar on her face. He went over to her and asked, "Sweetheart, don't you want Papa Buckner to hug you?"

Brothers and sisters, our sin is ugly, and there are only two kinds of people in the world, “sinners who realize they are sick,” and “sinners who refuse to realize they are sick.” My prayer is that we all are in the first category, and if that is so, then we are in the right place, because this is a hospital for sinners like us. Our sin is ugly, but we have a beautiful Savior who makes us beautiful in God’s eyes. May every sick sinner who walks through these doors have an encounter with that beautiful Savior who saved us, because his hospital is always open, and he never turns anyone away. Amen.

Without turning around she snarled, "No, I'm too ugly."

Illustration about the “as is” section?

Papa Buckner knelt down, picked her up in his burly arms, turned her face gently toward his, looked right into her eyes and then planted a tender kiss right on the burned portion of her face. After he kissed her, he said, "Sweetheart, you are beautiful to me, and you are beautiful to God."

God’s primary attribute in relating to sinful humans is mercy. Thus, God’s primary desire for his people is for them to show mercy, not to offer sacrifices.

Associations with unbelievers must be handled with wisdom, so that ethical compromise is avoided, but fear of such compromise cannot become an excuse for isolation from those who most need the message of the Kingdom (5:13–16). Associating with unbelievers is the way to summon them into the Kingdom of God.

The Hebrew word used in , cited by Jesus, is hesed, which is the OT equivalent of grace. It is by hesed that we live. It was hesed that saved us from hell. It was hesed that caused the Son of God to become the Son of Man and live under the Law to redeem us. It was hesed that caused the Son of Man to offer his life as the punishment for our waywardness. It was hesed that sought us out when we were diametrically opposed to God and running in the other direction. And it is hesed that seeks us out now and forgives us for sometimes being Pharisaical in our outlook toward ourselves and others. And it is hesed that the Lord wants to see come out of our hearts as a fruit of faith, and be showered on those around us, no matter who they are.