Matthew 9:9-13

Introduction

English Standard Version Chapter 9

Jesus Calls Matthew

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.

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. 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.”

Last week we looked at Jesus’ authority to forgive sin, and how he demonstrated that authority by his ability to heal a man with paralysis. We also saw that when Jesus told the man with paralysis that his sins were forgiven that the religious leaders in the room quietly accused Jesus of blasphemy.

Well, this week Jesus’ clash with the scribes and Pharisees continues, even as Matthew pauses his list of miraculous accounts here in verses 9-17. And while their attacks will continue we’ll see that their angle of attack will take another form, in other words, their accusations and criticisms will continue but will be directed at a different area of Jesus’ life and ministry, and particularly who he associates with. And this situation all starts with our Gospel writer himself, Matthew. It starts with Jesus approaching Matthew and calling him to be his disciple.

And while their attacks will continue we’ll see that their angle of attack will take another form, in other words, their accusations and criticisms will continue but will be directed at a different area of Jesus’ life and ministry.

Matthew called

Our goal today is to tackle verses 9-13 and, Lord willing, to tackle the remain verses next week.

And so Matthew records for us there in verse 9 that,

English Standard Version Chapter 9

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.

I mentioned this verse when we first started preaching through the book of Matthew. This is Matthew’s brief account of how he ended up becoming a disciple of Christ, and eventually one of the twelve Apostles. It’s this moment in history that would ultimately pave the way to the writing of this book, that we’re studying even today thousands of years later.

And so we read here that Matthew was a tax collector, that Jesus called him even while he was sitting at his tax booth near the Sea of Galilee in Capernaum. Matthew was likely one of many tax collectors working at this particular booth, considering that the their location was only a few miles west of the Galilean border along the Jordan river. If you’ll recall Capernaum would have been a hub and business center for trading on the Sea of Galilee, therefore it would have been appropriate for a Roman tax booth to be established there.

Capernaum was also located along the primary highway that followed the western and northern sides of the lake, so you can imagine that the foot traffic would have been significant as the surrounding towns and villages transported their goods back and forth. Some in the past have even used here the phrase ‘customs booth’ instead of ‘tax booth’, which is fitting considering it location near the border of Galilee.

Tax collectors and sinners

If you’ve studied the NT scriptures for very long, or listened to teachings on the various Gospel accounts, you’ll probably already know that tax collectors were highly despised among the people, especially amongst the Jewish people. And especially amongst the Jews because this tax booth was a part of the Roman arm of taxation, and its estimated that their taxes on the citizens ranged anywhere from 50-80% of their income. So you can imagine the burden that this would have been for people of Israel.

And if you were a Jew you were also obligated to pay the Jerusalem Temple tax, now this tax was significantly less in comparison, but was still equivalent to two full day’s wages of the average commoner. So imagine this, you’re a Jewish man or woman who’s under unwelcome Roman occupation, you’re being forcibly oppressed by a foreign nation, asked to give them 50-80% of your income, and on top of that you still have to pay your annual Temple Tax. I’m sure no one looked forward to interacting with their local tax collectors.

But this isn’t the only reason why tax collectors were despised, as if this wasn’t reason enough. It was common knowledge that local tax collectors typically padded their own pockets while collecting these Roman taxes. In fact, many within the Roman system saw this practice of thievery as customary. Now, imagine this reality coupled with the fact that Matthew was also a Jew himself. Men in Matthew’s position were seen as collaborators with Rome and traitors of the Jewish people.

Why God chooses Matthew

So just remember, that’s the backdrop of verse 9, which was the reality of every Jewish person. When we read there that “[Jesus] saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” remember that the Jewish person in Jesus’ day would have been, in all likelihood, taken aback, or surprised, at Jesus’ call for Matthew to follow him. There’s a reason the Pharisees there in verse 11 use the phrase, “tax collectors and sinners” when they describe Matthew and his friends. In their minds ‘tax collector’ and ‘sinner’ are synonymous terms, in other words, in their minds they meant the same thing. So remember it’s significant here that Jesus approaches a tax collector at his place of employment and tells him to follow him. Jesus isn’t choosing Matthew to be one of his close disciples because he’s at the top of his class or because of his perceived moral track record.

It’s instead as Paul would later write to us 1 Corinthians chapter 1, starting in verse 26,

In their minds ‘tax collector’ and ‘sinner’ were synonymous terms, in other words, they meant the same thing.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

The bottom line here is that Jesus chooses Matthew to demonstrate the mercy of God toward sinners. And as we’ll see later, Jesus’ mercy toward sinners becomes an indictment against those who think they have no need of God’s mercy, to those who think they already possess a righteousness of their own.

Matthew (Levi) throws him a feast

Now, let’s continue reading there in verse 10,

English Standard Version Chapter 9

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

So we move from the tax booth, outside near the Sea of Galilee, to Matthew’s home. Now we know this because we read in Luke’s parallel account that, “Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them.” () So here we have the result of Jesus’ calling Matthew to himself, Matthew invites Jesus back to his home and throws him a great feast with a large company of fellow tax collectors and friends.

So, here we have it, the stage is set, Jesus is visiting Matthew at his home, with other fellow tax collectors, and this elicits a response from the scribes and Pharisees who had frequently followed him to hear his teachings. They’re presumably not a part of the feast but they’re close enough to observe that Jesus is eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners. And rather than addressing Jesus directly, they grumble against him, and say to his’ disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

Pharisees criticize

Now, up to this point we haven’t seen the religious leaders interact directly with Jesus, even though their thoughts and muffled words against him have been gradually escalating. They’re usually either grumbling to themselves, or amongst themselves, and it’s taken Jesus either hearing them, or knowing their thoughts to make their accusations and attacks public. But here we seem them beginning to indirectly interact with Jesus, via his disciples. It’s as if they’re fearful to criticize his teachings directly, so instead they attempt to disrupt and subvert his authority by bringing into question what he’s teaching and doing to his disciples. It’s quite the cowardly move on their part.

Let’s continue there in verse 12,

English Standard Version Chapter 9

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.”

So Jesus eventually gets word of their criticism and responds, he tells them via an analogy that he is a physician and that he is rightfully attending the sick. That these men whom they accurately identify as sinners are in need of God’s mercy, and that’s precisely why he’s come, and it’s precisely why he is with them. So in once sentence he turns their argument on its head.

Self-righteousness

And more than that, he also brings light to bear on their own self-righteous hearts. He shows them and everyone else in the room that they consider themselves well, and in no need of a physician, in no need of God’s mercy, but anyone with a brain, anyone who knew the Scriptures, should have known that it wasn’t by their own righteousness that they were justified before God, instead the overarching teaching of the OT was that God counted Abraham as righteous because he believed God, that salvation from sin was by repentance and faith, salvation was not of works, but was grounded in God’s mercy toward sinners.

This is why Jesus goes on to tell them there in verse 13 to go and learn what it means: that I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. Jesus is quoting from the prophet Hosea where Hosea is pleading with the nation of Israel to return to the Lord in faith and repentance, and in chapter 6, verse 6 Hosea writes,

English Standard Version Chapter 6

6  For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,

the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

What Hosea is saying is that, “Israel you offer me sacrifices and burnt offerings but there’s no knowledge of God in you, there’s no fear of the Lord in you, you have no genuine interest in obeying my words. Your heart is far from me.” In fact, Hosea says there in verse 4 of chapter 6,

English Standard Version Chapter 6

4  What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?

What shall I do with you, O Judah?

Your love is like a morning cloud,

like the dew that goes early away.

Israel's love for God constantly waxed and waned, it came and it went as quickly the morning dew. Israel was content with merely giving lip service to God and giving him empty worship.

So Jesus is pointing out that the Pharisees cared more about putting on a show, or making sacrifices unto the Lord, rather than showing mercy toward others. They preferred mere external conformity to God’s law rather than an inward conformity to it. They sought to please man rather than God, and man looks at the outside, but God looks at the heart.

Unable to show mercy

Therefore, they were unable to show compassion and have mercy on those whom they deemed “sinners”, to those whom they considered inferior to themselves, because it might hurt their image, it my might damage their public persona. Their reputation as righteous, law keeping religious leaders might be damaged if they were to eat and drink with those who were considered “sinners”. All the while deceiving themselves to think they were not sinners themselves.

You might recall one of Jesus’ parables when he tells of a Pharisee who goes up to the temple and prays like this,

English Standard Version Chapter 18

‘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.’

Notice not only the arrogance of his prayer, but that this Pharisee contrasts his fasting and his tithing with the immoral actions of a man whom he’s labels a sinner. He believes that his external conformity to the law is what’s paramount.

Then listen to the tax collector in this parable who also prays, Luke records this,

Then listen to the tax collector in this parable who also prays, Luke records this,

English Standard Version Chapter 18

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!’

Two prayers, miles apart. One man who recognizes his desperate need for God to have mercy on him, and another deceptively assured of his own righteousness.

And Jesus finishes the parable by saying this,

English Standard Version Chapter 18

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.”

Mission to seek and save the lost

This is the essence of Jesus’ rebuke of the Pharisees here in Matthew. Everyone is sick and in need of a physician, and the only difference is that these tax collectors and sinners know it, and the Pharisees don’t. The Messiah’s mission was to seek and save the lost (that’s Matthew’s point), but when he comes to Israel it’s leaders are only able to respond by saying, “We are not lost!” They are clueless of Jesus’ mission and because of their self-righteous attitude they’re indignant when others receive grace.

And let none of us think that we are immune to this, or that we’ve altogether overcome such self-righteousness. How often do we find ourselves angry when certain people in our lives receive grace and mercy when we think that they shouldn’t? How often are we more critical of others than ourselves? How often are we quick to justify ourselves and condemn others? These are all symptoms of pride and self-righteousness. Maybe we mingle harsh criticisms with our jokes, or we find it impossible to have mercy on others.

You see the reason Jesus encountered so much opposition was because the gospel that he preached stood, and still stands, in direct opposition to all forms of self-righteousness. The Gospel offers the sinner a righteousness that is not their own, therefore any form of self-righteousness finds no need of such an offer, in fact it despises such an offer, it finds only occasion to mock it. It’s the difference between self-reliance, and reliance upon Christ. The righteous have no need of repentance, only those who recognize that they are sinners do. The righteous do not need a savior, only sinners.

So my hope is that we would

Prayer

So my prayer is that we would see through the deception of our own self-righteousness and see our great need for Christ, to see our great need for a savior, to be like the tax collector who beat his chest in anguish over his sin and pray to God, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” And to have great joy in knowing that if we humble ourselves before almighty God, that he will forgive us our sin, that we will be justified in his sight.

The question for us is, who are we seeking to please? To please man? Or to please God? Are we more concerned with our outward appearance, or with our heart.

and it’s at this point we get to the heart of what Matthew intends for us to understand, that Jesus has come not to call the righteous, but sinners.

Some of you may be familiar with the event that Luke records for us concerning a man by the name of Zacchaeus. If you wold please turn with m