The 
ight House
Sunday School (Jesus Calls Matthew and Dines with Sinners)
Jesus Calls Matthew and Dines with Sinners
(Matthew 9:9-13)
And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him. 10And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. 11And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? 12But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. 13But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
(Matthew 9:9-13)Matthew was also known by the name, “Levi”.
The “receipt of custom” in verse 9 refers to the tollbooth in the street where tax collectors sat to receive various taxes.
Tax collectors were notorious sinners and regarded as collaborators with the Romans against the Jews. They bought their position with a set price and then any money they collected above that set price was for their profit. Therefore they were not thought of highly by the Jews. Yet Jesus called one (Matthew) to be a Disciple. God looks beyond what men can see. He looks into people’s hearts. This is one reason only He is qualified to judge. He can see the good in those that appear bad and He can see the bad in those that appear good. Many working in the ministry have come from a sinful past. Many pastors, preachers, teachers, etc… at one time lived a sinful life but even in that state, God was able to see something in them that He could mold and shape into a dedicated servent.
“In the House” refers to the home of Matthew which is indicated in the gosple of Mark regarding this same incident.
And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.
(Mark 2:15)The term “publican” is another word for “tax collector”.
It appears that when Jesus told Matthew, “follow me” that he was obedient without hesitation which is an example of how we all should respond to God’s commands and to the Holy Spirit when He speaks to our hearts. When the Holy Spirit says sing, we should sing whether we believe we can sing or not. When the Holy Spirit says give, we should give whether we believe we can afford to give or not. When the Holy Spirit says to witness to a person, we should go witness to them whether we believe it will go any good or not. It is a matter of trusting God to use the work He has given us to do regardless of how we perceive the situation. It’s called walking in faith.
The Pharisees thought that Jesus was doing wrong by dining with the sinful tax collectors in Matthew’s home and they expressed their thoughts to the disciples. Jesus’ answer to them was basically that they are the ones who needed him and not the rightous. It is true that we as Christians are to be separated from the world, but we are not to confuse this commandment with reaching out to sinners with a heart of love and compassion. The commandment to be separated is not referring to a physical separation, nor does it mean that we are to treat sinners with any less compassion than we do our brothers and sisters in Christ. Separation from the world simply means to be separated from the sinful ways of the world and stand firm on the teachings of God’s word even when in their midst. We can show love and compassion for the lost while being plain that we do not approve of their sinful ways. In fact, by showing them love and compassion, it strengthens our witness toward them regarding their sinful ways. We are to be a light to this lost and dying world, that they may see their wicked ways and turn to Christ for redemption. We can not be an effective light if we treat them as though we are better than they are. The fact is that we are NOT better than they are, we are only better off than they are and rather than that making us feel a superior to them, it ought to cause us to be burdend for them. The love and compassion we should have toward them should cause us to desire that we will receive what we have. If we truly feel this way it will motivate us to be a witness to them.
God Bless you,
Carl
I may not look like much, but I cost a bunch!
