Matthew 9:9-13
Jesus Eats
With Sinners
9:9
As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called
Matthew, sitting in the tax collector's booth; and
He said to him, "Follow Me!" And he got up and
followed Him.
10 Then it happened that
as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house,
behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and
were dining with Jesus and His disciples.
11 When the Pharisees saw
this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your
Teacher eating with the tax collectors and
sinners?"
12 But when Jesus heard
this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who
need a physician, but those who are sick.
13 "But go and learn what
this means: 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT
SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the
righteous, but sinners."
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to change
the way that we think, and the way that we live.
Commentary
by Bob Pardue
How God Changes
People
Yes, now you know -- Matthew,
whom we all know and love as one of Jesus'
disciples, follower of Christ, writer of the
Gospel, was a cheating tax collector.
People of this profession
were notorious at overcharging for taxes and taking
the profit in addition to the percentage of money
they collected. Matthew was hated by many but was
still making a handsome living when Jesus asked him
to come with him.
Like the other disciples,
Matthew did not hesitate but left the plentiful
life to follow Christ. God moved in his life and
changed him from the inside giving him peace and
fulfillment instead of worldly wealth.
I wish I could be as
ambitious about following God's will as Matthew but
I've got much work to do before I can make that
claim, if ever. You see, I get tangled in the web
of possessions many times too. It's difficult to
put total trust in Christ when we are worried or
hang on to what we've got.
In these economic times it's
even tougher to let go of the worries and physical
goods to go where God wants us to go. The good news
is that we can still make the effort daily and work
toward the goal.
Jesus and the
Sinners
Jesus realized that the tax
collectors, including Matthew, were worth
witnessing to and worth saving even though the
public had given up. God changed Matthew from the
inside first and he (Matthew) changed from his old
ways with God's help.
Christ was not afraid to be
seen with people of questionable character at the
risk of ruining his reputation because he felt it
was worth the risk to bring lost people to
God.
How about us? Are we willing
to talk to people about Christ who are not in our
"inner circle" of friends? Let's make an effort for
Jesus.
-
Love in Christ
- Bob
If you have never made the
commitment to receive the love and life-changing
experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to
go
here and take the
first
steps to salvation.
Another
Bible Story For Living ...
Matthew
9:1-8 - Jesus Heals The Paralyzed
Man
- A Scripture reading from Matthew shows how
Jesus forgives sins as well as healing the sick.
Which is more important?
Verses from Matthew about Jesus eating with
sinners are from New American Standard
Bible
Comments are welcome. Please email
me with any questions or comments you
may have.
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