Matthew 9:9-13

Rachel Workman: 9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.

10 Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. 11 But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?[d]”

12 When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” 13 Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’[e] For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

I love these verses; I have not come to call those who think they are righteous but those who know they are sinners. The biggest mistake one can make is to think we are righteous outside of Christ. It is His sacrifice alone that makes us righteous. Without that we're just sinners destine for hell.

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John Burnett:  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 ^[a]Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and ^[b]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 ^[c]what this means: ‘I desire ^[d]compassion, ^[e]and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”  Matthew was a rich man and he gave up much in worldly things to gain exponentially more in eternal things.  The Pharisees saw Jesus spending time with sinners but did not see the reason for Jesus.  All are sick (with sin) and He is the cure.  Jesus says he did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.  It is interesting that He put it this way because there were none who were righteous but reading this I could see how some would assume there were righteous people around at that time.  He came to call sinners and show them grace beyond measure.  My sins are so many that I have the nails in my pockets that nailed Him to the cross but He loved me so much that He took my consequences for me.  Thank you LORD for calling Matthew and giving us this wonderful book and thank you for calling a sinner like me, justifying me, imputing Christ’s righteousness to me, and giving me the Holy Spirit to help sanctify me to your glory.

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Allen Michaels:  ⁹ As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. Tax collectors were hated by the Jews because of their reputation for cheating and because of their support of Rome. When Jesus called Matthew to be one of his disciples, Matthew got up and followed, leaving a lucrative career. When God calls us to follow or obey him, do we do it with as much abandon as Matthew? Sometimes the decision to follow Christ requires difficult or painful choices. Like Matthew, we must decide to leave behind those things that would keep us from following Christ.

¹⁰ While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹² On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. The Pharisees constantly tried to trap Jesus, and they thought his association with these “lowlifes” was the perfect opportunity. They were more concerned with their own appearance of holiness than with helping people, with criticism than encouragement, with outward respectability than practical help. But God is concerned for all people, including the sinful and hurting ones. The Christian life is not a popularity contest! Following Jesus’ example, we should share the gospel with the poor, immoral, lonely, hurting, despondent, and outcast, not just the rich, moral, popular, and powerful. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ (Hosea 6:6), For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” When he visited Matthew, Jesus hurt his own reputation. Matthew was cheating the people, but Jesus found and changed him. We should not be afraid to reach out to people who are living in sin—God’s message can change anyone. Or so I’ve been told.

Those who are sure that they are righteous can’t be saved because the first step in following Jesus is acknowledging our need and admitting that we don’t have all the answers.