The 2^nd Sunday After Trinity

SERMON

Text: Matthew 9:9-13

As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him. Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

In Christ Jesus, dear fellow-redeemed:

“I’m not interested in going to church. It’s just a bunch of hypocrites anyway. They all pretend to be so religious ‘n everything and then I see and hear them act just like everyone else. So what good does all that church do. I’m just as well off by staying home catching up on my sleep, reading my newspaper and watching a little TV.” … so goes one of the more “famous” excuses for not attending worship services.

The familiar “the church is full of hypocrites” excuse has led to an equally well-known rebuttal namely, that a church is not a museum of perfect people, but is rather a hospital for those who have sick souls and hearts broken by sin.

There is a similar argument regarding Christian schools (our own being no exception). “Why would I ever send my child to the church school? I hear what goes on there. They have the same kinds of problems as any other school. There’s misbehavior and sinful things take place there too. I may as well send my child to public school—at least its free.”

Assuming that a “Christian school” should be free of sinful behavior forgets that a Christian school is staffed and attended by sinners. Furthermore, where should we suppose the Devil will be most active with temptation—among those whom he already owns as slaves…or among those who belong to Christ? A Christian school is not a sin-free zone, but it is a place where sin is handled according to Scripture and sinners are taught how they are set free from sin.

With these two examples I do not mean to suggest that children of God do not need to be concerned with how they act and live Monday-Saturday; nor do I intend to suggest that sinful behavior within the context of a Christian school is to be ignored as “par for the course.”—NOT AT ALL! However, these examples illustrate popular misconceptions and also the truth about believing sinners and the Gospel. This morning, with the Spirit’s guidance, we will be considering this further as we are reminded that OUR HEAVENLY PHYSICIAN HEALS THE SICK OF HEART I. The Savior’s call to all sinners II. The self-righteous’ scorn of the Gospel III. The Lord’s desire for our hearts.

I.

Many times in schools or other settings in which socialization occurs, there is a division between the “in crowd” and the “out crowd”—some times cruelly referred to as the “losers” or the “odd ones” or the “no one wants to be around them” people.

The way this works is that a large group of popular people mingle together, share stories, and enjoy each other’s company, all of which is just fine unless (or until) that group looks down upon or excludes the other, smaller group of the “unpopulars.” This reaches its worst point when the “in-crowd” begins to cast disapproving looks at the “out-crowd” OR when the in-crowd’s conversations turn to discussions of how awful and absolutely embarrassing the other people are and how glad they all are that they aren’t part of that group of people or that “so-n-so” from the “out-crowd” isn’t there with them. At other times someone may try to spend time with people of the “in-crowd” and receives looks that say “get lost;” and when he does leave the looks turn into giggles and sneers. In real terms the “outcasts” may have much to offer, and many times even more than others, BUT the “outcasts” don’t measure up to the standards set by the “in group.”

Imagine someone coming into this kind of social situation, someone who could be part of the in-crowd if he really wanted to be—he had the potential—but instead of automatically gravitating toward the popular “higher class” he chose to associate with the outcasts. Or in the minds of the in-crowd “to grovel with the outcasts.” Imagine! Who would make such a choice? JESUS!!!

This is exactly the situation of which Jesus was a part many times during His ministry. The division was established between the Pharisees and the rest of the people, but especially between them and those whom they considered “SINNERS.” When Jesus chose His 12 closest followers to lead them and mold them into apostles of His Word, did He go into the ranks of Pharisees and Sadducees and Scribes to choose the best of the best? NO! He walked along the seashore and spoke to working class fishermen and then when the time was right called them saying, “Follow me.”

When Jesus was choosing His disciples did He first float the names out into society to make sure that they were respectable choices esteemed by the people? NO, He didn’t! Of all people, He even chose a tax collector! “As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ So he arose and followed Him.” [v.9]

In the minds of many in Jesus’ day, there was no lower class among the people than the tax collectors. No self-respecting, patriotic Jew would ever accept the position of a tax-collector. A tax collector was detested because he worked for the Roman enemy collecting the enemy’s tax and often times collected more than was even legal. Matthew’s tax booth was quite likely a customs’ office because he was at Capernaum right along a major caravan road.

Jesus had most certainly talked with Matthew earlier and through Jesus’ teaching, Matthew had been brought to faith in Him. So when Jesus called out “Follow Me!” Matthew left everything behind (Luke 5:28) and followed Him, just as the fishermen disciples had done when Jesus called them.

In his account, Luke informs us that after Jesus called him, Matthew gave a great feast in his own house. At this feast “it happened as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold! many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.” [v.10]

Not only had Jesus called a tax collector to follow Him, but now He was eating with a house FULL of them!! Matthew, Mark, and Luke all make it an emphatic point that there were many tax collectors and other “known sinners” at this feast. It is natural that this would be the case—Matthew was the one hosting the feast, he invited his friends and acquaintances who were among disrespected classes. These “sinners” were not eating in a separate room from Jesus, they were reclining at the table WITH Jesus and His disciples—not unlike Jesus reclining with His disciples for the Passover on Maundy Thursday.

To the Pharisees, it appeared as if Jesus was attracting all the “undesirables”… and He let them come and stay with Him! This was unacceptable to them. Wherever Jesus went there was this attraction by those who were held in low esteem for a variety of reasons. WHY were they so attracted to him? and then WHY did Jesus minister to them…why did He call out to them with His Word and seek them? “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick…I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” [vv.12-13].

These people were attracted to Jesus because they were sinners. They knew they were sick of heart. A doctor serves where he’s wanted…needed. Someone who is not sick, or at least doesn’t THINK he is sick, won’t go to the doctor. These people had no doubt that they were sick. They knew it…they knew it all too well. They could see their sin in their lives. Jesus’ words against that sin pricked their hearts, but they also found in Him the healing balm of the Gospel. To reach out to these people was the WHOLE reason for Jesus’ coming to the earth. There were not and never will be any who are truly righteous and not in need of Jesus, but again, who goes to the doctor if he doesn’t think he’s sick? Jesus ministered to those who knew they were sick because He has what sinners need.

This was not the only time that Jesus reached out to sinners like He did to Matthew and the others gathered there. Zaccheaus was likewise a tax collector, even a CHIEF tax collector and Jesus went to his home (Luke 19:1ff). On still another occasion, the Pharisees and Scribes saw the tax collectors and other sinners congregating around Jesus and they “complained, saying, This Man receives sinners and eats with them” (Luke 15:2). On that occasion Jesus told the parable of a man who had 100 sheep. 99 of the sheep were safe in the fold, but one had strayed away. The careful shepherd goes out and seeks that one. Then, when the shepherd comes back with that one lost lamb, there is much rejoicing among the servants. Jesus then said, “I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents (like the tax collectors and others who were coming to Jesus) than over ninety-nine must persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7). “Sinners” are not to be ignored like Pharisees supposed, rather they are to be MINISTERED TO. That is what Jesus’ purpose was and is.

Paul, a former Pharisee, would have agreed with everything these Pharisees said and did. He could have even possibly been among them, but even if he wasn’t he would have agreed whole-heartedly, “what are you doing Jesus??!” But when Paul was converted from Phariseeism to true faith in Christ, then He understood too. Then he knew just how sick he was and confessed to Timothy: “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:15).

We ALL sin and I’m quite certain we would all feel like Paul that WE are the chief of sinners, because we know all that we do. To us, and to sinners who are sick of heart like us, Jesus calls out, “Come to Me you who labor and are heavy laden” (Matthew 11:28).

Some people want their religion to be “clean.” Like the Pharisees, they don’t want to “mess around” with sinners: “I want to have good upstanding people associate with me religiously. I don’t want to have people who have questionable character being a part of this. Let them clean up their act and THEN come and I’ll share my faith with you.” Jesus approaches it in the opposite way. He preaches the Gospel to call out to the down-trodden, to the sinners, to bring them with the Gospel to God. “The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)

The call goes out to all SINNERS, “Come, buy and eat, yes come buy wine and milk without money and without price…” (Isaiah 55:1).

II.

Now we turn to the other side, the different perspective of the Pharisees. “When the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, ‘Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’” [v.11]

The Pharisees absolutely scorned the idea that such people would be part of religion, part of faith. Religion to the Pharisees was following THEIR carefully prescribed laws. Faith was living a decent outward life. Religion and faith to them was looking good among the people, praying on the street corners for all to see and hear. They were righteous in themselves and they scorned, not just Jesus, but the very message He preached. “Why should I have a Savior from sin when I can rely on my own righteousness.”

The Pharisees imagined themselves righteous in what they were doing. They thought they found salvation within themselves. They didn’t know their need for the Gospel so they scorned it with everything they did. It was a personal hatred toward Jesus, but really it was a hatred directed at salvation itself. It was a hatred directed toward the message of God’s Word. Self-righteousness will always scorn the Gospel because if I am self-righteous I will feel that I have no need for the Gospel, so I will look down upon it.

Why were the Pharisees so upset? Salvation was being pronounced to people THEY despised! The Pharisees wanted salvation and their “church” to be an exclusive club. They wanted to remain separate from everybody else—don’t pollute us with those dirty sinners! And that is SO contrary to the entire spirit of the Gospel. God’s sent His Son into the world to redeem the world—everyone, not just an exclusive club. Jesus came to call sinners to repentance—ALL sinners, not just people who are self-righteous and believe they are doing what is right. By their attitude, the Pharisees contradicted the very purpose of God’s Son. Instead of full, wide grace offered to all, the Pharisees said, “Come to us. We will train you in OUR ways.” The Pharisees were very diligent in training people in their outward rules and regulations and training them to be good conformists to the Pharisee way. But in terms of a wide-spread forgiveness for all sinners…they would hear nothing of it.

This all comes from a misconception about salvation. The Pharisees saw salvation in the outward instead of the inward. Self-righteousness always relies on what can be seen. Pride and self-righteousness is going to work diligently to keep everything on the outside absolutely acceptable and correct. As soon as there is one slip, as soon as an outward life is no longer appears perfect, there is no longer any room for self-righteousness because the flaw has been exposed. So the self-righteous individual works hard to cover and hide any flaws, justifying himself whenever there is a question, and proudly presents himself as “good.” Whenever the Pharisees tried to trick Jesus and instead He exposed their sin, they slunk quietly away because they were self-righteous and couldn’t bear to have fault found in them.

Self-righteousness also tries to mold Christ into what it wants Him to be. The Pharisees tried it. They wanted the Messiah to be just like them. People today still try to do the same. This past week, in Friday’s Free Press, there was a large article dedicated to a discussion of the controversy that has arisen in regard to a painting called, “Jesus of the People.” The painting incorporates both genders and many racial features and other aspects and melds them all together into an image of Christ that tries to accommodate EVERYBODY. If this was intended to highlight the fact that Jesus came for all sinners, that might be O.K. although it would still be historically incorrect because Jesus was a male Jew and that was His appearance!

More concerning is what seems to more underlie this painting and that is the desire to mold Christ into what man wants him to be. It comes from the viewpoint that I can’t believe in a Savior if He doesn’t look and act like I want him to look and act. That is self-righteousness because then I’m trying to make a Savior in my image. This contradicts and scorns the Gospel because the Gospel says, “Yes, Jesus was a man from the Jewish people but He is also the Son of God who has redeemed ALL people, no matter of gender or race.” Nationality, gender, and appearance make NO DIFFERENCE in terms of who may receive Christ’s blessing “For as many…as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek…slave nor free…there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:27-28).

It comes down to Christ’s Gospel offered freely to every sinner for salvation vs. the Pharisee’s scorn of that Gospel and their own “self-religion.” Oh how we need to exercise care that we stay with Christ!

There is a danger of a “dead orthodoxy,” a formalism in the way we worship and the things we do that doesn’t really care about the souls of our neighbor. The Pharisees weren’t concerned about the souls, they were concerned about their type of religion. We see the contrast in how Jesus called out to sinners and dealt with them.

We may unwittingly at times fall into the trap of scorning the Gospel. We too might want “clean” religion. “Neat and clean”—people to come to us, agree with us, join the church, and that’s it. Its comfortable to sit by and enjoy what we have, but then there is also the danger of becoming exclusive.

How do we act when someone comes to us a little rough around the edges? If we saw a pastor talking to shabby, dirty, person would we be wondering what the pastor could possibly talking about so long with that street person and conclude, “He probably just wants a handout.” OR would we approach it and think to ourselves, “What a wonderful chance for my pastor (and maybe me also) to bring the Gospel to this person. I wonder what is troubling him… I’ll pray that the Spirit will work mightily and help him with the Gospel.”

What if someone comes a little rough around the edges, not looking quite up to our standards—not quite fitting the model. Do we scorn or do we call out with the Gospel? What if someone comes a little rough around the edges spiritually—not knowing a whole lot about the Scriptures and misguided in many things. Do we actively, patiently reach out with the Gospel to lead, or do we think it’s a hopeless cause?

Using the Gospel is scary…at times. It takes a chance. We might wonder, “Do I really want to do this…do I really want to try to bring the Gospel to someone like THAT? What if it doesn’t work out? What if I get ‘burned?’” There lies the beauty of the Gospel—the Word will decide. As we take the Word to “sinners” (i.e., anyone around us), the Word will divide. Either the Word will work in their hearts and create faith after which there would be great joy because a sinner has been brought to repentance; OR else that person will reject the Word in which case the Word will convict his in their sin. Either way, it is the Word that is doing the dividing and not we. We, like our Savior, seek to call out with the Gospel rather than scorn it as did the self-righteous Pharisees.

III.

In the end, Jesus told the Pharisees, “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” [v.13] In response to the Pharisees’ objection, Jesus quoted the prophet Hosea as we heard in the Old Testament reading (cf: also Micah 6:6-8). The Lord’s desire is our hearts. His desire is not what we are doing on the outside. This is not to say that He is not concerned about the outward things that we do, but His true full DESIRE is our HEARTS.

When King Saul sinfully saved the flocks and herds of an enemy nation when he had been told to destroy them all, Saul tried to justify his action by saying that the animals were saved for sacrificing to God. To sacrifice to the Lord was a pleasing thing, but not when the heart disobeyed God. So Samuel said, " followed disobedience toward God. “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22).

God wants your HEART. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). God doesn’t want us to honor Him just with our lips, but to honor and glorify Him from within. With that thought in mind, our “religion” (and by “religion” I mean our faith, salvation, and everything we believe concerning Christ) should never be comfortable. Comforting? YES! But not comfortable. If I’m sinning, my “religion” ought not be comfortable because the law ought to be convicting me in my sin and making me very uncomfortable and wanting to get rid of that sin. I’m living in a state of repentance as a faithful child of God, I ought not be comfortable because I’m going to want to get out and spread the Gospel far and wide! True religion is not comfortable. It’s not worrisome. It’s not anxious. It’s not fearful, but its always sharp and “on the edge”—sharp to convict our hearts when we need it; sharp to comfort and heal.

The Lord wants living hearts—hearts that respond to His Word. This is what makes this text SO beautiful. We are identified with those “sinners.” Our Lord calls out to us with His Gospel, brings us to Himself to make us new creatures, to give us living hearts that love Him and joyfully serve Him.

—Pastor Wayne C. Eichstadt