What stood out for me about this passage is the difference between how Matthew came to follow Jesus versus how some others went to follow Jesus but was challenged. The contrast I see is how the followers in chapter 8 verses 19 and 21 seemed to think they had what it took to follow Jesus and made a decision to follow Jesus on their own terms. But Matthew was a person who came to follow Jesus not on his own initiative but by Jesus' initiative.
One person said, 'I will follow you wherever you go' but Jesus seems to be saying to him ' be careful of what you're asking for because wherever I go will not provide the comforts and security you have been used to' Another said, 'I will follow you, BUT-' and we know how Jesus responded to him as well. But Matthew, he was someone who was still in his old way of life when Jesus found and called him to be a follower. Without hesitation or delay, "...Matthew got up and followed Him".
"When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" I too would ask, 'Why would Jesus hesitate to accept some people that resolve to follow Him and instead go and find this tax collector- this sinner stuck in a sinful life.
Jesus answers the pharisees by saying "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
There are so many ways Jesus' response speaks to me-
A few things I can put into words is that: My resolve is never enough to follow Jesus. My own determinations to be good, my religious disciplines or my experiences as a person who grew up around the name of Jesus is not what makes me a Christian. I am a Christian because Jesus saw that I was a sinner and I need Him just as a sick person needs a doctor. I felt relieved when I read Jesus saying 'I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.' That's me! Jesus, that's me! I am a sinner! I really don't have what it takes to be a "good Christian" or even a good person. It would take forever to make myself "good". Thank God, Jesus is not waiting for people that are good and righteous to follow Him. He came to seek out sinners like me.
We who profess to be Christians now, we were sinners first. We are sinners still trying to heed the call to follow Jesus on a daily basis. I see flaws and sinfulness in myself and other people that profess to be followers of Christ but instead of asking ' how can you call yourself a Christian' or 'how can you expect Jesus to be near', I need to remember that Jesus will not walk pass people because of their sinfulness. In fact, it is for that reason He came to earth. Jesus wants to have a relationship with us because He knows that we are sick with sin not because He sees that we have what it takes to follow Him.
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2 comments:
thanks for an insightful reflection, lynn. i agree with you that this passage offers many important truths about discipleship.
i was particularly interested in Jesus's words to the pharisees who were critical of Jesus for eating with "sinners".
"go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice".
Jesus desires that our hearts be filled with genuine mercy and compassion and love towards others,
more than our sacrifice, which represents the outward acts of piety and worship.
the pharisees were really good at the "sacrifice" but really lacking in the "mercy".
this passage should make us think about our own lives. Jesus says that He desires the one over the other. we need to "go and learn what this means".
lynn! i am in agreement... we were not called to be christians because we have what it takes but because we are sinners in need of forgiveness healing!
the part of the passage that says: "I desire mercy, not sacrifice," really stands out for me... i think i need to "go and learn what this means."
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