A Ministry Of Mercy Series

A MINISTRY OF MERCY

Matthew 9:9-13

When Jesus began His earthly ministry, He traveled the region of Galilee and began to call certain men to “follow Him” and to be His Disciples. The first four men that Jesus invited to follow Him were fishermen. Matthew tells us that Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Peter and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea and He said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people. Shortly thereafter, Jesus called James and John and gave them the same opportunity. All four of those men left everything behind and became Disciples of Christ.

Peter, Andrew, James and John had spent much of their lives casting nets into the sea and drawing in fish, now they would spend the next few years in the presence of their Master learning how to cast a metaphorical net and draw people into the Kingdom of God. Following the ascension of Christ, the Disciples would continue to carry out the task of fishing for people. They were faithful to the task that was assigned to them and an innumerable multitude of people have been brought into the Kingdom as a result of their service.

As they followed Jesus, the Disciples observed His miracles, they heard His message, they learned His methods, and they were taught His motivation, which was the salvation of lost souls and bringing glory to the Father.

One of the most important things that the Disciples learned was the importance of extending mercy to others. In fact, one of the greatest teachings on the subject of mercy is found in our selected text. The Pharisees were Jewish religious leaders who were exceedingly zealous concerning matters pertaining to the Mosaic Law, however, time and again they failed to show mercy to others. For this reason, Jesus instructed them to “Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice, For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (v13)

The mercy that Jesus mentions in this verse is exemplified in His actions in the preceding verses of this chapter; after healing a man who was paralyzed, Jesus “went on from there, and saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, “Follow me,”. The call of Matthew is a fantastic example of mercy, especially considering the fact that tax collectors were some of the most corrupt and despised people in Jesus’ day and in Jewish society.

After accepting Jesus’ call, Matthew hosted a great feast in his house and invited Jesus, the Disciples and many other tax collectors and sinners to join him. It is fascinating that Matthew began to fish for people the very instant that he surrendered to Jesus. This is a testament to the amazing transformation that Jesus provides in regeneration. Like Matthew, some of the most vibrant and zealous witnesses of Christ are those who have very recently been delivered from a life of sin.

While the Disciples benefitted much from Jesus’ vast scriptural knowledge, they also were able to watch His life and learn from His character. As they traveled with the Savior, the Disciples became more and more like Jesus. As a result, during their ministry after Christ’s ascension, the Apostles extended great mercy just as their Savior had done. It is encouraging to note that these men did not extend mercy at the expense of Gospel truth. Like Jesus, the Disciples had a perfectly balanced ministry; one of both compassion AND truth.

Those of us who have been born again, have been called to follow Jesus and to be His disciples. As such, we should be ever ready to show love, compassion and mercy to everyone that we encounter in this life. I would like for us to journey to Matthew’s home and join Jesus, the Disciples, the tax collectors and sinners and preach on the subject “A Ministry Of Mercy”.

As we have already mentioned, one of the most important responsibilities of a disciple is to go out and “fish for people”, that is, we are to draw them into the Kingdom of God. Tragically, many Christians are having the opposite effect. Rather than drawing people in, they are pushing them away. As we live for Jesus and walk with Him, we should take the steps necessary to ensure that we are involved in a ministry of mercy.

Jesus said in John 12:47, “I did not come to judge the world but to save the world”. Rather than pouring out the deserved wrath condemnation and judgement on lost sinners, the Savior extended grace, mercy and compassion. We are recipients of the mercy of Jesus Christ and it should be our desire to share Him with others who are in desperate need.