(The introduction to this sermon was the copyrighted dramatic reading ‘Christ On Trial: Witness, Matthew.’ Written by Elsa L. Clark with Peter Mead, Arden Mead, and Mark Zimmermann. © 2007 by Creative Communication for the Parish)
(Slide 1) Ever felt that you were being looked down upon? Have you ever been looked down upon and you knew it?
Years ago in graduate school I had one of those experiences. It was a leadership theory course designed for the doctoral students in the department and I was a mere master’s degree student. But I wanted to take it.
I remember hearing the professor’s condescending tone of voice reminding me what kind of a class I was in and who it was designed for. After that first class I felt that it was a no-win situation for me and I dropped the class.
What about looking down on people? Have you ever done that? (OUCH PASTOR JIM!) I have always tried to be a fair minded person to everybody I meet but there have been times when an individual rubbed me the wrong way and I choose to ignore them as best I could and not attempt to build a better relationship with them.
Our initial witness, as we examine the evidence against Jesus that will mount as we go through this Lenten season 2007, was looked down upon. He was considered scum. Many ‘straight-laced’ religious persons did not consider Matthew to be worth Jesus’ time. But Jesus thought Matthew was worth His time and He also thinks that you and I are worth His time as well!
This morning we are going to briefly look at two parallel Old Testament passages, Hosea 6:1-6 and Jeremiah 31:32-34, and discover what these two Old Testament prophets said about what I call the ‘before’ and ‘after’ of Easter as it relates to our status in God’s eyes.
Then we will examine our main text in Mark and consider the kind of change in Matthew that took place when Jesus said to him, ‘follow me.’ Finally we will take a few moments to consider what Christ’s call means to us, individually and corporately, in light of this week.
Let’s now turn to Hosea 6:1-6 which says, “Come, let us return to the Lord! He has torn us in pieces; now he will heal us. He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds. In just a short time, he will restore us so we can live in his presence. Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him! Then he will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.” “O Israel and Judah, what should I do with you?” asks the Lord. “For your love vanishes like the morning mist and disappears like dew in the sunlight. I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces. I have slaughtered you with my words, threatening you with death. My judgment will strike you as surely as day follows night. I want you to be merciful; I don’t want your sacrifices. I want you to know God; that’s more important than burnt offerings.”
Notice; please the phrases out of this passage as ‘before’ and ‘after’ phrases of God’s deliverance. First the before… (Slide 2)
He has torn us in pieces…
He has injured us…
I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces
I have slaughtered you with my words…
My judgment will strike you down…
Not a very pretty and loving picture of God is it? He is not happy with the children of Israel. He is displeased with their quickly vanishing love. He is upset over their lack of mercy. He is ready to destroy them. They have disobeyed Him though He says at the end of the chapter in verse 11, ‘I wanted so much to restore the fortunes of my people!’
In the ‘before’ of Good Friday and Easter, there is judgment and there is punishment and there is death and alienation from God. During this season of Lent one of our tasks is the very unpleasant, difficult and sometimes brutal, but essential task of looking at ourselves in the light of Christ’s death on our behalf and facing the truth about our own sinful and flawed human nature that is no different that it was in Hosea’s day.
But, there is an ‘after’ that we must pay attention to this morning. (Slide 3) There is a new movement of God afoot. Jesus makes that clear in various statements to those who were still locked in to the ‘before’ mindset that God wanted to get rid of.
Hosea prophesizes that it will take place…
now he will heal us.
now he will bandage our wounds
he will restore us
Then, over in Jeremiah 31:32-34 we read:
“The day will come,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord.
“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the Lord. “I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their family, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will already know me,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness and will never again remember their sins.”
Again, notice the ‘after’ of God’s new covenant. (Slide 4)
I will put my laws in their minds
I will write them on their hearts
I will be their God, and they will be my people
I will forgive their wickedness
(I) will never again remember their sins
This is the ‘after’ of Lent and Easter. This is the result of Easter. Forgiveness, a second chance, a new relationship based on an internal change of heart not a subscription to an agreement that became externally focused and performance driven.
Now as we turn to our main text I believe that we can safely say that Matthew is a pre-Easter illustration of what Hosea and Jeremiah spoke of in their respect writings. He is an illustration of God’s grace and mercy being given to someone that was considered hopeless and beyond help. His life situation and condition illustrate the reason that Jesus Christ, Our Savior, came to earth.
Matthew mattered to God!
Others did not see that. They only saw a ‘sinner.’ They saw someone who had turned their backs on their people and their faith. They saw a traitor. They saw someone who was not worthy of God’s mercy and grace.
Tax collectors were probably viewed with the same contempt as lepers who, according to one source, had to cry out ‘unclean, unclean,’ when anyone came close to them. Lepers had to live outside a city or village if it had walls around it. They were truly outsiders. So were tax collectors.
This source also indicated that Matthew perhaps did not have a choice when it came to choose his occupation. It indicates that the Romans appointed their Tax Collectors.
But, Jesus called Matthew away from them and that position. (Ever wonder what the Romans thought about Jesus because they certainly had numerous opportunities to observe Him in action!)
Matthew would no longer take advantage of others. Jesus called him to a new role, one in that required a new kind of investment in people.
Something changed in Matthew (something profound) when Jesus said ‘Come, be my disciple!’ What was that something? (Slide 5)
I think hope flared up within Matthew in that moment. In the blink of an eye Matthew had an experience with Jesus that caused him to get up from his wealth and power and follow this teacher, this rabbi, who Matthew would later proclaim as the Savior of the world to others and write one of the gospels.
I also think that the shame and pain of his position left him. In spite of what he did, Jesus saw Matthew for who He was – a person who mattered to Him and the Father.
He also felt redeemed and even human again. That glimmer of hope I just spoke of burst into flames of hope when Jesus called Matthew to leave behind his way of life.
His obedience was immediate. Jesus’ call to be one of His followers was a life changing experience for Matthew. The faith of his people was no longer a source of despair and rejection. The Messiah, the redeemer of Israel, (though not everyone agreed that Jesus was the Messiah) had called Matthew, ‘to be my disciple.’
I remind us again this morning to be a ‘disciple’ was more than a student or pupil. It was someone who developed a close relationship with one person which results in an unreserved following and obedience.
All of us are disciples. The question is, ‘To whom or what?’ Being a disciple is a dangerous and risky thing!
Think about what Matthew had just done. He gave up a very lucrative job because tax collectors usually took more than what the tax rate indicated.
He also jumped, as we often say, from the frying pan into the fire! Now his Jewish elders were even more upset with him because he joined in with this Jesus who they did not like. It leads me to ask, ‘Hey, what would you have him do? Stay in the job the Romans had for him?’ or ‘Would you have him join you?’ (I think that we know the answer to that question.)
Also we need to remember that not only did he leave his job, he also left his employer, the Roman Empire! They had appointed him to his position. Now, he simply got up and turned his back on them!
The changes Matthew made were major and substantial changes. His whole way of life changed not just in that moment when Jesus said, ‘come!’
It also changed over the next three years as Matthew, and the other eleven, followed Jesus as He performed miracles, healed people, cast out evil spirits, was betrayed, arrest, tried, crucified, and… resurrected.
Matthew would never be the same again. He could never go back to the tax booth again.
I wonder how long it took Matthew to write his gospel account. He wrote it under the inspiration and direction of the Holy Spirit.
But I can’t help but believe that as he wrote his mind was flooded with many, many memories of those days, months, and years and how often might he have put down his writing quill and got lost in thought as he thought about how his life had changed because of that look of love and care and that voice calling him to a new life.
How has God changed you? Can you, like Matthew, look back and see the difference that the call to ‘follow me’ has made in your life? The events of this week we now
Come, let us return to the Lord! He has torn us in pieces; now he will heal us. He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds. In just a short time, he will restore us so we can live in his presence. Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him!
God looks at us like He looked at Matthew, with love and mercy in His heart and our forgiveness in His plans as He says, ‘come be my disciple.’ What is your response this morning to His invitation?
Power Points for this sermon are available by e-mailing me at pastorjim46755@yahoo.com and asking for ‘022507slides’ Please note that all slides for a particular presentation may not be available.
