Matthew 9: 9 – 13
Time For A Career Change
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. 10 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. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 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.”
Do you know people who at one time was zealous in their life for Jesus Christ and then something happened? Something serious enough occurred in their life that broke their spirit and they to a large degree stopped following our Lord Jesus. In fact some of the people that I know not only stopped following our Lord but they became ardent in their beliefs and their actions to do everything possible to fight Christianity. Does any of these words hit home?
Levi, called Matthew, was a disciple of Jesus and the writer of the first gospel. He was the son of Alpheus. Matthew was originally named Levi, our Lord Jesus changed his name to Matthew, which means in Hebrew 'the gift of Yahweh.' He was a native of Galilee and engaged in the town of Capernaum as a publican or tax-gatherer for Herod Antipas.
The name Levi gives the clue that he was a priest or Levite. If you remember back in the book of Numbers we read that this tribe was selected by our Adoni Yahweh to be His servants on behalf of all the Israelites. They were to work in the Temple. Chapter 1 tells us this, “47 But the Levites were not numbered among them by their fathers’ tribe; 48 for the LORD had spoken to Moses, saying: 49 “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor take a census of them among the children of Israel; 50 but you shall appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the Testimony, over all its furnishings, and over all things that belong to it; they shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; they shall attend to it and camp around the tabernacle. 51 And when the tabernacle is to go forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall set it up. The outsider who comes near shall be put to death. 52 The children of Israel shall pitch their tents, everyone by his own camp, everyone by his own standard, according to their armies; 53 but the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the Testimony, that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the children of Israel; and the Levites shall keep charge of the tabernacle of the Testimony.” 54 Thus the children of Israel did; according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so they did.”
So, we can deduce that something happened that caused Levi to walk away from his ordained position of serving the every living God. And you talk about the full extreme of walking away. He took on one of the most hated positions of the Jewish people – a tax gatherer.
As long as the taxes came in, the Roman government didn't ask questions as how the taxes were raised. As a collector, any rate could be charged so overcharging was the general rule, pay the government and pocket the profit. The tax-collector was the most hated man in the land. Matthew was the only disciple called publican. He collected the money for Herod at Capernaum. It was his job to tax the people and goods crossing the Sea of Galilee or passing along the great Damascus Road which ran by the shore. If a Jew could scarcely persuade himself that it was right to pay taxes, how much more heinous a crime must it have been in his eyes to collect them. If a publican was hated, how still more intense must have been the disgust entertained against a publican who was also Jewish?
Matthew would not have been able to serve as a judge or witness in court. His whole family would have been viewed as outcast and disgraced. The Jews had a proverb "Take not a wife out of the family where there is a publican, for they are all publicans."
I have learned in life that our Lord Jesus Christ never wastes anything. Even if we rebel like Matthew, He can use whatever we do or learn in that experience. You see our Lord knew about Matthew’s rebellion yet in His love He would utilize the gifts that Matthew had to write this first Gospel. His business as a tax-collector accustomed him to keeping records. Therefore his writing skills would be utilized by our Precious Holy Spirit to pen the words and actions of our Master, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Matthew stresses that our Lord Jesus is the fulfillment of Israelite hopes for a deliverer – The Messiah - the One who brings salvation and the perfecting of the Jewish Law.
Before we take a look at today’s Scripture it is beneficial to look at the two other reports that are listed in Mark’s version and Luke’s description of this event.
Mark 2: 13 – 17, “13 Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them. 14 As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him. 15 Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. 16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 When Jesus heard it, He said to 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.”
Luke 5: 27 – 32, “27 After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” 28 So he left all, rose up, and followed Him. 29 Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them. 30 And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, “Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
It looks as if all three versions are in harmony. Our Lord Jesus first came and asked or directed Levi to give up his profession for the sake of being a disciple. He responds to the Lord’s invitation and walks away from his job. He then sets up a ‘last supper’ with his co-workers and friends to introduce them to the One that He is going to commit his life to.
So now let us look at today’s Scripture.
9 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
Do you remember the little guy by the name of Zacchaeus? He was the one who would have made the deal with the Roman authorities to collect the taxes. Levi was then a contractor who was hired by someone like this guy to do the actual collecting of the money. There were possibly a couple of other publicans sitting with Levi along with Roman soldiers to protect them and enforce their decisions.
By selecting Levi our Lord Jesus wanted to show that repentance and forgiveness was open to even the lowest of society.
The words ‘follow Me’ indicate a life time commitment. In my own life I have come to understand and appreciate this important decision.
I was also a government worker. I was a Postmaster who to a large extent died and went to Heaven. I had this brand new facility. I had over 100 employees and four assistants. Our office was considered a ‘model’ office which indicated an office where others could come and learn how an efficient operation was run. Our total expenses was 2 and ½ million and our total revenue each year excelled over 25 million. Each year I received ‘Outstanding’ evaluations.
Then my secular world came crashing down.
I was blessed to have our Lord Jesus Christ in a way say the same to me as He did to Matthew – ‘Come follow Me’.
There was a little bible study that had just started at a catering hall in which I started to attend. . I loved the worship music and the teaching. Ultimately this little study turned into a church. I volunteered to instruct the children. I remember in prayer that I said that someday Lord I would love to serve You Lord full time. My thought was that I would finish my career with the Postal Service with a nice fat pension and then go and do whatever the Lord wanted of me. I wound up experiencing the same shipwreck that the Apostle Paul went through.
One point that I would like you all to remember is to never compromise in anything. In the Post Office to measure how well your mail carriers perform is to measure the mail. You can then do the mathematics and somewhat determine if you are getting good production from your workers. Our sectional area had a director who came up with his own way of counting the mail and had instructed all the offices under his authority to follow his directions which my office complied with even prior to my taking over the position as the Postmaster. This manner of counting the mail was not in agreement with Postal Headquarters.
I do not know if this goes on where you work but in government, it appears that a lot of rotten evil people wind up in key management positions. In my particular case these vipers would select a few Postmasters each year to get rid of. They would cause all kind horrible attacks against the ones that they targeted. I witnessed some people actually dying from their nasty pursuits.
Being naïve I did not see any warning signs that I was now in their scopes. They set their plans to get me. I at first thought that since I was the fair haired child that when the management sectional center leaders would send me to every possible training area that I was set for bigger and better things in the Postal Service. Little did I know that they had sent a team of Postal Inspectors into my office to talk with my employees in order to find something that they could use to charge me and get rid of me. One day at one of these educational sessions I was listed to attend a course that I had already completed. The instructor just told me to go back to my office since I had already taken the course. When I got back to the office all these Postal Inspectors were scattered about in rooms meeting with my employees. When I enquired as to why they were doing these interviews the lead Inspector said that they were investigating me.
They were trying to use my religious faith against me. They were seeking some witnesses that I was using my office and power to evangelize my employees. In truth I never did push my faith on anyone. I guess in a way these guys were scheming against me the same way the prophet Daniel went through. I know that I do not even scratch the surface of being godly like Daniel so I was totally blown away by this attack.
Being from Philly I felt like ‘Rocky’ and fought back. I filed an religious discrimination complaint against the USPS. They would not investigate my claims. Ultimately the office of Equal Employment Opportunity in Washington ordered the Postal Service to investigate my claim and they still refused to obey.
When I filed a law suit against the Chief Postal Inspector and the Postmaster General then things began to stir. I was sitting in my office and the window clerk George came in all ashen. I got this message in my brain – ‘you are finished with the Postal Service’ George told me that there was a swat team in the lobby. I told George to open the door and let them in. My boss came in with the team and told me to get out of the office. As I reached for my brief case and bible, I was told I would not be allowed to take them with me as they were evidence. I left embarrassed and humiliated.
For the next three months the Postal Service audited every record to try to find something to charge me with. The lead Inspector report to the higher ups indicated that they could not find even one record out of place. This man was then ordered to destroy the first report and write up a new one in order to charge me with something. The new report just indicated that I mismanaged my office with no other documentation.
Being a veteran of our armed services I was entitled to a federal court hearing. So to make a long story short, our Holy Lord defended me and I was cleared of their attempt to hurt me. The judge actually warned me that even though I was exonerated that I should be aware that in the future some other way will be taken against me in order for them to get rid of me.
I then submitted my resignation after being cleared and came on staff as a full time Pastor. Sitting in my office a few weeks later I got this message in my head. ‘Are you happy now that you are able to serve Me full time.’ I argued, ‘yes, but You could have made this a lot easier. You could have just told me.’ And the answer I received back was, ‘No you wouldn’t have. You would have just stayed where you are until you could retire. This is not My plan.’
The end result was nice but it was surely a hard voyage to get here. Anyway, that is my story so how about we get back to Matthew’s story. He was more attentive than I was and left all and immediately followed our Lord Jesus. To say goodbye to all his friends he threw a banquet.
10 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.
When you commit you life to our Lord Jesus Christ then you are not ashamed to let everyone you know about Him. Here we see that Matthew invited everyone he knew to come to his feast and meet the One Who Is now his Lord.
Now of course the every present religious reporters were there but not invited guests. Apparently as the disciples were going in the house the Pharisees confronted them. Please notice that the Pharisees decided to give the Lord’s followers the third degree of questions. But also please notice Who responded to their questions.
11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 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.”
Our Lord Jesus wanted the Pharisees and all to know that He came for people who were sick physically, emotionally, and most importantly spiritually. He had come to save and restore people back to a healthy relationship with the Ancient of Days, our Holy Father Yahweh.
If these so called masters of the Scriptures would have had clear vision of the Holy Word they would have known this as the prophet Jeremiah had foretold in chapter 8 regarding the work of the Messiah, “22 Is there no balm in Gilead, is there no physician there? Why then is there no recovery for the health of the daughter of my people?”
Can you imagine calling your doctor’s office and ask for an appointment. The office clerk would ask you what your medical problem is. You answer, ‘Oh, I don’t think I have any medical problem. I just want to come in to see the doctor.’ My guess is that the office nurse would give you a referral to go and see a head shrink because your request is nutty.
We therefore see the same type of response back to the Pharisees from our Lord. ‘You guys think that you are okay in the eyes of God so you do not need me. I have come for those whose souls need healing and for that cause will I do my work.’
Thank you Lord Jesus, You Are The Great Physician, for I am such a needy person in need of Your Healing touch.
