For example, sometimes our dogs misunderstand some things about us. Someone suggested these are some of the misunderstandings our pet dogs have...
• Getting up does NOT mean we are going for a walk
• Just because I'm eating, doesn't mean you can
But not only do we have misunderstandings with our pets, we also have them with each other.
Illus: A Pastor recently told his congregation that the church needed some extra money. He asked the people to consider donating a little more than usual in the offering plate. He said that whoever gave the most would be able to pick out three hymns. After the offering plates were passed, the pastor glanced down and noticed that someone had placed a $1,000 bill in offering.
The Pastor was so excited that he immediately shared his joy with his congregation, and said he'd like to personally thank the person who placed the money in the plate. A very quiet, elderly, saintly looking lady all the way in the back shyly raised her hand. The pastor asked her to come to the front.
Slowly she made her way to the pastor. He told her how wonderful it was that she gave so much, and in thanks he asked her to pick out three hymns.
Her eyes brightened as she looked over the congregation. Pointing to the three most handsome men in the building, she said, "I'll take him and him and him."
Life is full of misunderstandings.
Illus: When Senator Strom Thurmond was given a birthday party in December of 2002 for his one hundredth birthday, Senator Trent Lott, the Majority Leader, was asked to speak in his honor. To honor Senator Thurmond, he made reference to him running for president in 1948 as one of the highlights of his life.
Then he said that the country would be a lot better off if everyone would have followed the state that he represented and voted for him.
However, when Senator Strom Thurmond ran for President he was a strong segregationist, and because of that, many of Senator Trent Lott’s enemies picked up on that one thing and assumed he was referring to Senator Thurmond’s position on segregation.
Senator Lott was asked about this, and he said when Senator Thurmond ran for President, he ran on many good things. He said it was a time when communism was sweeping the world and he ran on a strong military, and our state was impressed with his candidacy. He said, “I did not have segregation on my mind when I said that to honor him on his birthday!”
Is this what he meant? The fact is, only God knows what he really meant.
But it does not matter how diplomatic we might be, people are going to MISUNDERSTAND US! Sometime we are mis-understood.
• Because someone wants to misunderstand us for an ulterior motive.
• Because of what we say
• Because of what we do
• Because of what we are wearing
• Because of who we are with
• Because of the expression on our face
There are so many things we can do that will cause people to misunderstand us.
But take comfort in this, the Lord Jesus was the most misunderstood person to ever walk on this earth.
• Some purposely took what he said and tried to make something out of it
• Sometimes the crowd could not comprehend what he was saying
Look at Luke 5:27-32, we read, “And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me. And he left all, rose up, and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
The People in Palestine during this time were divided into two groups:
• The orthodox Jews who rigidly kept the law and all the man-made petty regulations that they added to the law
• And the rest who didn't keep all the minute regulations
Because of the differences in these two groups, the orthodox treated the others like second class citizens.
HOW DID THEY TREAT THEM? They did a number of things, such as:
• They scrupulously avoided their company
• They refused to do business with them
• They refused to give to them or receive anything from them
• They avoided any form of entertainment with them, including table fellowship
Jesus' association with the latter, especially with tax collectors and sinners, shocked the sensibilities of these orthodox Jews.
In calling Matthew to be one of his disciples, Jesus picked one of the unlikeliest of men -- a tax collector, who by profession was despised by the Jewish people.
Let’s look at-
I. HIS MISUNDERSTANDING
This misunderstanding took place at the calling of Matthew.
Matthew was a tax collector. But as you can imagine this did not make him the most popular man in town.
Some professions are like that, for example, an undertaker is not the kind of person we like to hang out with.
Because of their profession, most people do not enjoy being around undertakers because they always feel that when they look at them, they are being measured to see what size casket they will need.
Illus: Did you hear about the two undertakers that worked at the same funeral parlor? Their names were Mal and Mel. The owner asked them to store the embalming fluid, because it did not look good for people to walk by and see it.
Mel had his share stored promptly, but there was still a good portion left for Mal to take care of.
The owner saw that all of it was not stored out of sight, and when he asked Mel why this embalming fluid was still out for everyone to see, Mel said, "The rest is for Mal to hide."(Those who are slow to catch on embalming fluid is For-Mal-de-hyde)
Matthew was frowned upon also, because of his profession as a tax collector.
(1) The Jews fiercely hated tax collectors. WHY DID THEY HATE TAX COLLECTORS? Because they hated being under Roman rule. The Romans would use people from the country that they were taxing, to collect the taxes. Many of the collectors were dishonest, collecting more than they were supposed to. Because these collectors were working for the Roman government, they were hated and they were not allowed to enter the synagogue. Their money was considered tainted also.
(2) Tax collectors were placed in the same category as robbers and murders.
So it would seem that the Lord Jesus, being a Jew, would not want to associate with a man of this caliber.
For example, suppose you were invited to this social event, and all these ladies had their nice gowns and their beautiful hairdos, and all the men were wearing the best clothing available. And you were there, but you noticed over in the corner was a hobo that you knew well, but he was dirty, and you could almost smell him across the room. How would you feel about walking away from all the society people at this event, and walking over to him and putting your arm around his shoulder, and looking him in the eyes and saying, “How are you, it is so good to have you come?”
This is exactly what the Lord Jesus did. The Lord went to this tax collector, showing us that He will reach out to anyone.
However, just because Matthew was a tax collector, does not mean he was a thief. But the fact that he was a tax collector branded him as one of the bad ones.
Isn’t it a shame that sometimes:
• One crooked policemen can make all policemen look bad
• One crooked politician can make all politicians look bad
• One crooked doctor can make all doctors look bad
• One crooked preacher can make all preachers look bad
Illus: In December of 2002, the “Hannity and Colmes” show on the Fox News Channel was dealing with the problem of the child molesting Priests that have been exposed. Sean Hannity is a Catholic, and he told another Catholic on the show that the Catholic church has got to expel these bad priests, because until they do, it reflects on all the good priests, and everyone can not help but wonder if they are also bad.
Matthew might have been a good tax collector, but he was branded with a bunch of crooks!
From all the evidence in the scriptures, Levi was not a crooked tax collector.
WHY DO WE SAY THAT?
• Because we do not read anywhere that the Lord required he make restitution
• If you remember, when it came to Zacchaeus, this is something that is mentioned
But let’s look at this situation with Matthew more closely.
We have a scene where Jesus is walking, and he comes across the tax booth that Matthew is manning. Jesus sees Matthew and calls him to follow Him.
WHAT DOES THIS CALLING MEAN?
Does this mean that when you become a Christian you have to quit your job?
For some people, the answer is yes.
Matthew was being called to full-time service with Jesus, so he would need to leave his vocation. He would have to be willing to cut his ties to the old life that would get in the way of serving the Lord.
But because Matthew had to leave his job did not mean he would have to also forsake his friends. Instead, Matthew wanted HIS OLD FRIENDS to meet HIS NEW FRIEND.
WHAT DID HE DO? He threw a party.
Look at verse 29, we read, “And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them.”
WHY DID HE THROW A PARTY?
• To let his friends get to know Jesus
• To celebrate his decision to follow Jesus
What better way to celebrate than to introduce your friends to Jesus!
He saved you, and wouldn’t it be wonderful if all of our friends were able to experience the gift of salvation?
The religious leaders were taking note of the fact that Jesus was eating and drinking with the sinners and tax collectors.
Look at verse 30, we read, “But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?”
Matthew was wise enough to understand that when the Lord was calling him into full time service, he was not calling him to forsake his friends. He threw this party so he could give his friends and family a chance to get to know the Lord.
How else could Jesus reach them, unless He made some contact with them?
Today, if you have been a Christian for some time, how many people do you spend time with who are not Christians? We cannot reach them if we have no contact with them.
This does not mean that we should go hang with the fellows at the bar, but it means that we make contact at work, or we go to dinner with people. We do not want to go into a place that will destroy our testimony and lead us to sin against God.
We have looked at THE MISUNDERSTANDING, and now let’s look at-
II. HIS MESSAGE
Look at Luke 5: 31-32, we read, “And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
The Pharisees MISUNDERSTOOD what He came for. But the Lord makes it clear as to why He came. He came to save sinners.
• Jesus was not hard hearted toward people, and neither should we be
• Jesus did not look at lost people as the enemy, but as victims of the enemy
We need to look at every lost person we know, as someone who needs Jesus. No matter what they have done or said to us in the past, we need to try to take Jesus to them.
This church is not a hotel for the saints, but a hospital for sinners who need Jesus.
Conclusion:
This is an important parable because it teaches us many things as a Bible-believing church.
(1) It teaches us that the church today, like the Pharisees, is caught up in all kinds of things, but fails to realize He came to save sinners.
(2) It teaches us as a church, that if we are going to reach sinners, we need to be involved with people.
We all need to pray the prayer of Augustine, when he said, "Lord Jesus, our Savior, let us now come to you: Our hearts are cold; Lord, warm them with your selfless love. Our hearts are sinful; cleanse them with your precious blood. Our hearts are weak; strengthen them with your joyous Spirit. Our hearts are empty; fill them with your divine presence. Lord Jesus, our hearts are yours; possess them always and only for yourself." (Prayer of Augustine, 354-430)
We have looked at:
I. HIS MISUNDERSTANDING
II. HIS MESSAGE
