Matthew 9:9-13
"Healthcare Reform—Jesus Style"
Once upon a time
There was a king.
A tribal chief.
He was angry about the "white" influence in that region.
He decided that only medical personnel could remain.
Everybody else had to go.
Teachers...missionaries...merchants...
They all had to go.
It was well known that only one white doctor worked the region,
travelling from village to village.
Yet, two men claimed to be doctors.
The King had them both brought to him.
"What do you call this bone?" He asked the first pointing to his forearm.
The man answered correctly.
He offered the next man a list of symptoms and asked how he would treat them.
That man also answered to the King’s satisfaction.
This was getting the Chief no where fast.
So, he had a slave, captured from another tribe, brought before them.
Without a word, the King stepped forward,
pulled his great knife
and slit the man across the chest.
One man drew back, vomiting at the sight of blood.
The other raced forward
instinctively
to stop the bleeding
and save the slave.
Said the King proudly,
"This man is the doctor.
The other is an imposter."
[Read Matthew 9:9-13]
Healthcare reform is a big issue today.
We need healthcare reform in the church.
Our system of assistance is outdated and inefficient.
We are staffed with doctors who won’t treat any sickness
that might be contagious.
Doctors who faint at the sight of blood
Who get nauseous looking at an open, infected wound.
We have "prevention clinics" scattered coast to coast.
Come in an get one of our brochures on how to avoid the consequences of sin
Stop by and talk to one of our spiritual healthcare professionals
to ward off the disgusting effects of
divorce
cussing
drinking
drugs
premarital sex
Of course,
if you’re already broke out with spots
if your marriage is already shattered
your mouth full of poison; every other word beginning with the letter "F"
If you’re trapped in a bottle
or bankrupt and homeless because of a needle
or if your not losing a daughter so much as gaining a grandson...
Go see the government assistance office down the street.
This clinic is only for the healthy.
Imagine going to see your doctor--
As he comes in to examine you
your cough starts in....
He shrinks back, covering his mouth with his hand
You explain that you’ve had the cough ever since you discovered this skin disorder
Pulling back your pant leg
revealing a blackened growth oozing yellowish green...something
surrounded by reddened skin, broken open and bleeding
He begins to sweat as he mumbles something about another patient and runs from the room
not even bothering to pull the door closed.
How long would you keep that doctor?
So you visit your new doctor.
Experiencing your cough first hand and examining your leg he makes lengthy notes on his chart...
He also takes your blood pressure and runs blood tests.
Within in a week you are called back for a follow-up
"Well, overall your not in too bad condition for an overweight, pathetic hypochondriac. Your blood pressure is off the charts and its your own fault. Too much salt and too many Whoppers with King Size fries... Don’t you watch television? You should know better at your age.
Look at your cholesterol...no, don’t bother, it’s at least as large as that belly you’re hauling around.
Oh, almost forgot...That cough? Don’t you ever read billboards? The Marlboro man is not your friend...What’s that? You don’t smoke? Well, what have you done to change jobs? Don’t you know that second hand smoke is twice as deadly? What? Pension? Pension my eye! You won’t be around to spend any of it...
See that on your leg? It’s cancer. The worst kind. I can’t believe you people sitting out in the sun all day...What are you trying to do? Prepare yourself to cover luggage? How stupid could you be...I could prescribe some treatments but your probably too dumb to follow my directions...
Dragging yourself and what little self respect you have left...
You visit another doctor recommended bya friend:
He runs tests and listens intently to every word you say...
Charming and bright eyed
You can’t wait for your follow up session with this one!
"Well, you are a fascinating case", he tells you.
You have a respitory infection that is very advanced.
Your cholesterol is high but managable and your blood pressure makes you high risk for a stroke.
That growth on your leg is cancerous and should be removed immediately...
What’s that? Surgery? No, I don’t do that...lawsuits and things you know...
Do I know someone? Well, yes, but I wouldn’t endanger anyone I know-- if they want to do your surgery they’ll have to contact you...I don’t want it coming back on me if they make a mistake.
Medication? I might think of something that could help that cough a little...or wait.. my pager...
I’m sorry... I’ve got to go... It’s been great diagnosing you. For an extra 20.00 you can get a copy of my notes and recommendations. You have a great afternoon...Buh-bye.
Comical?
Frustrating?
[Welcome to the world of the man or woman who doesn’t know the saving Grace of God--
who encounter Christians
More concerned with preserving their own holiness than helping with someone else’s sin
More interested in criticism than encouragement
More ready to help someone see that that they have this ugliness called sin destroying their lives
than concerned about helping them discover the cure] (Barclay again, p.334)
Verse 9:
"As Jesus was walking along he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth--"
In Palestine, where Jerusalem is, there were two classes of religious activity-- think of it as political parties.
There were two parties in Palestine--
the orthodox who followed the Law and all its petty amendments and clarifications and specific instructions---rigidly--- right down to the last detail.
And the unorthodox who did not.
"It was forbidden to the orthodox to go on a journey with them, to do any business with them, to give anything to them, or to receive anything from them, to entertain them as guests or to be guests in their houses..." Barclay, p.333
There are three surprises in our text:
Matthew’s surprise at being called to be Jesus’ disciple
The Pharisees surprise that Matthew was called to be a disciple
Jesus’s surprise that it was surprising to some that He called Matthew to be a disciple.
Jesus was not blinded by the appearance of sin.
Tax collectors had a reputation for being crooked agents of a pagan government.
But that doesn’t mean that every tax collector was ---
a thief
-- a con artist.
How ready we are to hold in suspect anyone who claims to be a christian
and then reveals that he or she is a
lawyer
politician
hollywood actor
Theology Professor at Harvard
Jesus sees through vocation and straight into the heart.
Since Jesus did... So should we.
No one is above the cross
Or beneath grace.
No one is above the cross or beneath grace.
Senator or Soup kitchen regular
God makes no distinction.
In His presence,
he will lower your nose
or raise your eyes.
In the presence of God
you will know your need
or know your worth.
The fact is--
Jesus went to
the used car dealership
the law office
Capitol Hill
the crack house
and said to Matthew:
"Follow me"
And Matthew did.
Without reservation.
There was Matthew
in that awful place
in that awful job
just waiting for the Master to walk by and say
"Follow me".
There are Matthew’s all over Tuscola.
Then Jesus went to Matt’s house
And all Matt’s Enron friends were there.
All those despicable IRS appeals agents
All his junior executive pals who sneak cocaine snorts in the bathroom
All his drinking buddies
All the brown nosers and opportunists who manage to crash these kind of parties.
"And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, Why does your teacher eat with Tax collectors and sinners?"
Why does he hang out with those kind of people?
Doesn’t Jesus know how it looks to be seen with people like that?
Hasn’t anyone told Him that being around those people will drag you down into worldlines?
Did we forget?
Have we forgotten, church?
That we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ?
If you’ve got the vaccine of the Holy Spirit coursing through your soul,
why are you afraid to get close to the spiritually sick?
"Take courage I have overcome the world!" John 16:33
"The one who is in you is greater than the one that is in the world" I John 4:4
This is why Jesus isn’t afraid to be seen with sinners.
But it’s more
It’s more than not being afraid to associate with godless people
He’s driven to be there.
He’s after them
Chasing
Pursuing
Like He did with Zaccheus
This dinner at Matt’s house
was probably Jesus’ idea!
Matt, Follow me!
Ok.
Hey Matt, I want to meet your friends
Let’s have dinner at your house tonight!
This isn’t Jesus stepping over a line drawn in the sand
This isn’t Jesus proving what great courage we can have in the Spirit
This isn’t Jesus showing us that we can tolerate the presence of evil and survive
He’s not crossing the line
He erased it!
He erased it and then said to all those folks on the other side
Now, what’s keeping you from coming over here and following me?
"Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?
But when he heard this, he said,
Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
Go and learn what this means:
I desire Mercy, not sacrifice
For I have come to call
not the righteous
but sinners"
"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick…"
I know a story.
It’s a true story.
About two pastors and a Budweiser truck.
A man who drove a Budweiser
had a wife who went to church regularly.
He didn’t
He…had questions.
So invited his wife’s pastor to ride with him on deliveries…
so he could talk with him…
ask his questions.
But the pastor
thought to himself
"What if someone who knows me or knows that I’m the Nazarene pastor
sees me in that Budweiser truck? It’s best to avoid all appearance of evil…"
So that pastor resisted….
Then he stalled…
Until he finally just said, "no."
In what is probably a rare occasion
The man who drove the Budweiser truck
really REALLY wanted some answers…
so his wife called another Nazarene pastor
in a town not too far away.
And this pastor said,
"Sure…what time do I show up?"
For three weeks this Nazarene pastor rode with the Budweiser delivery man.
For three weeks he asked questions.
For three weeks the Pastor answered the best he knew how.
And in three weeks, this man came to know Jesus
personally
intimately
spiritually
In the fourth week, the Budweiser man went to church
He went to worship with the pastor who made time for him
and when he went, he brought his family…
We need more pastors…
More lay ministers
more Christians
who aren’t afraid to be seen around the tax collector’s booth
who don’t care what ole Sister Gossip will say if she hears you’ve been sitting at a kitchen table
littered with beer cans and cigarette butts
in the house of some Matthew.
"Go and learn what this means: I desire Mercy, not sacrifice"
Mercy. Do we even have the slightest notion what it means?
The way it is used here—
It means tendered heartedness
It means "active compassion"
"Compassion in Action"
This isn’t just Mercy…It’s Extreme Mercy…
like Mercy on a bungee cord
or
Wind Surfing Mercy
God wants "mercy" not sacrifice.
We sacrificed in the Old Testament days—
because we behaved badly
and demanded justice
even if vengeance was unjust.
We haven’t changed a whole lot over time
Read the news
What’s going on in the Middle East?
What’s happening right around the corner?
The process of Law takes too long…
Someone takes the Law into their own hands
We don’t like the verdict
Someone takes it upon themselves to exact judgment
In Old Testament times when we acted rashly,
we went to the temple
we killed an innocent lamb
and its blood was shed to forgive our sins.
And God said,
Why? Why do you think that I delight in slaughter?
There is no remission for sin without the shedding of blood…
So, here’s an idea…stop sinning!
Then no more lambs have to die
No more innocent animals have to be slaughtered for your
selfish
arrogant
acts of cruelty
Try mercy
When your wife gets sharp tongued and lippy
and you feel your hand balling up in a fist---
try mercy
When a co-worker made you look bad ---made it sound like you don’t do a thing a work
and you know you carry the company with all you do—
and then you catch that co-worker—
stealing office supplies
or
fudging some paper work
or
flirting with the boss’s wife…
try mercy
when your husband forgets its your wedding anniversary
and…instead of a bouquet of flowers and dinner reservations
you come home from work to find
a couch full of friends and neighbors gathered in for pizza and pay-per-view.
Try mercy…
One sincere act of compassion will kill the root of a sin you will live to regret.
One sincere act of compassion will destroy the seed of dissension
that would have become something
you will never be able to take back
and will make you spend the rest of your days wishing you could just relive those fateful five minutes.
Try mercy.
Jesus is trying to tell them
an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
What kind of doctor
prefers scalpels and surgical lights
to a vaccine?
What kind of doctor
desires open heart surgery for her patient
rather than proper diet and medication?
Don’t we get it?
Sacrifice was the last resort
Compassion…Mercy was the standard—the quality of living that was meant to keep us from needing CPR and the Operating Room.
The shed blood of the lamb
was the safety net
put in place
to keep us from slipping into eternal torment…
Mercy is the expectation. Compassion is godliness.
And as Christians we are to behave as spiritual physicians full of compassion
in the same way we expect our own doctors
to care enough about us
to treat us before we get sick
to treat us while we are sick
to keep us alive and well.
So we are charged this morning with a challenge
A challenge to reform our spiritual health care system.
To care enough about others who are without saving grace
to share Jesus with them through a Godly, loving, Spirit filled life
to share comfort and peace with them in the middle of their crisis
in hopes that we compel them to accept the saving Grace
that will keep them alive and well for all eternity.
"For I have come to call not the righteous, but sinners"
It doesn’t matter if you are Missionary doctor in Ethiopia
or the chief surgeon on team from the Mayo Clinic
Doctors exist to serve the sick
That is their job. It is their calling.
Sin is a sickness that’s destroying our society. Sin. It just means we act selfishly. Making choices that benefit us, even if it costs others severely. Self serving ---looking out for number one…Pride out of control. Exaggerated self worth. That’s sin.
Christians have a job…it’s their calling…to combat the effects of sin with the gospel of Grace. To see selfish hearts made into hearts full of sacrifice through the power of Compassion.
In light of today’s passage—
In light of today’s church---
In light of today’s epidemic of sin
The question goes out---
Is there a doctor in the house?
