THE MESSAGE OF MATTHEW
1. Matthew 9:9-13 (NKJV) 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."
2. This incident shows the difference in the outlook of Jesus and that of the Pharisees. The Pharisees were looking for something to criticize about Jesus. The fact that He associated and ate with tax collectors and sinners was a mark against Him in their eyes. Jesus, however, was more concerned about ministering to the spiritually sick than He was about meeting the expectations of these religious hypocrites.
a. Their approach was "Don’t allow yourself to be contaminated by any association with sinful people." They were able to ignore the fact of their own sinfulness. To understand this way of thinking, consider the attitude of the Pharisee who prayed in the temple described in Luke 18:10-14 (NKJV) "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ’God, I thank You that I am not like other men; extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 ’I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13 "And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ’God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ 14 "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
b. Jesus had a heart filled with compassion for the needs of people. He showed that compassion by healing the physically sick, but His greater role was as a physician treating the souls of sinners . . . calling sinners to repentance.
2. The author of the gospel of Matthew does not identify himself by name in the text of the book. However, "the early church unanimously ascribed this gospel to the apostle Matthew" [Thiessen, Introduction, 131]. You can read modern scholars who challenge this conclusion, but it was universally accepted by early church fathers. Papias, as early as A. D. 125, attributed it to Matthew. This text is Matthew’s only autobiographical section except for listing his name among the apostles in 10:3. Luke calls him by the name Levi [Luke 5:27-32].
3. Let’s consider a lesson on "What Jesus Did For Matthew," then we’ll talk about "Lessons Matthew Teaches Us."
I. WHAT JESUS DID FOR MATTHEW
A. Jesus spoke to a tax collector [Matthew 9:9].
1. Religious leaders of the day would have passed on by, ignoring Matthew sitting at the tax office. It was amazing that Jesus stopped and spoke to him.
2. Tax collectors were hated by the Jewish population.
a. Since people don’t like paying taxes, this has never been a popular occupation.
b. Jewish tax collectors in Jesus’ time were especially detested because they were seen as traitors who had betrayed their nation to serve the Roman occupiers.
(1) Jesus taught that it is right to render unto Caesar the taxes that are owed [Matthew 22:17-21 (NKJV) "Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" 18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? 19 "Show Me the tax money." So they brought Him a denarius. 20 And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" 21 They said to Him, "Caesar’s." And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s."]
(2) The Roman authorities dealt with the tax collectors on a basis which encouraged them to extort as much money as possible from the people. Tax collectors were expected to collect a certain amount of tax money for the Romans. Whatever they were able to collect in excess of that amount went into their own pockets. Zaccheus is an example of a tax collector who repented for his dishonesty [Luke 19:8 (NASB) And Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much."] Zaccheus acknowledged a fact of life for tax collectors . . . they were out to get as much money as they could by whatever means they could use to get the money. After the prophet Nathan told King David the parable of the man who stole his neighbor’s lamb, David insisted that the man must restore the stolen property four-fold [2 Samuel 12:6]. So by offering four-fold restitution, Zaccheus appears to be admitting having been a thief in taking money which did not belong to him.
c. The Bible does not say that Matthew had been a dishonest tax collector. However, he had a job which carried this reputation.
B. Jesus called Matthew to be a disciple [Matthew 9:9].
1. Jesus told Matthew, "Follow Me." Jesus gave this invitation several times in His personal ministry on earth and, of course, He extends the same invitation to us through the gospel. Some accepted the offer; some didn’t.
2. Matthew was one of those who had ears to hear. Matthew tells us that he "arose and followed Him."
a. We don’t know what previous exposure this tax collector had with Jesus’ preaching and miracle working. Was this the first time Matthew ever saw Jesus? No one knows . . . but when Jesus called him, Matthew responded.
b. Matthew left behind the lucrative occupation of collecting taxes. He now had more important work to do.
3. Matthew had Jesus come to his house. He invited "many tax collectors and sinners" to come and sit down to eat with Jesus and His disciples. Luke 5:29 calls this dinner "a great feast." One of the first acts of discipleship for Matthew was bringing people together at his house to be with Jesus.
C. Jesus sent out Matthew as an apostle [Matthew 10:1-4]
1. The word "apostle" means "one sent." It is a Greek word with the same etymology as the Latin word "missionary." In this general sense, all disciples are apostles of a sort.
2. However, Matthew and other Bible writers use the word in a special sense to refer to the twelve . . . specially selected disciples sent out by Jesus on a particular mission. The word is used for the first time in the Bible in Matthew 10:2. Jesus called twelve disciples to Him and gave them power over unclean spirits and power to heal all kinds of sickness [Matthew 10:1]. The names of these twelve apostles are listed in Matthew 10:2-4. Then Jesus sent out these twelve men on a "limited commission" to go to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" [Matthew 10:5-6].
3. Later after His resurrection and just before His ascension, Jesus spoke to the "eleven disciples" (remaining apostles, less Judas Iscariot) and commissioned them to "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" [Matthew 28:19 (NKJV)]. Luke, in Acts 1, tells of Jesus meeting with "the apostles whom He had chosen" [Acts 1:2]. Matthew was one of those who witnessed Jesus’ ascension to heaven [Acts 1:13].
4. That is the last time Matthew is mentioned in the Bible. However, assuming that the early church fathers were correct that Matthew wrote the gospel that bears his name, then --
D. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to guide Matthew in writing a heavenly message.
1. Jesus promised the apostles (including Matthew) that the Holy Spirit would be sent to them. The Holy Spirit would guide them into all truth [John 16:13 (NKJV) "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come." The Holy Spirit would bring to their remembrance all things that Jesus had said to them [John 14:26].
2. Thus, Matthew’s record of the life of Christ is not merely human reminiscences of events which happened years before they were written down. Matthew wrote by the guidance of the Holy Spirit [2 Peter 1:21 (NKJV) for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.]
3. Matthew was written to convince Jewish readers that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.
a. Matthew tells us about the angel declaring the coming virgin birth of Jesus to Joseph [Matthew 1:20-23 (NKJV) But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins." 22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."]
b. Matthew tells about the ministry of John the Baptizer preparing the way for Jesus. This section of Matthew’s book culminates in the baptism of Jesus after which the Father’s voice from heaven declared, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." [Matthew 3:17 (NKJV)]
c. Much of the content in the book of Matthew has to do with the work (or ministry) of Jesus while He was on the earth. A high point in the personal ministry of Christ came when Peter confessed Jesus’ identity in Matthew 16:16 (NKJV), "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
d. The climax of Matthew’s story of the life of Christ comes when the Lord dies on the cross. The Roman centurion’s reaction to Jesus’ death summarizes the message of the cross: Matthew 27:54 (NKJV) So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!"
e. Matthew’s gospel ends with the resurrection of Jesus and His return to heaven. The empty tomb argues for His identity as the Son of God. Matthew records the angel’s message to the women at the empty tomb in Matthew 28:5-6 (NKJV), "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 "He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."
II. LESSONS THIS TAX COLLECTOR TEACHES US
A. Use your talents to serve Christ.
1. The Bible doesn’t give us pages of details about the work Matthew did as a follower of Christ.
2. However, this man used his natural abilities to serve God.
a. The stereotype of an accountant or bookkeeper is one who is careful, precise, and methodical.
b. Those characteristics are evident in the writing of the gospel of Matthew. Matthew is one of the most methodical books of the Bible. It is carefully organized into five divisions describing the life of Christ. Just as Luke’s medical background is evident in his writings, careful readers see something of Matthew’s personality in the way he composed his book.
3. Our skills may be different . . . but each of us brings unique abilities and opportunities to serve in the Master’s kingdom. Like Matthew, becoming a Christian may involve a complete turn-around in the kinds of things we do in our lives. But every one of us kind find an open door to put the talents God has given us to good use in His work. [1 Corinthians 15:58 (NKJV) Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.]
B. Don’t let critics discourage you.
1. Matthew’s first undertaking as a new disciple was to introduce his friends to Jesus. He invited a bunch of people over for dinner . . . so they could meet Jesus and be taught by Him.
2. You would think that the religious leaders would be excited by Matthew’s enthusiasm. You would think they would have wanted to encourage this man to grow in his devotion to the Lord. But, no, they wanted to criticize Jesus for eating with sinners. Matthew might have left the tax office to follow Jesus, but he was still a hated tax collector as far as they were concerned.
3. Whenever we try to leave our old lives behind and give ourselves to the Lord’s service, some will be suspicious and critical. It’s hard for them to judge with righteous judgment [John 7:24 (NKJV) "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."] Use God’s word to make sure you’re right, then refuse to let criticism discourage you. People persecuted the prophets [Matthew 5:12] and they will hinder us if we allow them to do so.
C. Follow wherever Jesus leads.
1. The day Matthew left the tax office to follow Jesus he probably had no idea of what would happen in his life. Some sources claim there’s a tradition that Matthew was a missionary to Egypt, but that is not confirmed.
2. It doesn’t matter where Matthew went. What matters is that he was sent by Jesus and he went! He did what Jesus wanted him to do . . . and gave up earthly wealth and power so he could give himself to following Jesus.
3. We need to have the same kind of zeal for inviting people to know Christ that Matthew had.
CONCLUSION
