Matthew 9: Enlarging the Harvest (2)
Pray Psalm 51.14, 15.
Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
The God of my salvation,
And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
Sing Psalm 51.14, 15, 18.
Aughton: He Leadeth Me
Deliver us, from guilt, O LORD, You Who have saved us by Your Word;
and let our tongues Your mercy bless, and sing of Your great righteousness!
Refrain vv. 15, 18
LORD, open now our lips to raise to You sweet songs of joyous praise!
Thus let Your favor on us fall, and build and strengthen Zion’s wall!
Read Matthew 9.1-13; meditate on verses 9-13.
Meditate on “repentance”—what it is, when it’s needed, how to do it.
Prepare.
1. To what did the Pharisees object about Jesus?
2. To what does Jesus call us?
Meditate.
Jesus added Matthew to His band of disciples, calling him from his work as a tax collector to become a different sort of collector by following Him. Matthew and his colleagues were looked upon as “sinners”, that is, as turncoat collaborators who were working against the Lord and His people.
Had Matthew heard of Jesus? I think that’s likely. The fact that he walked off his job to follow Jesus says that something happened within him that gave him new priorities and new hope. He immediately brought Jesus into his home for a meal (cf. Mk. 2.15), perhaps out of gratitude, or just to have the opportunity to get to know Him better. Notice, too, that Matthew invited “many tax collectors and sinners” to dine with them. He was beginning to work his own Personal Mission Field.
Jesus did not come to call the righteous to repentance. What did He mean by that? His comment was pointed toward the Pharisees, who supposed themselves to be righteous. Since, in their mind, they were doing just fine, they didn’t need Jesus to help them on their way to eternal life. Those who considered themselves well enough, thank you very much, didn’t need the great Physician of the soul. They were “sick” but would not admit it. Those who were truly sick with the plague of sin and knew it, came when Jesus called.
The irony of Jesus’ quoting Hosea 6.6 is that He came with both—mercy and sacrifice. But only His sacrifice can lead to the mercy of God, and empower us for showing mercy to others.
Let us ever be ready, like Matthew, to leave our old and shameful ways behind, and follow Jesus as He leads us into His Kingdom and righteousness. And let us keep repentance as one of our primary disciplines for growing in the Lord.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
For our bodies that wear out, and eventually go on ahead and die, some seek a yearly physical to make sure that everything is working as well as possible. Physically we are all sick, to some degree or another, because we are human and are under the curse of sin. Yet we do our best to remain as unsick as possible.
Daily, we are to give ourselves a once-over spiritually, to make sure that we are as unsick in that realm as possible, too. But make no mistake, we are needy and worn. Sin has laid its wretched hand on all.
The Pharisees thought that they were doing just fine, completely self-unaware.
Adding to their amazing piety the big bonus of being judgmental of all others.
Exactly the kind of church-person people gravitate towards—um, maybe not.
Regardless, all of us, the Pharisees, Matthew, his friends, co-workers, and fellow-future followers of Christ, fall under the litmus test of the rule of God, Who said:
“But this is what I commanded them, saying,
‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people.
And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you’” (Jer. 7.23).
This is the scale by which we measure our spiritual health.
Is it well with you?
Here is a good checklist for spiritual health:
“See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone,
but always pursue what is good
both for yourselves and for all.
Rejoice always,
pray without ceasing,
in everything give thanks;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not despise prophecies.
Test all things; hold fast what is good.
Abstain from every form of evil.
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely;
and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless
at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He Who calls you is faithful, Who also will do it” (1 Thess. 5.15-24).
The Great Physician, of Whom we are in great need, does no harm;
He is faithful; and He will give us spiritual health as we daily follow Him.
Thus we are then able to show mercy to others who are also ailing.
Matthew knew his place in the history of the Kingdom, and he told us clearly how he came to be a follower,
and where he fit into the story.
He came out of much sinfulness, as have we all, to follow His Savior and ours.
Do you rejoice at how you fit into this same Kingdom history?
Called to repentance, redemption, and revival. Called to life here and now, and there and then.
Though Satan should buffet, tho’ trials should come, let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, and hath shed His Own blood for my soul.
It is well with my soul, it is well, it is well with my soul.
(Horatio G. Spafford, 1873)
Reflect.
1. Can you “feel” when you’re sick with some unconfessed sin? What’s that like?
2. What are the best ways of keeping our “sin-sickness” at a minimal level?
3. How can believers help one another to “stay fit” and deal with their “sin sicknesses?”
If the children of men had not been sinners, there had been no need for Christ to come among them. Let us examine whether we have found out our sickness, and have learned to follow the directions of our great Physician. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Matthew 9.10-13
Pray Psalm 51.16-19.
Wait on the Lord to show you any sins you have not confessed. Confess, repent, and then surrender to His good pleasure for the remainder of your day.
Sing Psalm 51.16-19.
Aughton: He Leadeth Me
No sacrifice, no offering would You have us, Your people, bring;
but broken spirits, cleansed of lies, and pure hearts You will not despise.
Refrain vv. 15, 18
LORD, open now our lips to raise to You sweet songs of joyous praise!
Thus let Your favor on us fall, and build and strengthen Zion’s wall!
Now build Your Church, raise high the wall of those who on Your mercy call.
And take our lives and let them be sweet sacrifices, LORD, to Thee!
Refrain vv. 15, 18
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest: This week: The Read Moore podcast continues readings from our book, The Kingdom Turn. Our Crosfigell teaching letter presses ahead in a series on the state of the Church in Europe at the time of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column addresses the question, “How to Church?” Check out our other excellent writers. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
