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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Matthew chapter 9, as we continue our exposition of Matthew's gospel. 
Matthew chapter 9, the larger context begins in chapter 8 at 
verse 1 and continues to 9 verse 34. Three series of three miracles, 
and along the way there are a couple of interludes which teach on 
discipleship. And we find such an interlude 
this morning, that'll be our focus in our study, specifically 
the calling of Matthew. himself. Now Matthew here is 
not writing strictly chronologically but rather thematically. He is 
bringing together themes to display for us the person and the work 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. But his call, his conversion 
is very instructive to display for us how wonderful our Savior 
is. But I just want to begin reading 
in Matthew chapter 9 at verse 1 and we'll read to verse 17. 
So he got into a boat, crossed over, and came to his own city. 
Then behold, they brought to him a paralytic lying on a bed. 
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, Son, be 
of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you. And at once some 
of the scribes said within themselves, this man blasphemes. But Jesus, 
knowing their thoughts, said, Why do you think evil in your 
hearts? For which is easier, to say, your sins are forgiven 
you, or to say, arise and walk? But that you may know that the 
Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. Then he said 
to the paralytic, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house. 
And he arose and departed to his house. Now when the multitude 
saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power 
to men. 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. 
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. And when the Pharisees saw it, 
they said to his disciples, why does your teacher eat with tax 
collectors and sinners? When Jesus heard that, He said 
to them, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those 
who are sick. 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. Then the disciples of John came 
to him saying, why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but 
your disciples do not fast? And Jesus said to them, can the 
friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is 
with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will 
be taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one puts 
a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch 
pulls away from the garment and the tear is made worse. Nor do 
they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, 
the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they 
put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for your word and we pray for the ministry and the 
aid of your spirit now that he would guide us and lead us into 
all truth. We ask that you would forgive us for all of our sins 
and everything that would darken our understanding and may we 
indeed marvel at the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ as he's 
revealed in Matthew's gospel. How we thank you for him, how 
we thank you for the gospel, how we thank you that you made 
him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the 
righteousness of God in him. And Lord, for those who have 
come this morning that have not trusted, those who have not looked 
to Christ, those who have not believed the gospel, we pray 
that today would be the day of salvation, that today would be 
the day of rejoicing in heaven over sinners who repent, both 
in this place and in other churches in Chilliwack and throughout 
the earth. We pray that your gospel would 
run swiftly and be glorified. And we ask in the name and for 
the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, as I said, this particular 
section is designed to set forth to us the glory of Jesus Christ 
and His authority. Remember in Matthew 5-7 He taught 
the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew ends that section in 
729 and says that Jesus taught them, not as the scribes did, 
but rather as one having authority. And then in chapter 8, verses 
1 and following, Jesus goes out and He engages. His deeds, His 
actions, His works are all about authority. The kingdom of God 
has come. The Lord of glory is present. 
The Messiah sent to Israel has come to save His people from 
their sins. There are parallels to this account 
of the conversion of Matthew in Mark's gospel and in Luke's 
gospel, in Mark 2 and in Luke chapter 5. Very similar in most 
respects, Matthew does add the reference to Hosea 6.6. And as 
we move through, there'll be a couple of other comments that 
we can pull from those other gospel writers. But as we look 
at this section, there are three observations. First, the call 
to discipleship in verse 9. The call to discipleship, the 
way the Lord Jesus does what he does, truly amazing. Secondly, 
there is a supper at Matthew's house. Though Matthew himself 
doesn't tell us it is at his house, Luke tells us that Matthew 
gave a great feast in honor of the Lord Jesus. And then from 
that particular situation, there is a confrontation with the scribes 
and the Pharisees. Now they were not present at 
the supper. They would not have sat with 
tax collectors, and sinners." They would have not been found 
defiling themselves among the riffraff, but they're probably 
outside. They direct this complaint to 
the disciples of the Lord. Jesus, Jesus hears, and based 
on their whining They're grumbling and they're complaining. Jesus 
sets forth glorious truths concerning his person and his work. Very 
often in the gospel accounts you will find such a convention. 
The scribes, the Pharisees, the religious leaders complain about 
Jesus and he uses those opportunities to demonstrate great things. 
We've already seen that in chapter 9 verses 1 to 8. Remember the 
men are puzzled, the scribes are musing among themselves. 
Who does this man think he is? This man blasphemes. Only God 
alone can forgive sins. Well, it's based on that whining 
and that grumbling and complaining that Jesus then makes this glorious 
declaration, but that you may know the Son of Man has power 
on earth to forgive sins. So let's look first at the call 
to discipleship in verse 9. The setting. Remember, Jesus 
goes back across the Sea of Galilee. He's in his own city, Capernaum. Now he starts to travel toward 
the sea, toward the shore. This man, Matthew, is sitting 
at the tax office. Now in Mark's gospel and Luke's 
gospel, they refer to him as Levi. It's the same man, Matthew 
and Levi. It's like Simon Peter or John 
Mark. Having two surnames was not uncommon. So it's the same fellow when 
you read in Mark 2 and in Luke 5. They do refer to him as Levi. 
Many reasons, many suppositions on why they use Levi and why 
Matthew uses Matthew. I don't know. Matthew uses Matthew. Mark and Luke use Levi. That's 
the education for this morning. Like I've said every time we've 
gone to this gospel recently, this is a wonderful passage. 
Notice where Matthew is sitting. He's sitting at the tax office, 
not because he's just hanging out. He's sitting at the tax 
office because he's a tax collector. He's poised near the ocean. He's 
probably taxing fishermen. See, we complain a lot about 
paying taxes. We're not the first generation. 
Matthew was one of these men. He probably knew the four fishermen 
that were already made disciples at this time. Remember that you 
had Peter and Andrew and you had James and John. They were 
fishermen who labored in that area of Galilee. Matthew probably 
taxed these men. Matthew probably collected monies 
from them. They may have murmured under 
their tongues at times about this particular fellow. He's 
sitting at the tax office because he worked there. Tax collectors 
were looked on about as favorably then as they are today. In fact, 
I dare say they were looked on less favorably in that day than 
they are today. Consider that Matthew was a Jew. Consider that he is taking taxes 
from Jewish people and giving them ultimately to the Roman 
government. There's several reasons why tax 
collectors were held in disrepute. They collaborated with Gentiles. 
More often than not, they would have worked on the Sabbath day. 
They handled currency that carried on that currency, pagan inscriptions 
and iconography. They took money from fellow Jews 
to give to the magistrate who oppressed them. And as well, 
they were often, get this, greedy and corrupt. These were not the 
popular men in Israel in the first century. Consider that 
in the gospel accounts, they are linked with sinners in this 
passage. Tax collectors and sinners. They are linked with heathen 
Gentiles in Matthew 18, 17. A man who won't repent, you treat 
him as what? As a heathen and a tax collector. Consider they are linked with 
harlots in Matthew 21. These are notorious sinners. 
These are bad guys. These are the riffraff of the 
age. And then consider the prayer 
of that Pharisee in Luke chapter 18, 11, when he thanked God that 
he was not like other men. He was not like adulterers. He was not like unjust men. He was not like extortioners 
and he wasn't like this tax collector. So you see what we find here 
is in Matthew chapter 9 verse 6. The Lord Jesus heals the paralytic 
to serve as an illustration of the greater truth. But that you 
may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive 
sin sins, he says to the paralytic arise, take your bed and go home. Not only has the Son of Man power 
to forgive, but he has power to forgive notorious sinners, 
really bad sinners, really horrible sinners, really filthy sinners. R.T. Frantz says, for Jesus to 
call such a man, Matthew, to follow him was a daring breach 
of etiquette. You just didn't look for disciples 
among these people. You didn't walk around and tell 
harlots and tell sinners and tell extortioners and tell adulterers 
and tell tax gatherers to come and be my disciple. You just 
didn't do that. France says, for Jesus to call 
such a man to follow him was a daring breach of etiquette, 
a calculated snub to conventional ideas of respectability, which 
ordinary people, no less than Pharisees, might be expected 
to balk at. Fishermen may not have been high 
in the social scale. We know that to be the case. 
But at least they were not automatically morally and religiously suspect. Matthew was. You see, when Jesus 
calls Peter, and he calls Andrew, and he calls James, and he calls 
John, certainly people would have scratched their head and 
said, why is he fetching disciples out of that mass of fishermen? 
They're not educated men, they're not trained men, they're not 
polished men. They're from a lower social scale. But, you know, 
in the grand scheme of things, let him do what he wants. But 
for Jesus to call Matthew, for Jesus to call this man, is a 
display, a demonstration that not only does the Son of Man 
have power on earth to forgive sins, but He saves filthy sinners. He saves the ungodly. He saves the unrighteous. Matthew 
includes his conversion account here to display and demonstrate 
the power and the efficacy and the beauty, the majesty and the 
glory of the Lord Jesus Christ in his salvation. Notice the 
Savior's call. Jesus says to him, follow me. So simple. So beautiful. Follow me. That's it. Follow me. If you're not a Christian 
this morning, here's what Jesus says to you. Follow Him. Don't 
keep counting your loot at your tax table. Don't keep spending 
yourself on your sin. Don't keep pursuing that which 
ends in futility and ultimately hell. Follow Him. You say, well, 
I'm too sinful. You're no more sinful than this 
tax collector in the first century that everybody considered was 
a social pariah and they despised and rejected. You see, there's 
great grace in the Son of Man. There's great power to save. 
He saves to the uttermost. Pastor Kim read Romans chapter 
3, written by the man who describes himself in 1 Timothy 1 as the 
chief of sinners. You see, that's what's scandalous 
about our gospel. That's what's glorious about 
our gospel. We preach Christ crucified to 
the Jews, a stumbling block to the Greeks' foolishness. But 
to those who are being saved, Christ is the wisdom and the 
power of God. It was a stumbling block for 
a master of Israel to call to a tax collector to follow him. The call is simple, the response 
is immediate. Notice what happens. Verse 9. He saw a man named Matthew sitting 
at the tax office and he said to him, follow me. Listen to 
this. Are you ready? So he arose and 
followed him. He didn't go home and think about 
it. He didn't say, well, I got to finish my job. Now, I suspect 
that Matthew had his books in order. He didn't leave his immediate 
boss in the lurch when he left all. But you know, there was 
not this long deliberation. More often than not, in the New 
Testament, what you find is the account of immediate conversion. People hear the gospel, and by 
the grace of God, they believe the gospel. They don't have to 
think about it. They don't have to wonder about 
it. They don't have to contemplate it. Now certainly, there is that 
necessity to count the gods. We've already seen that in another 
interlude with reference to Matthew's gospel. You know, Jesus says, 
the foxes have their holes and the birds of the air have their 
nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. I think, 
though, in North America, especially those who attend church on a 
regular basis, you pretty much know what's involved in discipleship. 
Jesus says, follow me. Don't play games. Don't resist. Don't reject. Do not tarry. Venture on him. Venture holy, as the hymn writer 
says. Come, Christ says. Believe, Christ 
says, and that is exactly what we find here. He didn't wait. He, like the paralytic, obeys. 
Isn't that beautiful? So many times people hear the 
gospel, I don't know, I don't... Believe! What don't you know? The wrath of God is revealed 
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who 
suppress the truth in unrighteousness. There's only one hope for sinners, 
there's only one place of refuge, there's only one means of safety, 
and it's in Christ! What don't you know? You want 
to die and go to hell? You want to suffer the wrath 
and fury of God Most High? You want to know experientially 
Psalm 711, God is angry with the wicked every day. Is that 
really what you want? Follow me, Jesus says, follow 
him, believe on him. He didn't hesitate. He becomes 
a disciple, he becomes one of the twelve, he becomes the author 
of the first gospel. Calvin says it this way. He says, 
the custom house has usually been a place noted for plundering 
and for unjust exactions. The custom house, the toll booth, 
the tax place. You get like me when you're coming 
through into Canada, your heart starts to beat. You haven't done 
anything wrong. It's not like you've got a body 
in your trunk. You don't have bombs, you don't have bags of 
cocaine, but there's just this innate fear. They're going to 
ask me hard questions. They're going to make me walk 
around like a chick, whatever it is. There's a fear about this. Well, it was the same sort of 
a way. You saw the tax collector, and 
you didn't say, hey, let's go have coffee with Matthew by the 
seashore. You were like, how in the world 
could that man take our money and give it to Caesar? You know, 
probably they were getting hit on both sides of the lake. It's 
not, we're not the first people to pay taxes. Custom here, tax 
here, duty there. Probably they got charged per 
fish. Oh, we got to buy a fishing license, 
how horrible, how satanic. They got taxed on their catch 
of fish as well. You hear what Calvin says. He 
says, the Custom House has usually been a place noted for plundering 
and for unjust exactions. See, I don't fear that with the 
Canadian border. I don't think they're going to 
unjustly plunder me. I just don't like the idea of 
being hassled. I'm an American, after all. I shouldn't be hassled. Isn't that the disposition, whether 
you're an American or a Canadian? We shouldn't be hassled. It's 
different here. These were notorious places for 
unjust plundering. Here, Calvin. The custom house 
has usually been a place noted for plundering and for unjust 
exactions, and was at that time particularly infamous. In the 
choice of Matthew out of that place, not to be admitted into 
the family of Christ, but even to be called to the office of 
apostle, we have striking instance of the grace of God. You know, 
Matthew 9, 9-13 isn't simply a linking passage. Matthew 9-13 
is Matthew saying, I really want you to understand what I mean 
when Jesus says, the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive 
sins. I really want you to understand something about discipleship. 
When the Master calls, follow Him. Notice the implication in 
this response. So He arose and followed Him. One popular dictionary says, 
Jesus' summons to a tax collector to join him must have outraged 
and bewildered public opinion. For Matthew himself, the call 
of Jesus entailed great sacrifice. He left everything. You see, 
after the resurrection, where do we find the four fishermen? 
We find them on their boat fishing. You think Matthew went back to 
the tax office and said, can I have my job back? He left everything. Fishermen could return to their 
boats, but a tax collector who gave up his occupation had no 
prospect of another job, even with the skills that he undoubtedly 
possessed. You know what's really interesting 
in this connection? Look at how Matthew records it. 
So he arose and followed him. Luke tells us he left all. Why doesn't Matthew tell us that? Probably for the same reason 
I suspect that if you met Martin Lloyd-Jones, the first thing 
out of his mouth wasn't, I used to be a medical doctor, but I 
left that to become a preacher. What's the tendency when we hear 
something like that? Wow, Dr. Lloyd-Jones, you're 
such a sacrificing and good man. You see, I think that Matthew, 
in highlighting and recording his own conversion, this is a 
bit of a white spot. This is my own exegetical thought. I could be wrong. You know, sometimes 
you meet people, and when they tell you about their conversion 
account, they tell you about the sacrifices they made. They 
tell you about leaving everything. Don't you, at a certain point, 
want to congratulate them? You see, for Luke to say he left 
everything, no harm, no foul, Luke is filling in for us the 
reality. Now, we certainly imply that 
with Matthew 9, 9, but Matthew doesn't say he left all. Because 
he doesn't want you to say, Matthew, what a guy. You see, if you ask Matthew, 
was leaving all difficult? You ask Martin Lloyd-Jones, was 
leaving the medical profession difficult? Are you kidding me? Difficult to leave that sphere 
and enter into the service of my Master? What do you mean difficult? I wish that I had a thousand 
lives to leave all of and come and follow Him. Matthew is demonstrating, 
displaying, and parading for us the marvelous grace of Christ. He is not parading himself. He's not on the testimony circuit. You know, the church will pay 
big bucks or big love offerings to a guy who comes and tells 
us how he was addicted to crack cocaine and how he had engaged 
in same-sex relations and how he had this horrible blotted 
past. Oh, we just get all fired up 
about this testimony and we praise the man. Matthew wants you to 
praise the Son of Man. He wants you to understand the 
Son of Man has power to forgive sins. And Matthew says, and I 
was a notorious sinner that He saved by His grace. That's where 
the stress lies in the conversion. of Matthew, the Apostle, the 
call to discipleship. It is glorious. It is Christ. 
It is about the power of the Son of Man in saving to the uttermost 
all who draw nigh unto God, even with their tax-collecting filth, 
even if they're adulterers, even if they're crack cocaine users, 
even if they're respectable, self-righteous sinners. All who 
draw nigh unto God through Him will understand that the Son 
of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. It's beautiful. Matthew again is saying, behold 
your God. Behold Messiah. Behold the Christ 
of God. See what he's about. See how 
he operates. See how he functions. And then 
that brings us to this supper at Matthew's house. Again, Matthew 
doesn't tell us it's his house. Some speculate it was at Jesus' 
house or it was at Peter's house. Luke conspicuously indicates 
that it was at Matthew's house. It says in Luke 5, 29, then Levi 
gave him a great feast in his own house. Now again, some say 
in his own house meant Jesus' house. I think it's Matthew's 
house. Matthew was more affluent. Matthew probably had a bigger 
house. Matthew probably had better resources to throw a spread like 
this than an itinerant preacher from Yahweh. I doubt Jesus had 
a big enough house to have a lot of people over. So Matthew gives 
him this great feast. Why? Why would Matthew do this? I hope you don't even have to 
ask. It'd be odd if Matthew didn't 
do this. Right? What happens when you're 
converted? What happens when, by the grace 
of God, you leave your piles of loot? What happens when, by 
the grace of God, you leave your drugs, or you leave your self-righteousness, 
or you leave your girlfriend, or you leave your boyfriend, 
or you leave whatever it is that has held you down and kept you 
in sin? What happens? You want to honor 
Christ, don't you? Right? What should Matthew do 
but throw a great feast for the Savior who called him out of 
darkness into marvelous light? He wants to honor the Lord Jesus. This is as well a time of celebration 
and thankfulness. You know, when sinners get converted, 
it's okay to rejoice. Well, can we smile? Yes! Feast! Rejoice! Celebrate! Have a feast! The time will come when the bridegroom 
will be taken from them, and then they will fast. But in this 
instance, when the bridegroom is there, and he's just plucked 
the tax collector out of the clutches of the devil, and he's 
brought him into marvelous light, it is legit, it is right, it 
is godly, it is good for Matthew to throw this great feast. I'm 
going to spend some money, I'm gonna buy some meat, I'm gonna 
buy some drink, and we are going to feast." So he does it to celebrate, 
he does it to thank, he does it to honor the Lord, but as 
well. Note who Matthew invites to this 
feast. I want my friends to meet Christ. I want my fellow tax collectors 
and sinners to meet Christ. I want them to understand the 
Master, the Messiah, the One who has power to forgive sins. No doubt, He sends out the invitation. He says, come, sup, come feast, 
come rejoice with me. I want you to meet a man from 
Nazareth. Spurgeon put it this way, the 
new convert most naturally called in his old friends. It's probably 
happened to you, hasn't it? God saves you. You rejoice in 
the Lord. You thank the Lord. You celebrate 
unto God. You rejoice with your church 
family. And then what happens? You get on the phone. Or you 
get on the email. For some of us, when we were 
converted, there was an email. That just feels weird. Kids are saying, they didn't 
have email then. Yeah, there was a day when there wasn't email. 
There was a day when you didn't have a cell phone in your pocket. 
There was a day when you couldn't text everybody in the world. 
But what happens? You get on that email. You get 
on the text. You get on the phone. And you 
say, I want to tell you something. I want you to meet someone. I 
want you to understand something. In other words, Matthew has become 
the evangelist. Spurgeon says the new convert 
most naturally called in his old friends that they might have 
the advantage of our Lord's teaching. He says they would come to a 
supper more readily than a sermon. Matthew shrewd. I'm throwing 
a great feast. Come and eat. You know you like 
that sort of meat. You know you like that sort of 
bread. Come on, I want you to come. I want you to celebrate 
with us. Spurgeon said, They would come to a supper more readily 
than to a sermon. And so he gave them a feast and 
thus attracted them to the place where Jesus was." That's the 
purpose of this feast. That's the point of this feast. 
That is what Matthew is doing at this feast. Notice the guest 
list. Matthew writes it this way for 
us. Now it happened, verse 10, as 
Jesus sat at the table in the house, That behold. It's a little 
Greek word that falls into the scripture a lot. Behold. It's a command. It's behold, 
or see, or look. What's Matthew saying? There's 
this great feast in the house, and behold. Pay attention. Note closely. I want you to see 
who's on the guest list. I want you to understand who 
the attendees are. I want you to see who is going 
to sup at this great feast with the master. that behold, many 
tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His 
disciples." Don't you love it? You see? Jesus isn't going to disappoint. 
Jesus is going to give the reason for which He came. France made 
this observation. I think it's spot on. He says the attentive reader 
of the Gospel, which I hope that we all are, the attentive reader 
of the Gospel might recall the vision of the Messianic banquet 
in Matthew 8, 11, and 12. Remember in Matthew 8, 11, and 
12, Jesus says many from the East and from the West will come. Jesus says a lot of Gentiles 
will come. And they will sit with Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob. Frantz says the attentive reader 
of the gospel might recall the vision of the Messianic banquet 
in 8, 11, and 12. Here as there, the guest list 
is not at all what most Jews would have expected. In other 
words, for Matthew to give this great feast and invite this riffraff, 
the primary purpose is to honor Christ, to thank Christ, to celebrate 
Christ, and to evangelize sinners for Christ. That's why we find 
them at this supper. Then thirdly, the confrontation 
with scribes and Pharisees. The confrontation with the scribes 
and the Pharisees. I realize that verse 11 only 
contains Pharisees. Mark and Luke tell us there were 
scribes there as well. You'll see those two groups oftentimes 
debating and confronting with Jesus. It started already in 
chapter 9, in the paralytic passage, and it's going to be a continual 
theme throughout the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus faces these religious 
leaders head-on with the scandalous message of God forgiving sinners. So these scribes, these Pharisees 
are present, not in the house. They wouldn't eat with tax collectors. 
They wouldn't eat with Gentiles. They wouldn't eat with sinners. 
They didn't want to be ritually impure. They didn't want to be 
ceremonially defiled. They wanted to maintain this 
externalism. There's no way they would have 
entered into the house of that riffraff. But you know as well 
as I do, if your neighbor has a bunch of people over, you know 
it. And notice that the Pharisees complain to the disciples. I think these are such cowardice 
men. These are babies, and that's not a dig on babies. Babies are 
cool because babies do what they're supposed to do. But 20, 30, 40, 
50-year-old men that act like babies, that's a big problem. 
They direct their complaint to the disciples. Just like in Matthew 
9, when Jesus says, son, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven 
you. They don't go to Jesus and say, who do you think you are? 
No, they reason among themselves. You see, detractors of biblical 
faith, those who despise the truth, like to do it under the 
cover of darkness. They like to do it in secrecy. 
They like to do it in covert operations. The truth has nothing 
to be embarrassed about. Christian people, we ought to 
stand firm on the word of the living God and not fear any man 
who brings whatever argument, who brings whatever objection. 
Truth stands. The light shines. We don't run. The detractors, the opponents, 
the rejecters, and the despisers of biblical faith whine to the 
disciples and say, why does your teacher eat with tax collectors 
and sinners? Interesting, they don't want 
Jesus in the category of sinner. There's at least a veneer of 
respect when they call him teacher. But theirs is not a real question. Theirs is a veiled contempt. 
Theirs is a statement to impugn him. Theirs is a statement to 
call into question his character. Why does your teacher, if he 
is who he purports to be, if he is a man sent from God, why 
in the world would he sit with such riffraff? Why? Who does 
he think he is? Carson says it this way. The 
Pharisees' question, put not to Jesus but to his disciples, 
was less a request for information than a charge. And contemptuously 
it lumped together tax collectors and sinners under one article. You see what they're doing? Who 
does he think he is? Doesn't he know that brings ritual 
impurity? Doesn't he know that he's defiled? 
Doesn't he know that he's now unclean? You see, theirs was 
an externalism. Theirs was a built on obedience 
to the cult. And by cult, I mean religious 
observation. As long as the outward was fine, 
it didn't matter what the inward looked like. You see, Jesus will 
later indict this group with the charge of being like whitewashed 
sepulchers. They're all beautiful on the 
outside, but what's inside? They're full of dead men's bones, 
right? Or he says, you're like a cup that somebody busies themselves 
to clean on the outside, but inside it's filled with yuck. 
That was the extent of their religion. Jesus just saved Matthew 
from hell. Jesus just saved Matthew from 
sin. Jesus just translated him from 
the kingdom of darkness into his own blessed kingdom. And 
here's what their complaint is. Why does your teacher eat with 
tax collectors and sinners? Now again, their whining, their 
grumbling, their complaining sets the stage and the foundation 
for a three-fold response by our Savior. The first, is proverbial. He likens himself to a physician. 
See, even scribes and Pharisees would have got this. Notice, those who are well have 
no need of a physician, but those who are sick. So you don't have 
to parse that. You don't have to read Burkoff 
to figure that one out. You don't have to read Milton 
Terry, thankfully, to figure that one out. It means what it 
says. Do you go to the doctor when 
you're healthy? No. Do you go to the doctor when 
you're sick? Everybody with me? Yes. Does 
the doctor look for healthy people? Does he go to wellness places? Does he go to the gym? Does he 
go to the vegan bar? Maybe he does, I don't know. 
He goes where sick people are. You see what Jesus is saying? 
You Pharisees and you scribes, you're complaining. You're saying, 
how or why does your teacher eat supper? Why does he eat dinner 
with these tax collectors and sinners? Jesus says it's a no-brainer. The doctor goes to the sick. 
The tax collectors and the sinners need the Savior. The tax collectors 
and the sinners need the powerful grace of God. The tax collectors 
and the sinners need the blood of the Lamb. The tax collectors 
and the sinners need what Pastor Cam preached on in Romans 3. We need to be justified freely 
by His grace, because by the works of the law, no flesh will 
be justified in His sight. The law of God condemns us all. 
The law of God reduces us all. We may not be a tax collector 
or a sinner in the sense defined here, but there is none righteous. No, not one. There is none who 
seeks after God. There is no fear of God before 
their eyes. So, of course, the physician 
comes to where the sick people are. You know what's really ironic 
and really indicting in this whole situation? We'll see that 
in the next appeal. So he likens himself proverbially 
to a physician. Notice, secondly, he appeals 
to the prophet. I bet this got their goat when 
he said, go and learn. Go and learn. If you're a fifth 
grader and your teacher asks you something, probably the last 
thing you'll ever want to say to that teacher is, go and learn. Because you are a young sinner 
and that would be disrespectful. But when the author of scripture 
tells the students of Scripture, go and learn, is not disrespectful. He appeals to the prophet Hosea. Hosea chapter 6, verse 6. Which, interestingly enough, 
was a context in a situation very much like what we find here. 
You see, God sends Hosea and tells him to take a harlot as 
a wife. He uses Hosea to indict the people 
of Israel for their unfaithfulness, for their sinfulness, for their 
godlessness. But you know what the people 
of Israel's response was? If not in words, it was there. 
But, Lord, we go to the temple. We bring our sacrifices. We engage 
in cultic observance. In other words, we have the external 
down. We're doing all the right things. 
We're doing all the right stuff. And it's in that context that 
God, through Hosea, says, you need to understand, I desire 
mercy. rather than sacrifice. Now, this 
is a convention. It doesn't mean never sacrifice. Jesus is going to sacrifice himself. But the point of the passage 
is, or the appeal to the prophet Hosea, is simply this. And when 
he says, go and learn, he doesn't mean you're not knowledgeable 
of Hosea 6.6. Of course they knew Hosea 6.6. 
Go and understand. Go and exegete the passage. Go 
and draw out the implications. In fact, look at Hosea 6.6 for 
just a moment. The first of the minor prophets. 
The first of the twelve. Hosea chapter 6. There's a call 
to repentance. Verses 1 to 3. Verse 4, O Ephraim, 
what shall I do to you? O Judah, what shall I do to you? 
For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud, and like that 
early dew it goes away. Therefore I have hewn them by 
the prophets, I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and 
your judgments are like light that goes forth. For I desire 
mercy and not sacrifice. Again, it's a comparison, it's 
a contract. There's a sacrificial system 
in place. God's not telling them don't sacrifice. The emphasis 
falls on mercy. It doesn't matter if you sacrifice. 
It doesn't matter if you go to church. It doesn't matter if 
you give tithes of all you possess. Then you neglect the weightier 
matters of the law like justice, mercy, and faith. Woe to you. 
You see, these religious leaders in the first century are aligned 
with the apostates in the eighth century. Hosea's indictment against 
Israel remains true for them in the first century. I desire 
mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than 
burnt offering. So what are we to conclude? When a man doesn't show mercy, 
When a man looks down his nose at tax collectors and sinners, 
when a man indicts a man that just saved Matthew from his sins, 
that evidences the lack of mercy. It evidences the lack of the 
knowledge of God. Who are these men to stand in 
judgment against the Son of Man? He tells them, go and learn, 
go and study, go and understand, go and do your devotions this 
morning on what happened in Hosea the prophet. Cultic observance 
without inner faith and heartfelt covenant loyalty is vain. That's Jesus' point. And then the third thing, his statement of purpose. He uses the proverb, those who 
are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. That's 
why I sit with tax collectors and sinners. But go and learn 
what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice. That's why 
I sit with tax collectors and sinners. His statement of purpose, 
for I did not come to call the righteous. It's almost like he's 
saying, scribes and Pharisees, in case you missed the proverb, 
in case you missed the prophet, You can't miss the purpose. You see? I don't understand about the doctor. 
For the life of me, I've studied Hosea the prophet. I don't get 
what Jesus is talking about. You can't miss this third prong 
in the response. Proverb, prophet, purpose. I did not come to call the righteous, 
but sinners to repentance. Isn't that the grand mission 
of Messiah? Isn't that what Jesus has come 
to do? Isn't that how Matthew introduces 
his gospel in Matthew 1.21? For it is He who will save His 
people from their sins. Isn't this in the forefront now, 
after 9-6? "...but that you may know that 
the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. He said to the 
paralytic, Arise, take your bed, and go home." Christ, His purpose 
is to save. They're whining, they're grumbling, 
they ask the question, Why does your teacher sin? Why does he 
eat with tax collectors and sinners? Proverb, prophet, purpose. What's Jesus supposed to do? 
What is the Savior about? What defines His mission? What 
characterizes His task? What did the prophets announce? 
What did the sacrifices typify? What did they shadow forth? They 
showed the day, they showed the time, they showed the era when 
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world would be 
slain for sinners. These men should have understood, 
these men should have received, these men should have embraced, 
but these men whined, these men complained, and Jesus uses that 
as the opportunity to speak concerning His redemptive purpose and His 
role. I did not come to call the righteous 
but sinners to repentance." Notice, I did not come to be an example, 
though He is that. I did not come to start a new 
religion, though He did that. He brought it to maturation. I didn't come to show everybody 
their inner worth. I didn't come to make everybody 
happy. I didn't come to bring health, 
wealth, and prosperity. The reason why Jesus came is 
Matthew 9, 13. I did not come to call the righteous. Now, I don't believe Jesus supposes 
there are righteous. I know he doesn't, because he 
wrote the Bible. I think what is in view here 
are these kinds of people. These externalites. These hypocrites. These people that think as long 
as I'm in the right place, as long as I say the right things, 
as long as I do what appears to be the right things, then 
I'll be fine with my Lord. They're righteous. They don't 
see their need. They don't want the Lord. They 
don't see themselves the way a Matthew does, the way a Harlot 
does, the way an adulterer does, the way a self-righteous person 
convicted does. I didn't come to call them. Later 
Jesus will praise the Father in Matthew 11 for hiding gospel 
truth from who? The wise and the prudent. It's the righteous of the deluded, 
the righteous of the deceived, the righteous of the proud and 
arrogant, the righteous of the self-righteous and foolish. Again, 
Carson says, those who do not see themselves in light of Jesus' 
mission not only fail to grasp the purpose of His coming, but 
exclude themselves from the kingdom's blessings. And notice, He comes 
to call the sinners to repentance. I realize that some of your English 
versions drop those two words. Two repentances there. Jesus will save his people to 
continue in their sin? To propagate more sin? To revel 
in their sin? No, He will save His people, 
what? From their sin. He comes to call the sinners 
to repentance. Remember how He announces the 
arrival of the kingdom? The kingdom has come. Or repent, 
for the kingdom of God has come. You see, Jesus isn't just about 
blessing. He is about that, but he's also 
about changing. We're justified freely by his 
grace and we're conformed to his image. We repent from our 
sin. We don't continue to exploit 
people in the tax office. Interestingly enough, John the 
Baptist doesn't tell a tax collector to quit. The reason I think Matthew 
quit is because he's going to be an apostle. Same sort of thing 
looks to be in view in Luke 19 when Zacchaeus quits. Jesus doesn't 
tell them to quit. The implication is you can collect 
taxes without sinning. You can collect taxes without 
exploiting. You can collect taxes without 
defrauding people. You see, the point of the passage, 
the purpose of Messiah is to save His people from their sins. It's one of the blessings of 
salvation. We've been redeemed from the 
slave market of sin. We've been redeemed and brought 
into His presence. And now, by the grace of God, 
we can work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. For 
it is God who is at work in us, both to will and to do. For what? 
For His good pleasure. We're His children now. We march 
to the beat of a different drum. We are kingdom citizens. We've 
received the blessings of the eschaton in this age. And it 
is our joy and our privilege to follow our Savior wherever 
He bids us. Isn't it beautiful? These guys 
complain. Jesus gives a proverb, a prophet, 
and a purpose. What do we learn? Well, hopefully 
we learn something of the authority of Christ. We won't mess up in our interpretation 
of Matthew's gospel if we think Christ. Right? Because that's his grand 
design. How does he start his gospel? 
The book, the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the 
son of Abraham. That's the context. That's the 
framework. That's the covenantal boundary 
that Matthew operates in. So when we come to these passages, 
when we come to the narratives, when we see him healing, when 
we see him receiving sinners unto himself, we're to think 
of his power, we're to think of his authority, we're to think 
of his glory, we're to think of his majesty. And we're also 
to think this, if Jesus, in his purpose statement, comes to save 
a wretch like Matthew in the first century, certainly there's 
hope for a wretch like me in the 21st century. Right? If God saves Matthew, 
I can never say I'm too sinful. I'm too wretched. You don't know 
what I've done, preacher. You don't know how bad I am, 
preacher. You don't know the things in 
my past, preacher. Oh, no, I don't, but I know the 
blood. I understand the power of the 
Son of Man to forgive sins. He forgives all sin. He forgave a first century Jew 
named Matthew that other men called Levi, and he brought him 
into his kingdom. The response of Matthew, I know 
we touched on this, just four things summarized. His response 
was immediate. God is dealing with you under 
preaching, believe the gospel. Don't be a Felix. Felix said, 
you know, Paul, what you've said makes me afraid. Go away and 
when I have a convenient time, I'll call for you again. Don't 
do that. Don't do that. His response was 
immediate. All the day to see immediate 
conversions. Not this sort of hemming and 
hawing. I don't know. Belief on the Lord Jesus. What is there about him you don't 
want? The bride describes him as altogether lovely and chief 
among 10,000. She describes him in glowing 
terms. He's ruddy. He's handsome. He's wonderful. Her description 
is such that the daughters of Jerusalem say, where is he? That 
we may find him. You ask any sinner here, saved 
by grace, tell me about Jesus. Hopefully, you will respond with 
those daughters of Jerusalem, where is he? That we might find 
him. You know, I was dead in my trespasses and sins. I love 
this wickedness. I love this rebellion. I love 
this godlessness. And Jesus reached down and He 
saved me. He picked me up out of the garbage. 
He picked me up out of the dunghill. He picked me up out of blood. 
And He washed me. He purified me. He cleansed me. 
And you know what? I'm heaven bound. It should be immediate. You know, we're a people that 
see a sale and we'll stand in a line for hours. There's something 
attractive about that. There's everything attractive 
about Christ. Come. Secondly, Matthew's response 
was total. Again, he doesn't describe it 
in those terms. Luke tells us he left all, though 
we can imply that. He leaves his tax office, he 
leaves his job, he leaves his career, and probably a fulfilling 
one at that, probably a very lucrative one at that. His response 
to Christ was total. Why would I want the tax office? 
Why would I want to defraud people? Why would I want the sex or the 
drugs or the rock and roll when I can have Jesus? Why would I 
want that sin and that mock and that garbage when I can have 
Jesus? I'm more than happy to leave everything and to follow 
the Son of God. His response was marked by thankfulness 
to the Lord Jesus. He gave a great feast. You know, 
brethren, if you're saved, you can be happy about it. I'm preaching to me right now. 
I'm seeing myself in that seat. Be happy, dude. Your sins are 
forgiven. Remember Matthew 9? They lower 
the paralytic down. What's Jesus say? Be miserable. 
Your sins are forgiven you. Walk around with a long face 
all the time. Be melancholy, be depressed, 
be sad, be sore, because your sins are forgiven you. No, that's 
not what he said. Son, be of good cheer. Your sins are forgiven you. It 
doesn't matter if you're still paralyzed on this mat. It doesn't 
matter what your station, your portion, or your lot is in this 
life. If your sins are forgiven you, you have everything to delight 
in. Matthew was thankful. Matthew 
was happy. You don't forgive us when we 
say, I know, I'm okay. You're forgiven of your sins. 
What do you mean you're okay? God doesn't have enmity against 
you anymore. You are a friend of the Lord. 
You've received the forgiveness of sins. Let that make you smile 
once in a while. I love the prophet Isaiah, I 
rejoice in your salvation. He clothes us, he beautifies 
us with his salvation. And fourthly, his response was 
accompanied by a desire to see others saved. That doesn't mean 
every single person has to show up with a stack of tracts and 
knock on everybody's door. I get it. That may not be your 
calling. But there ought to be, in the 
heart of every converted person, this desire to say, come and 
see. This desire to tell others, Jesus 
saves! Jesus saves! This desire that 
if we can't preach, if we can't teach, we bring them where the 
disciples are. We bring them where the master 
is. And while we may never knock on every door, we say, you know 
what, come to church, listen to the gospel. Or here's a tape, 
or here's a CD, or here's an mp3, or whatever we're at now. 
Here's a digital master recording. Listen to this because it's gospel 
and you need to hear it. You see, that marked Matthew. 
He gave this great feast, not just so he could blow his money, 
but so he could rejoice in his Lord and point tax collectors 
and sinners to him. And then, as I've already said, 
the primary emphasis, the primary stress in the passage is that 
Jesus is a healer of sick souls, He is a dispenser of mercy, and 
He is the Savior for sinners. Take that home with you. Take 
9.13 home with you. Take it into your heart right now. Believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ right now. But if you don't, and you 
take something from this message, get this. Jesus heals. Jesus 
gives mercy. And Jesus is the Savior for sinners. We've had cause to appeal to 
Joseph Hart's hymn several times in this section of Matthew. Come 
ye sinners, poor and wretched, weak and wounded, sick and sore. Jesus ready stands to save you, 
full of pity, joined with power. He is able, he is able, he is 
able, he is willing. Doubt no more. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 
and you shall be saved. Let us pray. Father, thank you 
for your word and thank you for the Lord Jesus. Thank you for 
your Apostle Matthew for giving us this account. Under the inspiration 
of the Spirit, he has told us of his own salvation, his own 
conversion, and God certainly, his joy, his desire was to set 
forth Christ. We pray that you would cause 
this gospel to go forth throughout the earth today. We pray that 
there would be rejoicing in heaven over sinners who repent. We pray 
there would be rejoicing in heaven today over sinners repenting 
here at the Free Grace Baptist Church. We pray that you'd reach 
down in your mercy, that you'd reach down in your love, that 
you'd reach down in your kindness and in your grace and save souls, 
God. We thank you that Jesus is the 
great physician, that he does dispense mercy, and that he is 
the one who comes not to call righteous, but to call sinners 
to repentance. God, we praise you, we rejoice 
in you, we thank you, and we pray through Christ our Lord. 
Amen.