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Look at the conversion of two 
sinners. This morning, we're looking at the conversion of 
Matthew, the author of the first gospel record that bears his 
name. And then tonight, God willing, 
we'll look at the conversion of Rahab the harlot in Joshua 
chapter two. So I wanna read chapter nine 
of Matthew's gospel, verses one to 17, and then we'll pray and 
then begin. So Matthew chapter nine, beginning 
in verse one. 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. Our blessed 
God and Holy Father, we thank You for this opportunity to gather 
together for corporate worship. We pray now that Your Spirit 
would be active in our midst, that He would give us understanding 
to the Word of Truth, that You would bless and strengthen our 
hearts, that You would build up Your people in their most 
holy faith. And God, may You call sinners 
out of darkness into marvelous light, that they may confess 
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and know the joy of being found 
in Him. not having their own righteousness which is from the 
law, but that righteousness which is from you and received through 
faith alone. Forgive us now for all sin and 
everything that darkens our minds, our hearts, our understanding, 
and grant us a great joy and gratitude as we come to the Holy 
Scriptures now. And we pray through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. Well, last time I preached, I'd 
been away for the month. It was a good time to get some 
rest physically. It's good to be back in our church, 
to be back in the house of God with brothers and sisters that 
we know and love. It's a great joy to see everybody. 
The last time I focused at the end of chapter nine. That was 
the day that we ordained Ryan and sent him. to Vernon to plant 
the church, the Reformed Baptist church there. And in chapter 
nine at the end, we see that Jesus had compassion on the multitudes 
because they were like sheep having no shepherd. That's not 
just theory in the mind of the Savior, but we see it with reference 
to his activity in the passage that we read. He's about salvation. He's about bringing sinners to 
himself. He's about that forgiveness of 
sins and a conferral of a righteousness that avails with God. And we 
see that most wonderfully here in the account of the salvation 
of Matthew, the apostle. I want to look first at the call 
to discipleship in verse 9. Secondly, the feast at Matthew's 
house in verse 10. And then thirdly, this confrontation 
with the religious leaders in verses 11 to 13. They always 
seem to be on his heels. They always seem to be there 
complaining and grumbling and whining at the demonstration 
of the mercy and the grace of God Most High. Now, in this particular 
section of Matthew's Gospel, there's not only those who receive 
the truth, but there is or are those who despise it and reject 
it. Look, for instance, in chapter 
9, specifically at verse 34. But the Pharisees said he casts 
out demons by the ruler of the demons. So there is this sort 
of mixed reception concerning Jesus and his ministry. Those 
who receive him, those who come to him, they have everlasting 
life. But those who reject, those who 
despise, those who forsake, will end up in hell for eternity. 
So Matthew, of course, is one of those who, by grace, came 
to the Savior. So let's look first at the call 
to discipleship. Notice the setting. Verse 9. 
As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting 
at the tax office. He's also referred to as Levi 
in the parallel accounts in Mark 2 and in Luke 5. It was common 
for there to be two names. We have two names typically, 
and then our last name. We have Simon Peter, we have 
John Mark, here we have a Matthew Levi. Now notice the occupation 
that he had. He saw a man named Matthew sitting 
at the tax office. He was sitting there because 
he worked there. Look at chapter 10 and verse 
3. Jesus calls the apostles to himself to function as servants. 
Notice, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector. He likely knew the four disciples 
that were present at this particular time because he charged them 
taxes. Probably they were a bit curious. They were much like us. If I 
were to ask you, name your five favorite people groups on the 
earth today, would any of you suggest that Revenue Canada or 
the Internal Revenue Service would be on that particular list? 
Of course not. We don't like tax collectors. 
They didn't like tax collectors in their generation as well. 
But tax collectors were notoriously wicked. Perhaps when I called 
out this morning, or just a little while ago, that we're gonna look 
at the conversion of Matthew this morning, and then the conversion 
of Rahab the harlot this evening, you might be tempted to think, 
well, Rahab the harlot is pretty notorious. Rahab the harlot is 
pretty wicked. So is Matthew. And all of this 
demonstrates what we see previously in chapter 9 at verse 6. But 
that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to 
forgive sins. Not just sins in the generic 
sense, but particular evils, transgressions of God's law, 
lacks of conformity unto that law, notorious, hell-deserving 
sinners. Now, they were tax collectors 
despised because of their occupation. One commentator, Chamblin, gives 
us four reasons why tax collectors were specifically looked down 
upon in society at that time. In the first place, they collaborated 
with the Gentiles. Not a good thing if you're part 
of the covenant community. Second, they handled currency 
with pagan inscriptions and iconography. Thirdly, they took money from 
fellow Jews to give to the magistrate who oppressed them. So, most 
likely, this man, well, he was a Jew, and he's working for the 
Roman government. He takes taxes from other Jews 
and turns it over to the Roman government. And then, as well, 
they were often greedy and corrupt. It was part of the job. It was 
part of the perks. It was part of the benefits. You skimmed 
a little bit for yourself. Now, Jesus links tax collectors 
with sinners in Matthew 9, 10. He links them with heathen Gentiles 
in Matthew 18, 17. He links them with harlots in 
Matthew 21, 31, and with extortioners, unjust, and adulterous men in 
Luke 18, verse 11. RT 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. What's he saying? He's saying 
that this is not the likely candidate for salvation in God's kingdom. And yet we see that this is the 
very purpose for this particular account. The crescendo comes 
in verse 13 when Christ gives us the nature of His mission. 
I did not come to call the righteous because there aren't any, but 
I came to call sinners to repentance. And so Christ is showing and 
demonstrating that he has power on earth to forgive sins, not 
just generally, but specifically in the case of notoriously wicked 
and despised sinners that lived amongst the Jews in the first 
century. France goes on to say, fishermen 
may not have been high in the social scale, but at least they 
were not automatically morally and religiously suspect. Matthew 
was. He was a wretch. He was a sinner. He was a man in Adam. And again, 
we see that connection with reference to the previous section. Verse 
4, knowing their thoughts, he said to them, 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? The particular 
account is when those men open up the roof and they lower down 
their friend, and when Jesus lays eyes on him, he can certainly 
see that he's paralyzed, he can certainly see that he's got a 
handicap, but he pronounces the forgiveness of sins upon him. 
And that causes the Pharisees, it causes the scribes to scratch 
their heads and say amongst themselves, who but God alone is able to 
forgive sins? So Jesus says, which is easier, 
to say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven you, or take 
up your bed and walk? Well, it's easier to say, your 
sins are forgiven you, because we don't know if it actually 
takes place. But if I say to you, take up your bed and walk, 
I will show myself a falsehood and a fraud if you don't take 
up your bed and walk. And that's why Jesus then says 
to the paralytic to take up his bed and walk. Why? Because if 
Jesus can do that, then he can certainly bring that forgiveness 
of sins, and that's the point of the passage. But that you 
may know that the Son of Man has power or authority on earth 
to forgive sins. And so we might then say, well, 
okay, we've got this concept, we're not a good people, we're 
not the best people, but we're not the most wretched people 
on the face of the earth either. But what about God's grace? God's grace goes to the most 
wretched. And brethren, we are the most 
wretched. This idea, this, oh, they're 
much worse than I. Now, Paul Pott and Joseph Stalin, 
in terms of their external crimes against humanity, were horrible 
men. Thankfully, none of us are following in their train. But 
in terms of our estrangement from God Most High, we have all 
sinned against God. There is none righteous, no not 
one. All we like sheep have gone astray, and we're liable to God's 
curse, both in this life and that which is to come. And so 
it is a very wonderful demonstration of the power of Christ's grace 
to bring salvation to this Matthew, to this sinner, to this man who 
was an offender against God's holy law. Now notice the call. Very simple. Jesus says to him, 
follow me. That's it. The tax collector, 
well first of all, he says to him, follow me. Look back in 
chapter 8 at verse 22. A lot of lessons about discipleship 
in this particular section. Notice in chapter 8 verse 22. 
But Jesus said to him, follow me and let the dead bury their 
own dead. He issues the same call to Matthew 
in this particular instance. Now, when Jesus issues this call, 
follow me, Jesus has the power to enable compliance on the part 
of the person commanded. Let me just restate that. It's 
not free will that reigns supreme. Matthew is not to be commended 
because of his good decision that day. Matthew is not to be 
commended because he raised his hand when every eye was closed 
and every head was bowed. Matthew is not to be commended 
because he walked the island, came to the altar, and he said 
the sinner's prayer. No, Jesus Christ has the power 
to enable compliance of the dead sinner. By the Spirit, He awakens 
them. By the Spirit, He makes them 
alive. By the Spirit, they receive the truth and they respond. There's 
a great illustration of this in the physical realm at Lazarus' 
grave in John 11 at verse 43. Jesus says, come forth. Brethren, if you and I said that, 
there is no dead person on the face of the earth that would 
ever be able to comply. We're not the Son of God. We're 
not the second person of the Trinity. We are not that one 
who has the ability in the giving of the command to enable compliance 
with the command. And so Jesus does this in the 
instance of Matthew. And now notice the actual salvation. Notice what happens after Jesus 
issues this call, follow me. It says in verse 9, so he arose 
and followed him. There's two things to observe 
here. First, the immediacy of it. Notice that Matthew doesn't 
say, you know, Jesus, I might consider this in another 20 or 
30 years. You know, a full life, I got lots of money based on 
my particular job. I've been prospered well. So, 
you know, when I'm older and when I'm grayer and when I'm 
facing that 11th hour, then I'll make my peace with you. I think 
that's the mindset of a lot of, at least young people today and 
probably middle-aged and older people. They always think there's 
gonna be a tomorrow. They're always convinced there's 
another five or 10 or 20 years that they can close with Christ. 
And so they delay, they put it off. In the reading today, and 
this was not by design, but in Psalm 96, what do we see the 
emphasis? He is coming for judgment. And then in Hebrews chapter 9, 
it's appointed for men to die once, and then what? And then 
comes judgment. Brethren, we are not guaranteed 
tomorrow. We're not guaranteed this afternoon. 
We're not guaranteed another breath. God Most High is sovereign 
over these things. And so immediate closure with 
Christ, immediate response to the gospel, immediate belief 
on Him is the one thing needful. Today is the day of salvation. Don't tarry, don't wait, don't 
delay. Notice what Matthew does. He 
got up and he followed him, just like the paralytic in the previous 
account. Notice, Jesus says in verse 6, 
Arise, take up your bed and go to your house. Verse 7, And he 
arose and departed to his house. The same emphasis in this instance. Calvin made the observation. 
He says, 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 only to be admitted into the family of Christ, 
but even to be called to the office of apostle, we have a 
striking instance of the grace of God. So Christ says, follow 
me, and immediately Matthew follows him. Don't wait. Don't delay. Don't tarry. Don't reason in 
your mind, well, I've got lots of other times to hear the gospel. 
I've got lots of other times to close with Jesus. I'm just 
a young person. I've got many years ahead of 
me. James countenances that mindset in his epistle. Those who boast 
and those who in their pride say, we're gonna go to such and 
such a city, we're gonna profit there, we're gonna sell our wares, 
we're gonna do all those things. No, if the Lord wills, you will 
do that. Your life is a vapor. It's here 
for a time and then it vanishes. Brethren, as Jonathan Edwards 
famously said, there are innumerable ways of wicked men going out 
of this world. Do not despise the call of God 
in the gospel of salvation. But notice as well, we see with 
reference to the implications. There would be financial repercussions 
of this for Matthew. Now the fishermen will return 
to their nets. But I suggest that Matthew walking 
off of his post at this particular instance, that immediately, I 
mean, did he put all the money in the safe? Did he return it? It doesn't say, it just simply 
says, so he arose and followed him. One dictionary says, Jesus 
summons 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. 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. Not a lot of transferable skills 
when your life has been extortion, when your life has been selfishness, 
and when your life has been antagonistic to the people you dwell amongst. 
What kind of transfer do you have there? But then as well, 
notice what the text says here. So he arose and followed him. 
Luke gives us another vantage point for our consideration. 
In Luke 5, 28, it says, so he left all, rose up and followed 
him. He left all, not some, not just 
a little bit, but he left all. And we might ask the question, 
why does Luke say this and Matthew doesn't? Because Matthew doesn't 
probably want people fawning all over him. Wow, what a wonderful 
guy, you gave up everything to follow Jesus. No, when we follow 
Jesus, there's no giving up of anything. We are only gainers. We are only benefactors. We are 
only inheritors. We only receive blessing. So 
Matthew doesn't indicate that he left all. Luke, however, tells 
us this would cost Matthew everything. He left all to follow our blessed 
Savior. Now notice secondly, the feast 
at Matthew's house in verse 10. We know it's Matthew's house 
because Luke tells us, Luke chapter five, verse 29, then Levi gave 
him a great feast in his own house. Notice verse 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. Now, why 
would he do this? Why do you think Levi, Matthew, 
would have had a feast in terms of this response? Well, I would 
suggest there's three reasons. The first, to honor Christ. to 
honor the Savior, to give glory and praise to the One who had 
in fact called him out of darkness into marvelous light, who had 
given him the forgiveness of sins, who had given him a righteousness 
wherein now Matthew could enter into God's kingdom. That is a 
reason for us to honor the Savior, to glorify His great name. The 
second aspect is gratitude, guilt, grace, gratitude. What happens 
when you're convinced of your sin and misery and your shame 
and depravity? God's grace comes to you and 
it rescues you, it delivers you. What's the response from the 
people of God? Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. who has blessed us with every 
spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. We respond 
with gratitude. We respond with thankfulness. 
We praise God that we're no longer hellbound. We praise God that 
we're now included in that blessed lot from every tribe and tongue 
and people and nation that will be assembled in the presence 
of God Almighty. So he does this to honor Christ, 
he does this to show his thankfulness and gratitude to Christ, but 
he also does it to evangelize his friends. Notice the guest 
list, notice the attendees at this feast. It says that, behold, 
Matthew himself is calling attention to this, that behold, many tax 
collectors and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. This is a great expression of 
what happens to those who are conquered by sovereign grace. 
What do they in turn want to do? They want to tell others 
about the Lord Jesus. They want to teach transgressors 
God's ways. And that is precisely what we 
find in this guest list. Spurgeon said, the new convert 
most naturally called in his old friends, that they might 
have the advantage of our Lord's teaching. 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. And that guest list would indeed 
shock a multitude. It shocked, obviously, the scribes 
and the Pharisees, which we'll turn to presently, but it shocks 
many today as well. Have you ever mentioned to somebody 
that you're a Christian and they say, well, I know you, that doesn't 
seem fair. Well, no, it's not fair. It's 
grace. It's mercy. It's God's loving 
kindness. We hear about notorious sinners 
in history that have been saved, and it rises up in us to say, 
well, you know, that doesn't seem quite fair. We're thinking 
not gospel-ish. We're thinking in terms of law. 
The gospel is not fair. It's the good news that Christ 
Jesus came into this world, sinners to save. He demonstrates his 
own love toward us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died 
for us. It is a most blessed arrangement. It's not the case that any of 
us are going to heaven because of our good deeds. It's not the 
case that any of us are going to go to heaven because we stopped 
being tax collectors. because we stopped being harlots, 
because we stopped smoking crack, because we stopped engaging in 
those sorts of sins. We're going to heaven based on 
what Paul says in Hebrews 9. He secured for us eternal redemption 
through his blood. In Hebrews 9.22, it says, without 
the shedding of blood, there is what? There is no remission 
for sins. It is that once for all sacrifice 
of our blessed Savior, wherein we are forgiven of our sins. 
And it is that life of Jesus taken in its totality that is 
then given to us in terms of the righteousness. It's imputed 
to us so that we may enter into the presence of God Almighty. So this particular guest list, 
these attendees scandalize the Pharisees and the scribes in 
that generation. And it no doubt scandalizes the 
Pharisees and the scribes in our own generation. Well, that 
doesn't seem right that so-and-so is going to heaven. Brethren, 
it's not right that any of us are going to heaven. It's grace. It is mercy. It is loving kindness. It is the doing, the dying, and 
the rising again of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. If we want 
fair, The wages of sin is death. That is legit. That is right. That we are liable to God's wrath, 
both in this life and in that which is to come, is perfectly 
just in terms of who God is. But with reference to gospel, 
God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were 
yet sinners, Christ died for us. Now notice thirdly, the confrontation 
with the religious leaders. First, look at the nature of 
their complaint, verse 11. And when the Pharisees saw it, 
scribes are with them also, according to the parallel passages. When 
the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, why does your 
teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? Now, brethren, we 
might be inclined to read through the gospel narratives with our 
own sort of mental equipment based on our cultural dealings. 
We might look at the Pharisees and see them as kind of bullies. 
They're bullies. I mean, these are the guys that 
kind of rain on everybody's parade. Don't dare have any fun. They're 
kind of akin to the political left in our own generation. They 
love pain, misery, and destruction for everybody that's not them. 
But with reference to these men, they're not only bullies, but 
something else that we see in our own cultural dealings is 
that bullies oftentimes are cowards. Kind of an interesting juxtaposition. A bully that is a coward. They 
don't go to Jesus. They don't express their discontent 
or their animosity to the one they've got a problem with. Oh 
no, that just will not do. We're going to complain to his 
disciples. just like in chapter 9 and verse 
3 after Jesus says son be of good cheer your sins are forgiven 
you and at once some of the scribes and said within themselves this 
man blaspheme blasphemes man up go to Jesus take your complaint 
to him now Later they do, increasing tension, increasing opposition. 
It ends up to the place where they cry out, away with him, 
away with him, crucify him. But in this particular instance, 
they're cowards. They're cowardly bullies that are hiding behind 
their own ineptitude and they're going to the disciples and this 
is the nature of their complaint. Look it. Why does your teacher 
eat with tax collectors and sinners? Now, the specifics of the complaint, 
we can surmise what they thought of tax collectors and sinners. 
They were not fans of tax collectors and sinners. They were not champions 
of the tax collector and the sinner. But the nature of their 
complaint, the target of their complaint, rather, is Jesus himself. 
Why does your teacher? See, they're all about exposing 
Jesus as a fraud. They're all about exposing Jesus 
as a sham. They're all about exposing Jesus 
as one who is not interested in the salvation of sinners. 
He's not interested in the law of God. He's not interested in 
any of that stuff. He's got his own sort of mindset, 
and we just want to neutralize this potential threat. So they 
whine about Jesus. and they do it in a most sanctimonious 
way. They are smug, they are hypocritical, 
they are better than everyone. Again, there is connection with 
the political left today. There are Pharisees in the church 
today, brethren, but we have a grand example in the prime 
minister's office of sanctimony, lecturing, scolding. We're not 
as good as he is. That's the mindset of these scribes 
and Pharisees relative to our Lord. Who does he think he is? Just like in the previous account. 
Who does this man think he is? He's blaspheming. Only God alone 
can forgive sins. So hiding like little girls, 
speaking to his disciples, they express the content of their 
heart. They're upset with the attendees or the guest list at 
this particular banquet. The idea sure seems to be if 
he knew what manner of men these were, he would want nothing to 
do with them. We know that from Luke's gospel. 
Simon the Pharisee invites Jesus over and a woman, which was a 
sinner, comes into that meeting place. She falls at the feet 
of the Lord Jesus. She weeps over his feet. She 
pours out perfume on it. She takes the hair of her head 
to wipe up the feet. And what does Simon the Pharisee 
muse in his heart? He says, if this man were a prophet, 
certainly he would know what manner of woman she is. Brethren, 
this is dangerous business when we get into the business of judging 
others as less sanctified as we are, as less holy than we 
are, as less godly than we are. The better posture is the man 
in Luke 18, God be merciful to me, the sinner. When we are saved 
by God's grace, it's not an award for our good behavior. It is 
a display of that grace. We are conquered, we are blood-bought, 
we are trophies, and we are simply to reflect the glory and the 
goodness of our blessed God and not exalt our own righteousness. Now notice Jesus' response to 
the complaint in verses 12 to 13. It's a three-pronged response. He first speaks of his role, 
he then makes an appeal, and then he describes his mission. Notice his role. Look at what 
he says in verse 12. When Jesus heard that, he said 
to them, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those 
who are sick. Now again, this connects with 
the previous statement. The paralytic was lowered through 
the roof to come to Jesus. Why? Because the friends of the 
paralytic knew or understood that Jesus had the power to heal 
him. Jesus uses a truism. He uses a reality that even scribes 
and Pharisees could have gotten. The doctor doesn't go after healthy 
people. When you're healthy, you don't 
make an appointment with your doctor simply to chat and tell 
them how good things are. You go to the doctor when you're 
sick. You go to the doctor when you 
break a limb. You go to the doctor when you got some, you know, 
niggling pain. You go to the doctor when there's 
a precise need. So Christ says that. Look it. 
Those who are well have no need of a physician but those who 
are sick. The tax collectors and the sinners who came and 
sat down with him. They need Jesus. They need the 
physician. They need healing. They need 
forgiveness. They need a righteousness that 
avails with God. They are the ones that Christ 
came after. Notice his appeal to the prophet 
Hosea, verse 13, but go and learn what this means. Before we proceed, 
consider what an indictment this was to the religious leadership. You don't think they had read 
Hosea? You don't think they knew the minor prophets? You don't 
think that they had understood this particular verse in Hosea 
6, 6? Go and learn what this means. It underscores this harsh reality. Persons can read scripture. Persons, 
even devils, can quote scripture, but that doesn't necessarily 
mean accurate. It doesn't necessarily mean they 
understand it. It doesn't necessarily mean they 
comprehend it. And so when Christ does this, 
it's an indictment upon the leadership of his generation. And it's a 
leadership that is similar in nature to Hosea's generation. Remember, Hosea is given that 
strange command by God to take a wife of Harlotry, to take Gomer 
unto himself. What's the point behind that? 
It's an analogy. Hosea and Gomer are Yahweh and 
Israel. Hosea and Gomer are Yahweh and 
Israel. Israel was like Gomer. She was 
unfaithful. She was a harlot. She had been 
given the covenant. She had transgressed that covenant. 
She had lacked conformity unto the law of God. And so at the 
time of the prophet Hosea, Hosea is dealing with the same sort 
of people. And so Christ not only wants them to understand 
that God desires mercy over sacrifice, but he wants them to also see 
they're aping, they're imitating, they're just like the times of 
the prophet Hosea. First century Israel was a cesspool. It was not good. That's why we 
have the cleansing of the temple at the outset of Jesus' ministry 
and at the end of Jesus' ministry. Why is he cleansing the temple? 
Because it was perverse, because it was wrong, because it was 
wicked, because the people of God, the professing people of 
God, professed and had their external religion, but they didn't 
have the heart. And that's what Christ is condemning 
with these particular persons. Go and learn what this means. 
I desire mercy and not sacrifice. Davies and Allison say, cultic 
observance without inner faith and heartfelt covenant loyalty 
is vain. It's just like in Malachi. Malachi 
was later than Hosea. Hosea was an eighth century prophet 
to the northern kingdom. Malachi was a post-exilic prophet 
to the southern and only remaining kingdom. But remember in the 
time of Malachi, what the people of God were doing at that time. 
They were going to the temple, they were bringing their sacrifices, 
but their sacrifices didn't cost them anything. Their sacrifices 
were blind, their sacrifices were lame, their sacrifices were 
mangy, their sacrifices weren't going to sell at the market anyway. 
So go ahead, son, grab that one who lost in the fight and let's 
bring him to the service of Yahweh. And what's worse is that they 
actually stole sacrifice on the way to the temple to present 
that to God. So they thought external commitment 
to this covenant is all that's required. As long as we dot our 
I's and cross our T's in the external, it really doesn't matter 
where our hearts are. And again, this is something 
parallel in our own generation. Christianity is not just a list 
of rules and do's and don'ts. It's the message of Christ and 
Him crucified and raised from the dead. It is the message that 
if by grace you believe on Him, you will have everlasting life. 
And then you are to let your conduct be worthy of that gospel. So you're not just externally 
compliant to the things that God has said, but from the heart, 
because of the Holy Spirit, you comply happily. You comply obediently. And when you don't, you cry out 
to God, please forgive me. But with reference to these persons 
in Hosea's age and with reference to these persons in Jesus' age, 
Jesus says, go and learn what this means. I desire mercy and 
not sacrifice. Again, not that sacrifice is 
unimportant, not that we dispense with sacrifice, but it's an idiomatic 
way of saying. It's not only the external, but 
you need to bring the heart. It's not only the formal, but 
it's also what goes on in the inner man. And so Christ says 
this in an indicting way to these people. I desire mercy and not 
sacrifice. In the context, brethren, mercy 
for tax collectors. Mercy for sinners. That woman 
which was a sinner in Luke chapter 7. If this man were a prophet, 
he'd know what manner of woman she is. Brethren, we ought to 
have compassion on sinners. We ought to have a desire to 
see them saved. We ought to have that firm conviction 
that if God is able to save a wretch like me, He's certainly able 
to save from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. He's able 
to save those who have gone astray. He's able to save those sheep 
who have not followed the shepherd. And we ought to have a compassion. 
Again, look at the end of the chapter. Verse 37, then he said 
to his disciples, the harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers 
are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the 
harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. This idea that 
Christ came just to save a handful, just to save a few, just to save 
the frozen chosen, that's not biblical. Later on in Matthew 
26, at the inauguration of the new covenant, in his blood, he 
says that he does this for the remission of the sins of many. There is a whole multitude that 
no man can number, according to Revelation 7, from every tribe, 
every tongue, every people, and every nation. Compassion befits 
the people of God, and these men were destitute of it. Therefore, 
it reveals they're not the people of God. They've got externals, 
they've got formalism, but they have no internal heart religion 
relative to our blessed Savior or to his kingdom. And then notice 
his mission. That's the lesson that he brings 
home in 13b. Notice, for I did not come to 
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. I did not come 
to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Now, if we ask 
the question, are there any righteous? No, there's not any righteous. 
Romans chapter three, there are none righteous, no, not one. 
Why do you think Paul says no, not one? Because you could probably 
foresee, or forehear, there is none righteous, except for me, 
of course. There's none righteous, and then 
we say, but me, of course. There's none righteous, but me, 
of course. That's how bad we really are. There is none righteous, no, 
not one. Put your hand down. Don't exalt 
yourself. Don't parade yourself as being 
righteous. It is not a righteous people 
that Christ comes to avoid. It's the self-righteous. It's 
the sanctimonious. It's the smug hypocrite. It's 
the one in 1125. You can turn there. At that time, 
Jesus answered and said, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and 
earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent." 
Now, the hiding of these things in context is gospel truth. So the Lord Jesus is extolling 
the absolute and utter sovereignty of God Most High. He not only 
hides gospel truth, but he also reveals it. And in this instance, 
he hides it from those who are prudent, or the wise and the 
prudent. And in our passage in 9.13, he speaks of them as righteous. Again, they're self-righteous. 
They're the deluded. They're the ones who think that 
I've got my act together. I'm not a bad guy. I've never 
killed anyone. I've never committed adultery. 
I've never embezzled millions of dollars. I've never committed 
bank robbery. I'm pretty good after all. We 
don't see your need for Christ when you live like that. The 
Heidelberg Catechism says, how do you know your sin and misery? 
The law of God shows me. It shows me I hate God, and it 
shows me that I hate man. And instead of deluding myself, 
instead of fooling myself, instead of trying to parade myself as 
something I am not, I do much better to take the tact of that 
man in Luke 18, not even look up into heaven, but to beat my 
breast and say, God be merciful to me, the sinner. So Christ 
does not come to call the righteous as if there's this body of righteous 
people out there that don't need redemption through his blood. 
He is speaking condemnatorily of these persons who thought 
that they were altogether good. They were altogether ready and 
prepared to go meet God in heaven. Christ says that's not the nature 
of my mission. I came for Matthew. I came for 
tax collectors. I came for Rahab the harlot. 
I came for the wretches. I came for the wicked. I came 
and I did and I had my being such that I could deliver them 
from the power of darkness and translate them into the kingdom 
of the Son of God's love. I didn't come to call the righteous, 
but sinners to repentance. And that echoes Matthew 1, 21. 
You shall call his name Jesus, for it is he who shall save his 
people from their sin. He delivers them from their sin, 
not to continue in it, not to continue to transgress God's 
law, not to continue to lack conformity unto it, but he does 
deliver us from sin. And so here he emphasizes the 
same thing. I did not come to call the righteous, 
but sinners to repentance. Look back to Matthew 11, we saw 
25, notice the end of verse 25, and have revealed them to babes. 
Even so father, verse 26, for so it seemed good in your sight, 
for thus it was pleasing in your sight. Verse 27, all things have 
been delivered to me by my father. And no one knows the son except 
the father, nor does anyone know the father except the son and 
the one to whom the son wills to reveal him. Now notice in 
verse 28, come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden. 
Now the labor and the heavy laden there isn't because they had 
a hard work week. 60 hour days, 70 hour days, 80 
hour days, they were schlepping heavy bales of hay all the time 
and doing that and they were just labored and heavy laden. He's talking about sin. He echoes 
the psalmist in Psalm 130, out of the depths I have cried to 
thee, O Lord. What's the nature of the psalmist's 
distress? He indicates it in verse 3. If thou, Lord, should 
mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness 
with thee that thou mayest be feared. The sorrows that the 
psalmist found himself in, the heavy laden and burdened and 
laboring sinners that Jesus speaks to in Matthew 11. They're not 
just hard workers physically. They're under the burden of Pharisaic 
religion where there is no gospel. and they're under the burden 
of their own sin, which is a harsh taskmaster, which is a life indeed 
of slavery and depravity. And then verse 28, come to me 
all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and 
lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for 
my yoke is easy and my burden is light. or the lesson punctuating 
the account of Zacchaeus and our Lord Jesus. Remember, Jesus 
is passing through Jericho. More about Jericho tonight in 
Joshua chapter 2. But Jesus is passing through 
Jericho and Zacchaeus is a wee little man. You probably sang 
that song when you were in Sunday school. Zacchaeus was a wee little 
man. He couldn't see because of the 
press of the crowd. So what does he do? He climbs up into a tree 
so that he can see the Savior. And lo and behold, the Savior 
stops at the foot of the tree and tells Zacchaeus, make haste, 
come down, because I'm going to have dinner at your house 
tonight. So what happens? Everybody grumbles. Everybody 
complains. Human nature isn't different. 
There is nothing new under the sun. We'd be right there at the 
base of that tree going, that's not fair. I pay my taxes. I cut my lawn. I do my thing. 
And yet he's never offered to come to have dinner at my house. 
Why is he going to Zacchaeus' house? What's the point? The 
son of man has come to seek and to save that which is lost. Luke 15, the scribes and the 
Pharisees, they murmur, they complain, they grumble. Why? 
Because all the tax collectors and sinners drew near to hear 
him. And so they say, this man receives sinners and eats with 
them. I suggest, brethren, that every sinner there had their 
ears pointed to Jesus to hear how he's going to answer that 
charge. Does he receive sinners? Does he eat with them? Yes, he 
does. He's like the shepherd who loses the one sheep and he 
goes and he finds it. He's like the woman who loses 
the one coin and she goes and finds it. He's like the father 
who receives the prodigal unto himself and confers upon him 
benefit and blessing and good provision. Christ does receive 
sinners and he eats with them. And that's the point here in 
Matthew chapter 9 as well. Those who are well have no need 
of a physician, but those who are sick, his role. But go and 
learn what this means. I desire mercy and not sacrifice, 
his appeal to the prophet. And for I did not come to call 
the righteous but sinners to repentance. The underscoring 
or the highlighting of His mission in terms of the salvation of 
all that the Father had given Him, such that they would end 
in everlasting life. Now, in conclusion, just a couple 
of thoughts. And as I said, we have in the passage around us 
various lessons on discipleship. So I want to kind of cull some 
of that together quick. We're not going to be here much 
longer, but bring that together in terms of the disciples of 
Christ. So one of the emphases in this 
section of the gospel narrative, again, to show the divided sort 
of reception or rejection of our Lord Jesus, you got the scribes 
and the Pharisees, and then you got the tax collectors and the 
sinners. But as well, to underscore what it is to be a disciple. 
What does it mean to be a disciple? I think at times we get this 
wrong. Go out and obey, and then God will save you. Now that's 
every other religion under the sun. The religion of Christ is 
by grace, believe and you will be saved based on what Jesus 
has done. And then you live in a manner 
that is according to that. But in the first place, the disciple 
of Christ, I'm using he. If that triggers you and you 
wanna cry, then go do that elsewhere. He is encompassing of he and 
her. He believes on the Lord Jesus 
Christ. That's what it means to follow 
in the context. Follow me. Matthew had a revolution. Matthew had a radical reorientation. Matthew went from his stacks 
of money on the table, no doubt some which was earmarked for 
his own benefit, to following Jesus. The disciple is one who 
by grace has believed the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. So 
God willing, as long as this pulpit is in place, you will 
not hear, do this and you will live. That was the demand of 
the covenant of works that Israel was placed under. In the new 
covenant, Christ did this such that we may live. It is most 
blessed. Believe on him and you shall 
be saved. So the disciple is one who believes 
the gospel. Secondly, he repents of his sin. 
Matthew 4, 17, Jesus announces the coming of the kingdom and 
he says, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Now, certainly 
Matthew immediately responds. He left all, Luke 5, 28, and 
now he follows the Lord Jesus Christ. So there's faith in Christ 
and there's repentance unto life. Thirdly, he rejoices in the Savior. Now, brethren, this may not be 
as sort of symptomatic of your response as perhaps it could 
be. You know, sometimes we struggle perhaps with expressing that 
joy and gratitude and thankfulness at what God has done in our lives. 
If that is the case, we need to change. We need to get better 
at it. We need to join David and say, 
bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless 
his holy name. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and 
forget not any of his benefits. We need to be a grateful people. Fourthly, he pursues the kingdom 
first. You see that in Matthew 6.33. 
Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and then 
these things will be added unto you. Again, just some marks of 
a discipleship as we see them in Matthew's gospel. Fifth, he 
sees Christ as altogether lovely and chief among 10,000. It's 
the language that the bride uses of her man in the Song of Solomon. It's, again, typical of what 
we find in Yahweh and Israel and in Christ and His church. 
She calls him altogether lovely and chief among 10,000. Turn 
over to the parables of the kingdom in Matthew chapter 13 to see 
this emphasis on calling him altogether lovely and chief among 
10,000. 1344, again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden 
in a field, which a man found and hid. And for joy over it, 
he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, 
the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful 
pearls, who when he had found one pearl of great price, went 
and sold all that he had and bought it. In other words, Christ 
is everything. Christ is altogether lovely, 
chief among 10,000. Look at 17.5, the father echoes 
this. 17.5, while he was still speaking, 
behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. And suddenly a voice came 
out of the cloud saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am 
well pleased, hear him. Brethren, if we've been conquered 
by the grace of God in and through our Lord Jesus Christ, applied 
by the Holy Spirit, then we're going to be a happy people, a 
joyful people, and we're going to see Christ as altogether lovely 
and chief among 10,000. But as well as we consider the 
surrounding context in Matthew's Gospel, we notice sixthly that 
he still experiences hardship in this life. You know, there's 
something called the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel. 
It's not gospel. It is not gospel at all. It does 
not jive with the teaching of the Bible. It does not jive with 
the reality that Jesus, though a son, learned obedience through 
suffering. It does not jive with the experience 
of the apostle Paul. It does not jive with the experience 
of probably most of the apostles. It doesn't jive with the experience 
of God's people. Life today is not all health, 
wealth, and prosperity for God's children. He still experiences 
trials even though Jesus is with him. You see that previously 
in Matthew chapter 8. Remember, Jesus is in the boat. 
along with the disciples, Jesus is asleep in the boat, while 
the disciples are fearful at the waves and the tumult that 
they're going to perish, they're going to die, they're going to 
suffer. What does that show us? That even if Christ is in the 
midst of the boat, there's still trouble. This idea that we're 
going to walk through life unscathed, that we're going to march through 
this lower world without any problems, it's not biblical. There's heartaches, there's hardship, 
there's trial, there's affliction. We read about several in the 
prayer meeting this morning. Again, the emphasis is typically 
now on government oppression of religious people. The government 
is making things very difficult for God's people in this world. So when we respond, when we see 
that, we're not to lose our minds, we're rather to find our help 
in God Most High. As well, he still struggles with 
remaining corruption. Later on in Matthew chapter 26, 
Peter swears his fealty to the Master. I will follow you, I 
will go, I will die with you. In the next scenario, at the 
end of the chapter, Peter is denying the master to a slave 
girl. He will never be in this life 
what he ought to be, but should always be thankful that he's 
not what he once was. And here I quote John Newton, 
the man who wrote Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved 
a wretch like me. Newton said, I am not what I 
ought to be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I hope to 
be in another world. But still, I am not what I once 
used to be. And by the grace of God, I am 
what I am. Amen. That is most excellent, 
most blessed. And finally, in terms of discipleship, 
he follows Christ perseveringly until the end. So he doesn't 
say to Matthew, follow me. And when things get tough, when 
things get difficult, when afflictions come your way, Matthew, you go 
ahead and go back to your money in the tax office. Following 
Jesus is a lifelong pursuit and a most blessed one. Again, altogether 
lovely, chief among 10,000. We press on by the grace of God. We press on by the presence of 
the Spirit in us. We do what God calls us to do, 
not perfectly, not beautifully, not magically, but perseveringly. I think our confession has a 
wonderful statement on perseverance. Those whom God has accepted in 
the Beloved, affectionately called and sanctified by His Spirit, 
and given the precious faith of His elect unto, can neither 
totally nor finally fall from the state of grace, but shall 
certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved, 
seeing the gifts and callings of God are without repentance, 
whence He still begets and nourishes in them, faith, repentance, love, 
joy, hope, and all the graces of the Spirit unto immortality. And though many storms and floods 
arise and beat against them, yet they shall never be able 
to take them off that foundation and rock which by faith they 
are fastened upon. The power isn't in us. The power is in the rock. Notwithstanding through unbelief 
and the temptations of Satan, the sensible sight of the light 
and love of God may for a time be clouded and obscured from 
them. Yet he is still the same. And 
they shall be sure to be kept by the power of God unto salvation, 
where they shall enjoy their purchased possession. They being 
engraven upon the palm of his hands and their names having 
been written in the book of life from all eternity. Praise Almighty 
God that he who begins a good work in us shall complete it 
unto the day of Christ. And if you're not a believer 
here this morning, I leave you with verses 12 and 13. Christ's 
function, Christ's role. He doesn't come to call or he 
doesn't come to heal the well. He comes as a physician to sin 
sick souls. If you are a sin sick soul today, 
look unto the great physician. He wants us all to understand 
He desires mercy over sacrifice. He wants us to have a compassion 
and a desire to see man rightly connected to God through faith 
in our Lord Jesus. And let this resonate with you 
over lunch today, over this afternoon, and God willing, in the coming 
week. The Son of Man came. to seek and to save that which 
was lost. The Son of Man did not come to 
call the righteous, but rather sinners to repentance. If you're 
a sinner, listen to Joseph Hart and take it to heart. He says, 
comet 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. Blessed be God for the great 
mercy that we have in the gospel. And that mercy is available to 
sinners who by grace call upon him in faith. Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for 
your word. We thank you for the clarity of this particular account 
and how it demonstrates the power of Jesus in the forgiveness of 
sins. And as sinners, we rejoice. We 
are thankful. We want to express even more 
gratitude for what you have done in our lives, not only forgiveness, 
but a righteousness that avails with you. God bless the preaching 
of the gospel today, may it run swiftly and be glorified, and 
may it accomplish the purpose for which you sent it, the salvation 
of sinners, the edification of saints, and ultimately the glory 
of God most high. And we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Well, let's stand and sing the 
doxology in praise to our God, number 568 in your hymn book. 
♪ Praise God the Lord, all blessings 
flow ♪ ♪ Praise him, all creatures, give thee love ♪ ♪ Praise him, 
God of peace ♪ Praise God whose Son and Holy 
Ghost. Amen. May the grace of the Lord Jesus 
Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit 
be with you all. Amen. Father, help us to glorify 
you today. Give us grace to rejoice in the 
goodness of our God. And may we bring glory to your 
great name. Bless this local church, bless 
all of our brothers and our sisters and be glorified in our midst. 
And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, please 
be seated for a brief time of meditation.