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You can turn with me in your 
Bible to Matthew chapter 9. It's not going to work. Can you 
come up? Hang on. Let me try a drink. 
I don't ever remember this happening 
to me on a Sunday. I guess maybe drinking water 
might help. You can turn to Matthew chapter 9. Our focus will be 
verses nine to 13 in the mission and ministry of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. Matthew chapter nine. In the particular context, in 
chapters 5 to 7, we see the power of Christ, or the authority of 
Christ, manifest in His words. In fact, if you look back for 
just a moment in Matthew chapter 7, that's how the Sermon on the 
Mount concludes. In verse 28 it says, And so it 
was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were 
astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having 
authority, and not as the scribes. So in the Sermon on the Mount, 
a demonstration of the power or authority of his words. And 
then in chapters 8 to 10, we see the emphasis in the power 
of his actions. And here specifically, with reference 
to the forgiveness and the healing of a paralytic in verses 1 to 
8. And then in the conversion of 
Matthew, in verses nine to 13. So I'll read that section. 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? Then when Jesus 
heard it, 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. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for 
this glorious day. We thank you for the privilege 
to witness Christian baptism and what it signifies concerning 
the grace of God applied to needy sinners. We ask that you would 
indeed call out other sinners by your grace and for your glory, 
that they may come out of that darkness, confessing faith in 
Jesus Christ and know the joy of being found in him. Edify, 
strengthen, sanctify your saints, build us up, and help us to glorify 
you in our daily lives. We ask that you bless our sister 
Stacey as she goes to Australia. Watch over her, protect her, 
give her a blessed time there. Just give her great grace, God, 
and we rejoice that she's going to a good church. We pray that 
that body would be encouraged by her fellowship in the saints. 
Again, forgive us now, guide us by the Holy Spirit, and we 
pray through Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen. Well, as we look 
at this particular passage, I want to notice three things. First, 
the call to discipleship in verse 9. Secondly, the supper at Matthew's 
house in verse 10. And then finally, the confrontation 
with the religious leaders in verses 11 to 13. But notice first 
of all, with reference to the setting, verse 9 tells us that 
Jesus passed on from there, or as Jesus passed on from there, 
he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. He's also 
called Levi in the parallel accounts in Mark 2 and in Luke 5. So two names were common then 
as they are now. Simon Peter, John Mark. So it 
wasn't uncommon to have two names. So this Matthew is the Levi that 
we see in the synoptics. Notice as well where he is sitting. He's sitting at the tax office 
because he's a tax collector. In Matthew 10, 3, he likely knew 
the four disciples who were fishermen, Andrew and Peter, I'm sorry, 
Peter, Andrew, James, and John, by virtue of his work, he probably 
collected taxes from these particular fellows. Now, in terms of being 
a tax collector in the first century, it wasn't any more popular 
than being a tax collector in the 21st century. Probably the 
least favorite person on your list are tax collectors. They hated taxes then, similar 
to the way that we despise them now. I don't think there's anything 
new under the sun with reference to taxes and paying them. That 
it's biblical, principally, we see in Romans 13, though at times 
we may disagree with the way that that money is used or misused 
or abused. And the reasons why the tax collectors 
specifically were looked down upon in this society, there are 
four of them. Knox Chamberlain says they collaborated 
with Gentiles, they handled currency with pagan inscriptions and iconography, 
they took money from fellow Jews to give to the magistrate who 
oppressed them, and they were often greedy and corrupt. That's 
one of the things that marked these particular individuals. 
They are linked with sinners in Matthew 9, 10. They're linked 
with heathen Gentiles in Matthew 18, 17. They're linked with harlots 
in Matthew 21, 31. And with extortioners, unjust 
and adulterous men in Luke 18, 11. As R.T. Frantz 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 the Pharisees, might be expected 
to balk at. Fishermen may not have been high 
in the social scale, but at least they were not automatically morally 
and religiously suspect. Matthew was. So moving from the 
setting, we move to the Savior. So it says, as Jesus passed on 
from there. And I think it's very important 
for us to get the connection in the context. I've already 
said that what we find here is a demonstration of Christ's authority 
in the works of His hands. But if you back up just a moment 
to that instance of the paralytic, We see there that there is a 
problem worse than paralysis. You look at verse 1. Jesus got 
into a boat. He crossed over. He 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. So that whole instance, 
with reference to a problem worse than paralysis, underscores the 
reality that the Son of Man has power. He has authority to forgive 
sin. And this case with Matthew shows 
or demonstrates he doesn't just forgive small sin, he doesn't 
just forgive little sinners, but he forgives great sin and 
great sinners. because Matthew was despised 
in common society. Matthew was rejected in common 
society. People linked them with harlots, 
with unjust, with extortioners. They were no better than those 
particular classes of people. So the connection, I think, is 
absolutely crucial. We see something similar in Jesus' 
condemnation, or not condemnation, but limitation in terms of rich 
men making it to heaven. Not long after he speaks concerning 
that, he says, or he ends that section by saying, with men it 
is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Then we 
have Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus is that camel going 
through the eye of a needle to demonstrate the power and the 
glory of God Most High. in sovereign grace. So what Matthew 
does evidence to us in this particular instance is his own personal 
conversion, but he also instances that Jesus' authority to forgive 
sin is real. It's true. It's legit. And I 
think by way of observation, it doesn't matter what you have 
done. It does, I don't want to say 
it quite like that, but this idea that I'm too sinful to come 
to Jesus. I'm too sinful to be saved by 
Jesus. I'm too sinful and rebellious, 
and I've transgressed too many times, and I've lacked conformity 
so many times that there's no hope for me. Matthew evidences 
hope. Matthew declares hope. And it's 
not in Matthew, it's in Matthew's Christ. It's in the Lord God 
Most High, who sent the Son of His love, who assumed our humanity, 
who lived for sinners, who died for sinners, who was raised again 
for sinners. The very mission of the Son of 
Man is specified in this particular passage. I did not come to call 
the righteous, but sinners to repentance. I would suggest that 
if you are a sinner here this morning that hasn't trusted in 
the Lord Jesus Christ, you are the one that is ripe to come 
to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is satanic logic that gets 
into your mind that tries to make you think that there's no 
way he'd receive you. He received us. He says and promises, 
all that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one 
who comes to me I will certainly not cast out. He says, come to 
me in Matthew 11, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and 
I will give you rest. This God, this blessed Savior, 
this Lord, didn't come into the world to reject sinners, to resist 
sinners, to keep sinners at arm's length. If anything, this passage 
should be a wonderful encouragement, an invitation, an exhortation 
for you to lay down your arms, to come to the Savior, to believe 
on Him. As we just sang, venture on Him, 
venture wholly. There is mercy to be had in our 
blessed God. In fact, God, through the wisest 
man on this side of Jesus, says that whoever covers his transgressions 
will not prosper. But the one who confesses and 
forsakes will what? Will find mercy. There's mercy 
to be had in this Savior, and this passage displays that. in 
all of its beautiful detail. So the tax collector, or rather, 
back to the tax notice. 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. 
So we see the setting, tax office and sinner. We see the Savior, 
the one who has the power or authority on earth to forgive 
sins. Now we look specifically at the 
salvation. And something interesting and 
something curious and something that bears our observation is 
the fact that Matthew responded. And he doesn't just respond this 
way. Well, you know, Lord, I like 
the language of follow me, but I also like the language of my 
sin. I like these bucks. I like my status. I like being 
on the, you know, moral equivalent of harlots and extortioners and 
unjust men. No, he doesn't do that. As soon 
as Jesus says, come and follow me, what does Matthew do? He 
gets up and he follows him. How many times do sinners hear 
the gospel and an earnest preacher call upon them to believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ, and they don't? They continue to resist. 
They continue to reject. They continue in their sin. This 
is the day. The scriptures tell us now is 
the acceptable time. Today is the day of salvation. 
So the immediacy of Matthew's response is a wonderful display 
of not only God's power and grace, but in Matthew's understanding 
that this Savior would have him. that this Savior wasn't faking 
it, that this Savior wasn't lying, that all of the calls of God 
through the scriptures of both the Old and the New Testaments, 
they're not just empty, banging, clanging cymbals, but it's the 
truth of God. Isaiah the prophet, look to me, 
all ye ends of the earth, for I am God and there is no other. Those are the kinds of texts 
that I suspect many hear for many years and continue to resist 
and continue to reject. Don't do that. You're a sinner. I'm a sinner. We need God's grace. We need the power of the life 
and the death and the resurrection of our blessed Savior. And one 
of the things as well, with reference to the call of Matthew here, 
is the financial repercussions. The fishermen are called, they 
hang up their nets for a season, and then they return to their 
nets. Do you think Matthew is going to get his job back? Do 
you think any employer, namely government, is going to, you 
know, smile upon Matthew's decision to leave the tax office in the 
middle of the day to follow this man from Nazareth? No, they're 
probably not. He's probably done for in terms 
of any livelihood in connection with his particular trade and 
ability. One dictionary says, a theological 
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. 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. I get, or I would suspect, that 
if we were there, outside the tax office, when Matthew starts 
to follow Jesus, and we would bring that up to him, you know 
what he would say? I don't care. This is not a sacrifice. I'm following the altogether 
lovely and the chief among ten thousand. I am following the 
Savior of sinners. I am a sinner, and I need salvation, 
and it's to be found in this blessed one, so I'm going to 
follow him. In other words, don't think about 
what you may lose when you come to Jesus. You don't lose anything. You don't lose. You're never 
a loser by following Jesus Christ. I don't mean losing in life, 
or taxes, or money, or acquisitions. In terms of your soul, what shall 
it profit a man? Jesus asks in another setting. 
If he gains the whole world, but he loses his soul, you need 
to think about the ramifications and the implications involved 
in resisting and rejecting the Savior. What shall it profit 
a Matthew if he resists the call of Jesus and continues there 
with all of his tax money? If he continues in the status 
of an unjust, of a harlot, of a sinner? Nothing. He's only 
going to reap the consequences in terms of eternal punishment. 
As well, in this text, notice the end of verse 9, it says, 
So he arose and followed Him. In the parallel account, in Luke's 
gospel, in Luke chapter 9, it says that he left all, rose up, 
and followed him. Why, when Matthew is rehearsing 
this, he doesn't give us that piece of data? Because Matthew 
is a godly, humble man. And if ever in a context where 
he gives his testimony, he doesn't want to make sure everybody knows 
that he left all. Now Luke can report that, and 
Luke does report that, and Luke tells us that when it comes down 
to Jesus, Jesus is worth leaving all. But Matthew doesn't want 
to be fawned over for having made this sacrifice and giving 
up everything. No, again, Matthew understands 
you're giving up nothing and getting everything when you come 
to the Lord Jesus Christ. I say with personal testimony 
and on the behalf of those in here saved by God's grace, there 
ain't no thing better than having your sins forgiven and receiving 
a righteousness by which you can enter into the presence of 
God. There really isn't. There isn't any money, there 
isn't any houses, there isn't any cars, there isn't any security 
or stability that has anything on what it is to be justified 
freely by God's grace. To know that Romans 5.1 situation, 
therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with 
God. There is nothing greater than 
a conscience washed in the blood of Jesus, a sinner washed in 
the blood of Jesus, a righteousness bestowed upon us, not based on 
our works or our merit or our obedience or our keeping, but 
solely and alone because of what Jesus Christ has done. So Matthew 
leaves all, he arises immediately, and he follows the Savior. Notice 
then the supper at Matthew's house. This is Matthew's house. doesn't indicate that, but Luke 
tells us as much, then Levi gave him a great feast in his own 
house. So 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 Matthew do this? 
Oops. Why would Jim spill the water? 
Why would Matthew do what Matthew does? I'm gonna try to answer 
that in three ways. First, it's a time to honor the 
Lord Jesus Christ. It's a time to honor the Lord 
Jesus Christ. He's just been saved. Now, I 
realize that Matthew doesn't give us this full-orbed testimony 
of every jot and tittle and every realization that he has had, 
but we know what's happened. He's sitting with his sin, not 
that all taxes are necessarily sin, but the taxes represent 
or symbolize his sinfulness. He's sitting there, he rises 
up, he follows Jesus. What else would he do? He'd throw 
a party. He wants to honor the Savior. 
He wants to extol the glory of Christ. He wants to speak well 
of Him. He wants to celebrate with Him. 
He wants to honor Him. Also, it's a time of thankfulness 
for the grace of God. Look at verse 15. Verse 14, 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. What's his point? While Jesus 
is among them in his earthly ministry, they're not given to 
fasting. They're given to feasting, they're 
given to gratitude, they're given to thankfulness, they're given 
to joy in His presence. Now, when He's stripped from 
them, and He's crucified on the cross, and He's removed from 
them violently, there's the time for fasting. So Matthew's been 
converted, he wants to honor the Lord, he wants to celebrate 
with thankfulness the Lord, but he also wants to evangelize his 
friends. Matthew evidences something of 
the man who finds the pearl of great price, the man who's laid 
his eyes, by faith, upon the altogether lovely and chief among 
ten thousand. Shared with you on many occasions 
in Song of Solomon, chapter 5 into chapter 6, you have the bride 
describing the bridegroom. She calls him altogether lovely 
and chief among 10,000. And the daughters of Jerusalem 
respond, where is your beloved that we may seek him too? She 
gave such a glowing description of this blessed one that those 
in her hearing wanted to find him as well. And notice the list, 
the guest list at Matthew's house that behold many tax collectors 
and sinners came and sat down with him. and his disciples. Matthew's Behold is designed 
to draw attention to his guest list here, and what he is doing 
is evangelizing them. C. H. Spurgeon says, 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. A time 
to honor, a time to celebrate, a time to thank, and a time to 
preach Jesus to these needy ones. Again, the manifest power of 
our Lord. He doesn't resist this invitation. He doesn't say they're filthy, 
gross sinners that I don't want any part of. No, that's the Pharisees 
and the scribes. Jesus comes to this feast. Jesus comes willingly to this 
feast. Jesus participates in this feast, 
knowing good and well who the guest list is. France, again, 
says the attentive reader of the gospel might recall the vision 
of the Messianic banquet in chapter 8, verses 11 and 12, where basically 
we're told that those ones that had rejected and refused the 
Savior, they would not be brought in to that supper, but it would 
be those from East and West, those outside of this geographical 
place. The covenant promises of God 
are yea and amen and our Lord Jesus Christ, and it includes 
from every tribe, every tongue, every people, every nation. So 
France again says, here as there, the guest list is not at all 
what most Jews would have expected. And that brings us then to the 
response of at least the religious Jews in this particular instance, 
the confrontation with the leaders in verses 11 to 13. Note first 
the nature of the complaint. Verse 11, it says, and when the 
Pharisees saw it, scribes were told by the synoptics, Mark and 
Luke, that the scribes were there as well. And when the Pharisees 
saw it, they said to his disciples, why does your teacher eat with 
tax collectors and sinners? Now, the thing that you ought 
to observe here is that they don't have the guts to speak 
to Jesus. They don't have the backbone 
to register their complaint with Jesus. They don't go to Jesus 
and say, what are you doing? You're sitting with miserable 
sinners, filthy, wicked, horrible men. No, they whine to the disciples. They're gutless. They're cowards. Bullies usually are. Bullies 
aren't courageous. They're bullies and they're cowards. They cover their cowardice with 
this kind of bullyism. And so they complained to the 
disciples, and they said, why does your teacher eat with tax 
collectors and sinners? Brethren, I don't think this 
was an investigative question for necessary information. Why 
does your teacher sit with such filthy specimens of human beings? 
That's not it. Their beef is with Jesus. Make 
no mistake about it. They got an axe to grind with 
Jesus here. They don't directly address him 
with their question. There's a parallel, not to this, 
there is in Luke, but a parallel concept or theme in Luke 15. 
In Luke 15, we're told that all the tax collectors and the sinners 
drew near to him, to what? To hear him. So what happens 
when all these tax collectors and sinners draw near to him 
to hear him? Well, the religious folk, the 
scribes and the Pharisees, they say, this man receives sinners 
and eats with them. Again, it's not, you know, a 
matter-of-fact report. Huh, that's interesting. This 
man receives sinners and eats with them. That's not it. It's 
disdain. It is abhorrence. It is loathing. This man receives sinners and 
eats with them. As I've said on probably more 
occasions than you care to remember, I've always thought, what did 
the sinners and the tax collectors do at that point? Their ears 
probably looked like radar dishes to see how he was going to answer 
that. Is it true? Does he receive sinners and tax 
collectors? Does he receive them? Because 
if so, I want to be even closer to this one. So does Jesus respond 
to that unspoken question? Yeah. He does in a threefold 
parable. He speaks first of a shepherd 
who lost one of his hundred sheep, and he leaves the 99 so that 
he can find that one, put it on his shoulders, and go back 
home rejoicing. He does it like a woman who has 
10 coins. She loses one of those coins. 
She doesn't just report it to CRA as a loss. She moves the 
furniture. She gets out the broom. She searches. 
She scurries. And what happens? She finds that 
coin. What's Jesus' response in each 
of these instances? So do the angels in heaven rejoice 
over one sinner who repents. Again, brethren, if I'm in that 
group of tax collectors and sinners, which I most certainly would 
have been. I mean, I hope I would have been close to him. I'm in 
the group generally, but specifically I would have hoped I would have 
been near him. I want to hear that. What they complain about, 
this man received sinners and each with them, is the sum and 
substance of the gospel. It's the glory of the one who 
has power on earth to forgive sins. And of course, in that 
third instance, there was a man and he had two sons. And one 
of the sons says, Father, give me my share of the inheritance 
right now. In other words, you're better 
off to be dead than alive. I just want what is mine for 
when that time comes that you depart. So what does the father 
do? The father gives him his share of the inheritance. What 
does the son do? Does he go out and invest it? 
Does he go out and live righteously? No. We know the story of the 
prodigal. He's a wretch. He blows it. He's craving and coveting what 
pigs are eating. And he comes to himself and he 
says, I know what I'll do. And brethren, he's not converted 
here. I know that's a very obvious way or a lot of times the way 
people read that text. He came to himself means he knew 
there was grace to be had in his father. No, he knew there 
was three hots and a cot to be had with his father. He knew, 
because he first goes and joins himself to a man of a distant 
country, tries to get three hots and a cot there. Doesn't work. 
So I know what I'll do. I'll go back and I'll cast myself 
on my father's mercy, not for forgiveness, not for a righteousness, 
but so that I can be counted as one of the day laborers and 
get those three hots and a cot. He wasn't converted then. So 
what happens? He's a long way off, and the 
father sees him, and the father runs to him, and the father falls 
on him, and the father kisses him, and the father brings him 
back to his house. The father orders that a ring 
be placed on his finger. The father orders that a robe 
be laid on his back. There's his justification. There's 
his cleansing. There's his salvation. It doesn't 
come because he came to himself. It comes because the Father sought 
him and fell upon him and received him back to his own. And actually, 
I think the story is told to focus on the other brother, because 
he's just like those Pharisees. This man receives sinners and 
eats with them. How does the brother respond 
when his son who was dead is now alive? When his son who was 
lost is now found? You never did this for me. He's 
whining and he's grumbling and he's complaining. Jesus shows 
the blessedness of gospel to tax collectors and sinners. And 
he shows the Pharisees something of that attitude that complains 
and grumbles and murmurs and looks down at the grace of God 
most high. So when Jesus is invited to this 
home where tax collectors and sinners are in attendance, he 
responds. This is the beautiful thing about 
Jesus. For those of us by grace who 
have tasted and seen that He is good, this is one of those 
things, right? He doesn't keep us at arm's length. 
He doesn't resist or refuse us. He doesn't say, off with your 
head because you ever dared to think I would receive you unto 
myself. No, we have learned, we have 
found, we have seen by the grace of God that this man receives 
sinners and eats with them. This man came to seek and to 
save that which was lost. So the complaint was directed 
against Jesus, not the tax collectors and the sinners, and the complaint 
was bathed in their own sanctimony, their dripping hypocrisy. Why 
does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? That's 
just foul as far as they're concerned. Now note the response to the 
complaint in verses 12 to 13. Jesus' response in a threefold 
way. First, his role. Second, his 
appeal. And third, his mission. Note 
his role. 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, Jesus is putting it right 
there where even a pharisaical, hypocritical wretch could understand. You don't call the doctor on 
a Monday morning to report that you're healthy. If you've ever 
been to Chilliwack Emergency, you're sure not going there when 
you're healthy. Not just like sitting in the 
waiting room for five hours. It's great. Nobody does that. Nobody wants medical assistance 
unless they're hurting. Nobody wants medical help unless 
they're diseased. Again, he's keeping it low level 
so that even these guys can follow the logic. In other words, who 
else should I be sitting with? Who else should I be hanging 
with? What other kinds of persons do 
you have in your mind that I should surround myself? You guys? This 
is basic gospel logic 101. Those who are well have no need 
of a physician, but those who are sick, This is a faithful 
saying. It's worthy of all acceptation 
that Christ Jesus came into the world, sinners to save, 1 Timothy 
1 and verse 15. Jesus, again, is gonna punctuate 
that in just a moment. But why else did Jesus come? You have to get this if you're 
not a believer in Jesus. Everything in the Bible converges 
at this central place that God so loved the world that he gave 
his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish 
but have everlasting life. Why does God make the world? 
Why does God govern the world? To carry out His plan and purpose 
to save from that world a great multitude that no man can number 
from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. If you ever ask the 
question, well, why did Jesus come into this world? Sinners 
to save. He's using gospel logic on these 
wretched men to silence their complaint. Why does your teacher 
eat with tax collectors and sinners? You'd never do that if you were 
happening to know that, you know, there was a group of sick people 
kind of hanging out in one area and a doctor went to see them. 
Would you ever say, well, why is that doctor going to visit 
those sick people? Doesn't he know they're sick? Doesn't he 
know they might be contagious? Doesn't he know that he might 
get what they got? Of course he knows that, but 
the virtue of his office is to go to those particular sorts 
and heal them. So it's basic logic. But then 
notice, secondly, his appeal to the prophet. This is Hosea 
chapter 6 and verse 6. And I quite like the first part, 
but not the verse itself. I like that too. But I like when 
he says, but go and learn what this means. Go and learn what 
this means. Do you think that the Pharisees 
and the scribes were familiar with the prophet Hosea? Yeah, 
they were. Remember they had phylacteries, 
they'd recite scripture, they memorized scripture, but they 
hadn't learned scripture. Jesus reproves that in this simple 
statement, go and learn. Because they knew it, perhaps 
had recited it, perhaps had read it and preached on it in the 
synagogue. They knew it, but they hadn't learned it. He says, 
go and learn what this means. I desire mercy and not sacrifice. I think there's two things going 
on here. The first is that Jesus is returning or rather responding 
to their complaint. Why does your teacher eat with 
tax collectors and sinners? Obviously. But secondly, he's 
showing consistency. This is what the Old Testament 
always bid as well. I mean, to miss the Old Testament 
and emphases like these would lend itself to missing Jesus 
as the Messiah and Jesus as the friend of tax collectors and 
sinners. In other words, it's been the 
nature of God, even in the Old Testament, not completely obliterate 
the external. That's not what I think the text 
is calling us to. But rather to focus on the internal. It wasn't different in Hosea's 
day, both in terms of its intent, be those who are wholly committed 
to the Lord, but as well, it wasn't different in Hosea's day 
than for these men who are receiving the same condemnation that those 
men in Hosea's day received. that same attitude, that same 
mindset, that same idea, that as long as we've got the externals 
down, then it really doesn't matter what our hearts are like. 
So Christ appeals to the prophet to show something of continuity 
in terms of God's nature and grace, but to show something 
of continuity in terms of man's sin and rebellion. Davies and 
Allison make it obvious. They say that as cultic observance, 
that means doing what God specifies in the religious apparatus that 
is Israel. Cult doesn't necessarily mean 
Jehovah's Witness in Old Testament studies. It means that which 
is peculiar or particular to the worship of the Old Testament 
church or people. You've got temple, tabernacle, 
priest, sacrifice. That's cult. So they say, cultic 
observance without inner faith and heart felt covenant loyalty 
is vain. That's what these men are showing, 
the same vanity that the target audience in Hosea is demonstrating. Frantz says, one of several prophetic 
sayings which challenge people's instinctive reliance on correct 
ritual while ignoring the moral demands of their religion. You 
see it in spades in the prophet Malachi. Malachi comes along 
to upbraid the nation of Israel for their unfaithfulness. And 
through a series of rebukes, through a series of prophetical 
declarations wherein he condemns them, they keep saying, who, 
us? Us? Us? Like, they're shocked. You 
mean I can't go to the back of my flock and pick the one that's 
lamed and maimed and blind and schlep him to the temple for 
offering? No. That's not heart religion. 
That's just satisfying the externality. You brought an animal, he happens 
to be breathing still, but it's no sacrifice. It does no work 
in your farm, and it's not something that's going to fetch you any 
money at the market. It didn't cost you anything. 
And what about when he ups the ante? You've stolen sacrifice. Another thing I've often thought, 
if you, on a Sabbath morning, living in Old Covenant Israel, 
steal an animal from your neighbor to take to the temple to offer 
it as a sacrifice, you're in a bad place. You're in a bad 
place. The whole idea behind sacrifice 
is to pinch the flesh. Not redemptively or in an atonement, 
I'm gonna pinch the flesh so that God rewards me with salvation. 
No, that's not what I mean. Sacrifice. Jesus commands the 
widow's might. Why? Because she took of her 
abundance. She took what little she had 
and took the majority of that or all of it and dumped it into 
the plate. All these others that had a bunch and take just a little 
bit out of that bunch and dump it in the plate, who's sacrificing 
there? So the prophet Malachi lets them 
have it for this external ritualistic ideal or idea. And that's what's 
going on with the Pharisees in the first century. And then notice 
the text ends with his mission. His role as a physician, his 
appeal to the Prophet, and his mission. In case you guys didn't 
get this, he's saying, in case you didn't follow the doctor 
and the patient analogy, in case you're not the brightest bulbs 
when it comes to Hosea's sex, I'm just going to lay this out 
for you and make it crystal clear. that I came for the specific 
intention to receive sinners unto myself and eat with them. 
That's the glory of the Christian gospel. That's the glory of the 
declaration in John 1 29. Behold the Lamb of God who takes 
away the sin of the world. That's the glory of the gospel 
as free prefigured and typified and signified in the Old Testament. 
It's the glory of the gospel celebrated in the Psalms, celebrated 
in the prophets. It's the glory of the gospel 
that the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters 
cover the sea. It's the glory of the gospel, 
look to me, all the ends of the earth, and be ye saved, for I 
am God and there is no other. It's the glory of the gospel 
that he lays out in very clear detail to these men. He says, 
for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. This is why He came. I think 
that at times we've got it backwards. He came to show us how to live. 
He did, but secondarily, He came to show us what must be in order 
for us to live. To look to Him in faith, to believe 
on that gospel. To know the joy of the forgiveness 
of sins, and that's righteousness given by God to needy sinners. To do what you and I are unable 
to do. As well, I think at times we 
make it so narrow, we make it so closed, we keep it to just 
a certain band of people. No, this gospel is to be testified 
everywhere, every tribe, every tongue, every people, every nation. In Abraham, all the nations of 
the earth will be blessed. Why? Because of the seed of Abraham, 
which is our Lord Jesus Christ. So Christ summarizes the mission 
as the final aspect of his response to this complaint, why does your 
teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? Now when he says 
righteous, he is not suggesting that, you know, In, let's say, 
Idaho. I mentioned Idaho this morning. 
We'll still use the example. And I don't think this. I don't 
have some Idaho. I actually said it last night. 
I don't have an Idaho fantasy. It just popped into my head. 
But let's just say everybody in Idaho is righteous. I didn't 
come for them. I came for those other wretched 49 states. Or 
I didn't come for BC. I came for those other wretched 
provinces. I didn't come for Chilliwack, but I came for all 
those other cities there in the lower mainland. He is not saying 
that. This is not a commendation or 
an acknowledgement that there's a band of righteous men out there 
that don't actually need his blood atonement. No, no, no, 
no, no. Those who are righteous in their 
own eyes. Kind of like, I don't know, a Pharisee? Kind of like 
somebody that would look down there and knows that the thought 
that Jesus was going to go to this supper and be surrounded 
by tax collectors and sinners. Yeah, that's what he means. I 
didn't come to call them. The ones righteous in their own 
eyes. Turn to Matthew 11, where I think 
this is abundantly clear. Matthew chapter 11. Notice in verse 25, 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. 
Here's the righteous ones. They're wise in their own eyes. 
They're prudent in their own ways. They think that all is 
well. They think that external compliance 
with external regulations is all that is necessary, thus showing 
they didn't understand Hosea 6. They think that external compliance 
to the outward cult is all that is necessary, and they are in 
good standing with God. No. They're wise in their own 
eyes. They're prudent in their own 
eyes. They're righteous in their own eyes. And as a result of 
that wisdom and that prudence and that righteousness, all pseudo 
by the way, they come to conclusions like, this man receives sinners 
and eats with them. Or, why does your teacher sit 
with tax collectors and sinners? When he says this, he is not 
acknowledging a band of righteous men that don't need blood atonement. 
And then notice, he makes this clear at the end of verse 13, 
but sinners to repentance. Sinners to repentance. How do you think these guys responded 
to that? Oh, okay. Now we get it. Sure, that makes sense. He's 
a doctor going to sick people. He's like the prophet Hosea commends 
to us. And he's out there to rescue 
our fellows that have undone themselves. This is the kind 
of stuff that outraged them. This was the kind of stuff that 
culminates at the end of the Passion Week and then saying, 
away with him, away with him, crucify him. This is the kind 
of stuff that leads to the confrontations that we've seen repeatedly in 
John's gospel with these religious leaders. The whole concept of 
a crucified Messiah, the whole concept of a suffering Savior, 
the whole concept of this one that apparently is weak and sorrowful 
and no form of comeliness that we should behold him, that was 
an affront, brethren. And I love the way Jesus doesn't 
back down from pressing and pressing and pressing. I'm a doctor to 
the sick. I'm what God has always expressed 
in terms of Hosea 6, and the very reason I'm here is to have 
lunch with these guys. That's why. I didn't come to 
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Again, a world 
of good news in a passage like this. I'm a sinner. Well then, 
guess what? Christ is a Savior. I've messed 
up my life. Guess what? There is forgiveness 
with thee that thou mayest be feared. Guess what? There is salvation to be had 
in our Lord Jesus Christ. This is his point. This is his 
response to the charge. Similar to the threefold parable 
that he tells when they whine in Luke 15, this man receives 
sinners and eats with them. You're right, I do. Like a shepherd, 
like a woman who lost her coin, and like a man who lost his prodigal 
son. That's the way I do it. And here 
when they whine and they complain, it's a three-fold response. Yep, 
I'm a doctor for sick people. I'm what Hosea 6.6 is all about. And this is the very purpose 
and reason for which I came. I didn't come to call the righteous, 
but sinners to repentance. That is blessed. That is wonderful. I guarantee you this morning, 
if you're not a believer in our Lord Jesus Christ, and you look 
around this morning, I'm not saying do that necessarily, you're 
going to meet nice people. Nice people, right? I hope everybody's 
nice. But that's part of it. That's having come out the other 
side of being washed in his precious blood and the imputed righteousness 
of Jesus and taking into consideration we're not always that nice either. 
We typically clean up pretty decently on a Sunday. We're not 
saved because we're nice. We're not saved because we performed. We're not saved because this 
is a reward for what we've done in a former life. We're saved 
because of Jesus Christ, who says to Matthew, come and follow 
me. We're saved because of Jesus 
Christ, who's a physician for needy souls. We're saved because 
of Jesus Christ, who is the embodiment of the nature of God revealed 
in Hosea 6. And we're saved because Jesus 
Christ, in his mercy, in his love, in his kindness, came into 
this world, took on our humanity, lived in our place, died in our 
place, was raised again the third day, such that everyone who looks 
to him in faith will have everlasting life. If that's his job, if that's 
his purpose, if that's his function, you're not going to mess things 
up by coming to him. That's the emphasis. Be a Matthew 
today. Get up, leave all, and follow 
Jesus in faith. That's the only way of eternal 
life. It's the faith, as evidenced 
by the leaving all and following Him. Look unto the Lord Jesus 
Christ in faith, and you will have everlasting life. Well, in conclusion, the power 
of Christ is on vivid display, not only in a general statement 
that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins, verse 
6, but specifically in the case of a notorious sinner in verses 
9 to 13. Isn't that wonderful? It's not that there's just forgiveness 
with Jesus, but there's forgiveness with a guy like Matthew, who's 
got friends like Matthew and other sinners. that are kind 
of lumped into the same category with the rest of the dregs of 
society, ethically speaking. The Son of Man has power. The 
Son of Man has authority. And the Son of Man has that presently 
at the right hand of the Father. It's not that he suspended that. 
It's not that 6 or 9, uh, 9-6 tells us, it was only while he 
was on earth. Now it's over. It's expired. No, no, no, no, 
no, no. The Apostle John tells us, My 
little children, I write these things so that you may not sin. 
But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, 
even Jesus Christ the righteous. So at the right hand of God the 
Father right now, Jesus is in the business of forgiving his 
people. It's a blessed privilege that we unfortunately have to 
use way too much. But he's also in the business 
of forgiving those who come to him in faith. Whether you're 
old, whether you're young, the requirement is that you're a 
sinner. As some in the church have said, 
the only contribution we make to our salvation is the sin we 
need to be saved from. And I can assure you on divine 
testimony that all of us have that problem. I would suggest, 
secondly, in terms of a portrait of a disciple of Christ, which 
I think Matthew affords, he believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. He 
believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. Definitionally, a Christian is 
somebody who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. We're not 
Christians because we're better than anybody else. We're not 
Christians because we're nicer than anybody else. We're not 
Christians because we've done more work. No. Definitionally, fundamentally, 
some and substantially, is faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. What 
does Paul and Silas say of Paul and Barnabas to the Philippian 
jailer? Must have been Silas, yeah, Acts 16. Paul and Silas 
say, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. 
I would suggest, secondly, he repents of his sin. And I think 
that's demonstrated, not in vivid detail in a way that Paul might 
treat it in a letter to the Corinthians, but this getting up and leaving 
all. I think that's significant. He got up and he left all. Whatever 
at one time held him fast is no longer important. Paul speaks 
of this in Philippians chapter 3, what things once were gained 
to me, these I've counted loss for the excellence of the knowledge 
of Christ Jesus my Lord. Have you ever had that? Have 
you ever heard that? Lloyd-Jones got that. Lloyd-Jones was a medical 
doctor, a physician, and then he became a preacher. And people 
would say things like, why'd you give up being a doctor to 
be a preacher? Gee, thanks for recognizing my 
career choices. He never looked at it as giving 
up. You ever have that in your early 
days as a Christian? Why'd you give up all that? Have 
you ever thought and said, there's no giving up. I got everything 
in Jesus. I got the altogether lovely and 
chief among 10,000. So he believes on Jesus. He repents from his 
sin. And while it's not here, we're going to shoehorn it in 
for the purposes of our day. He's baptized. He's baptized 
by immersion to confess his faith in that triune God. And I want 
to encourage Wendy and Glenda with this reality, that the power 
of our blessed Savior that called this man out of darkness into 
marvelous light is the power exercised on their souls. That's 
a beautiful thing. In other words, what was available 
in Matthew 9 is available in Chilliwack in 2025. And when it comes to baptism, 
it is a demonstration outwardly of an inward change. That water 
doesn't save them. It's not miraculous. It's gonna 
be let out into the parking lot. Actually, now we have a, thanks 
to Mike, we have a nice big hole and it goes right into there. 
Used to go out into the parking lot. You'd get your feet wet 
when we'd walk out after a baptism. We're stepping it up in terms 
of getting rid of water. It's not magic. It's not hocus-pocus. 
That water doesn't convey anything to these sisters. It rather demonstrates 
what God in His grace has conveyed in the gospel of His beloved 
Son. It is an outward identification with the triune God in light 
of Matthew 28, baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, 
and the Holy Spirit. The name singular of God and the trinity 
of persons in that one God, in the name of the Father, the Son, 
and the Holy Spirit. As well, there is an outward 
commitment of life lived in obedience to God, our confession says, 
and of giving up unto God through Jesus Christ to live and walk 
in newness of life. Paul uses baptism in that capacity 
in Romans chapter 6 to answer the false charge that we continue 
in sin that grace may abound. May it never be. You died, you 
were buried, you've been raised again in the power of our blessed 
Savior. And the outward manifestation 
of new covenant realities. So baptism, it's implied, assumed, 
and argued for here. I would suggest as well, just 
to finish this up, he rejoices in the Savior, evidenced by the 
feast that he throws. He pursues the kingdom first. Oh, wait, Lord, let me just get 
this money stowed away. Let me make sure that my earthly... 
No, he seeks first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. 
He sees Christ as the bride saw the bridegroom, altogether lovely 
and chief among 10,000. And as well, Matthew no doubt 
had a life of difficulty subsequent to this. Becoming a Christian 
doesn't mean all your earthly troubles just fall away. They 
don't. Anybody who's telling you that 
is lying. But let's just be crystal clear 
here. Come to Jesus and life's gonna 
be great. You'll grow another foot. Your hair will be thicker. You don't need glasses anymore. 
You get bigger bite? No! The health, wealth, prosperity 
gospel is not gospel unless you're Satan and his minions and hell 
is your destination. There's trouble in the Christian 
life that no doubt Matthew had to undergo and he did so by the 
grace of God. And I would suggest finally, 
not just earthly external afflictions and turmoils and trials that 
affect us, But it's that inward problem, that remaining corruption, 
right? Paul speaks of this in Romans 
7 and Galatians 5. It's not like we're converted 
and we never sin again. No, that's not anyone's experience, 
nor was it Matthew's experience. But he understood the power of 
the gospel. John Newton made this observation, and we'll close 
here. 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. May Wendy and Glenda be 
encouraged, and may all of us be encouraged in a fresh view 
of our blessed Savior as He reveals to us unequivocally what His 
mission is. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in Heaven, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for this beautiful 
account of Matthew's conversion, and even more so, the beautiful 
account of Matthew's Savior. We know that the Son of Man has 
power to forgive sins, and we see it here with a notorious 
sinner. And so, God, we pray that You'd open hearts, cause 
persons to reflect upon their sin before You, and cause them 
to see Jesus Christ as the one in whom there is forgiveness 
and a righteousness by which they may enter into your presence. 
We ask for your blessing to be upon these ladies. She would 
encourage them that this would be a day that they can recall 
means of help to them in times of difficulty. And may you bless 
us as a local church, and may you help us to exhort one another 
daily while it is called today, lest we be hardened through the 
deceitfulness of sin. And we ask these things through 
Christ our Lord. Amen.