“Guess Who’s Coming for Dinner” based on Matthew 9:9-13

 

Over the past couple of weeks we have been teaching and reflecting on Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount, which is widely accepted as an excellent summary of how Jesus thought about how we as Christians should act.  He expounded on the Ten Commandments and gave them deeper meaning that could only be fulfilled by His Spirit.  

 

Importantly he says in Matthew 5:17, “I did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it.”  Jesus was saying, in effect, these Laws Moses gave were good, but the only way you are going to put them into practice is through me.  In another gospel, John summarizes in chapter 1:17, “The Law came through Moses, but grace and truth through Jesus Christ.” 

 

As we move forward in Matthew’s gospel, we now see Jesus living out his calling to usher in God’s kingdom.  He heals a centurion’s servant who is sick at home.  He heals Peter’s mother in law, who was at home with a fever (which in those days could be life threatening).  He heals many who are demon possessed.  He even calms a furious storm. 

 

This brings us to our passage for today where Jesus meets up with Matthew, also called Levi, who is the author of this gospel.  Matthew was a tax collector, also called a “publican”.  Tax collectors worked for the Roman government and were often hated because they overcharged and kept the extra for themselves. (slide)

 

Instead of looking at him with a similar scorn, Jesus tells Matthew to follow him.  In Luke’s version it says, “Matthew left everything to follow Jesus”. Then shortly thereafter Matthew held a great banquet and Luke says he invited a great crowd of friends from similar backgrounds. 

 

The text says that not only were the hated tax collectors there, but also “sinners”.  This usually meant robbers, adulterers, prostitutes, a pretty rough bunch.  It is also important to note that eating with such people in those days was a sign of friendship. 

 

So Jesus is making a huge statement not only to his disciples who came with him, but also to his new convert Matthew, that he came not only for religious types, but for people far away from God. 

 

And the Pharisees were really angry about it.  The Pharisees were very strict on keeping the Mosaic Law, and felt according to their law it was strictly forbidden to associate with sinners, especially to eat with them. 

 

Upon hearing this Jesus gives the punch line to the story and what we will focus on today, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  But go and learn what this means, I desire mercy, not sacrifice.  For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.”   Matthew 9:12-13

 

 

Well what does this mean for us today?  As we discussed this passage at our bible study a really interesting case study came out.  One of the men in the group’s wives’ brother is in a same sex relationship and is having a ceremony to celebrate it.  The guy in our group has expressed his feelings about this relationship to his brother in law and that he doesn’t think it is right.  This has caused a lot of animosity between the two of them.

 

But still he was invited to go with his wife to the ceremony.  His question was “What should I do?”  Am I condoning this lifestyle if I go?  Or if I don’t go what does that say? 

 

We all went around the table and discussed different ways of looking at it.  One person felt that if he went, he was condoning the behavior.  But as we looked at this passage, we reasoned that although I am sure Jesus didn’t condone the behavior of the tax collectors and other sinners, he was still out there building a relationship with them.

 

Why?  Because he knew that answer to their issues was a relationship with him, whether they knew it or not.  So I concluded that I thought it would be good for him to go because even though he didn’t agree with this person’s lifestyle, by not going he would only reinforce what a lot of people think about Christians. By going he might open a door down the road for a further discussion.  But at least he had gone the extra mile and tried to show mercy.

 

Now I don’t want to get off on a big tangent about this issue, because I know there are a lot views on it.  My point is to look at what Jesus did and how do we as a church and as individuals carry on one of the overarching themes that Jesus clearly portrayed that,. “Lost people matter to God”, and mercy is preferred over sacrifice.    

 

Another interesting thing we did in our group was to go around the room and ask the question what percentage of people in your sphere of relationships is from the church, and what are outside of that.  Of course some outside were in other churches, but you get the point. 

 

For a lot of the older members it was either 90 or 100% that were relationships within Good Shepherd. Some were 50/50 and our leader was about only 10% in church.  At first he felt a little convicted then I said, “No you are in the perfect place to really make an impact for the kingdom.”

 

There is a cliché I learned in seminary that was called “redemption and lift”.  The idea is that once you become a Christian or are redeemed, you gift lifted out of the world and all your relationships become church-centered.  And trust me I love church events and fellowship and frankly at Northwood we need more of them, but yet sometimes this process takes us away from the very people we could reach and effect.

 

When Jesus called Matthew it opened up a whole new window opportunity into a group of people that the Pharisees would have never introduced him to. 

 

 

So how can we take this home and live it out? 

 

First of all besides your own family and friends that you have, one of the places where you can have a huge impact is where you work.  One very influential Christian leader has said, “The next great move of God will be in the marketplace.”  

 

We are already seeing that happen with several large companies, like Coca Cola that allow Christian groups to meet within the corporate setting.  The number of these type of groups in big companies is growing I have heard.

 

Another idea is throwing what we might call “Matthew Parties”.  These are intentional parties where you invite Christian friends and other acquaintances are likely not Christians, just for the purpose of building friendships.  In our day the best way to be effective in sharing the Good News is to build a relationship. 

 

There is the old adage, “Make a friend.  Be a friend.  Lead a friend to Christ”.  This doesn’t mean cramming religious jargon down their throat.  It may not even mean inviting them to church until the time is right.  But it is intentionally building friendships with those far away from God to open the door for a spiritual conversation.

 

The bible tells us that the light shines greatest in the darkness, and salt works best when it is preserving and acting on the meat, not in a salt shaker!

 

Since we are a fairly new community up in Northwood and our church is located right in the community, there are lots of opportunities for us to make a friend, be a friend and lead a friend to Christ. 

 

My prayer is that as we open our eyes to the people around us, that God will put us in influential relationships that will help us lead lost people back to God.  By experience I have found this to be an incredibly exciting adventure that God leads us on if we are willing.

 

We are going to have some barbecues this summer at different members’ house that might be the perfect time to invite a few friends to a Matthew type party.  If you know any tax collectors be sure to give them a call okay!  Let’s pray…