King Jesus operated in fascinating ways on the earth. In Matthew 9:9-13, we see Him call Matthew to follow Him and then respond to the disdain of the Pharisees for attending a dinner at Matthew’s house. Here are some reflections on the reach of the King.
Who Jesus Chooses to Follow Him – What to Learn
Jesus spotted Matthew at a tax booth and invited him to follow Him. That doesn’t get the scandal it should when we read it. But it is a scandalous selection. Perhaps our sanitised reading of scripture that gives the impression that the writers wanted children not to be offended by it, makes it look like it was an interesting selection at most. But we shouldn’t sugarcoat it. Jesus’ selection of Matthew is scandalous.
The NLT description of Matthew and his type by the Pharisees isn’t unreasonable. People in society regarded tax collectors as the scum of the earth. You’re under Roman rule, and you don’t like Roman rule. It’s subjugation to a foreign rule. It’s not pleasant. And then there’s the taxes – an economic, social and political tool that further enforces the sense that you don’t belong to yourselves but to that foreign power. And who is responsible for often forcefully collecting those taxes? People who purport to come from your own nation, but in essence are traitors to that cause. Choosing one of them to be among your followers seems like an unwise move.
Jesus chooses to call Matthew. That’s a scandal. That’s an opportunity for us to see the grace of God in action, to see how far it reaches. The grace of God reaches those who are shunned and disgraced in society. Imagine that. Those that society rejects are exactly the kind that Jesus embraces. Isn’t that something? Who would have thought?
We should acknowledge the scandal of the type of people Jesus chose to follow Him. Those types exist today in society. It could be lawyers. It could be police officers. It could be members of the press. It could be a type of profession or a group of people in society who have a reputation for being, as the NLT also splendidly described it, disreputable. Jesus’ reach to them remains the same. He sees, He knows, He loves, He enables to thrive.
Who Jesus Chooses to Hang With – How to Apply
I imagine the sneer on the faces of the Pharisees as they catch wind of Jesus hanging around with tax collectors and sinners. That sneer that says, “Ugh, Jesus. Ugh, do you know who they are? Do you know that’s Jimbo, known as the local drunk who can’t get a job cos they know how drunk he is? Do you know that’s Barney, that ruffian who acts as the muscle and bullies people to hand over more tax than is due? Do you know that’s Gazza the lout who has been such a nuisance on the streets? That’s who you’re with, Jesus. And you want to talk to me about holiness and righteousness? Ugh, do me a favour.”
I know some urban missionaries who actively seek out the worst areas in a location and set up their ministry there to meet the equivalent of the tax collectors and sinners. I know that their approach is to be among them, make connections with them, see how they can serve them, and create opportunities for gospel connections in conversation and action. It’s following the way of Christ. It isn’t condoning or approving of sinful behaviour. It’s seeing these people as Jesus sees them. People who know who they are. People who know they’re in need. Jesus saw they had a need; Jesus saw the best way to reach them was to be among them. Jesus also noted that the best way to connect with them was to have a connection among them.
So smart from Jesus to see how far the grace can reach. So much we can apply to a humble, gracious approach that sees how we can connect with those who want to connect with the source of healing, hope and wholeness.
Jesus’ Problem with Self-Righteousness
We must be careful with self-righteousness. The Pharisees had an attitude that suggested they didn’t need what Jesus had to offer. They were alright. They were the guardians of what was right. They knew what was right and wrong and were quick to demonstrate their righteousness by observing the rituals of purity and righteousness. They knew that to keep holy meant not mingling with the unholy. They had their whole religious construct put together. That set them up to be the kind of people Jesus warned against. The type that could tell God how much they fasted and prayed. The type that could relate how often they tithed, how often they attended the temple, how often they did the right thing. It is very easy to replicate this in all religions, especially Christianity.
The problem with self-righteousness is how it blocks mercy, compassion and grace. You cannot think you’re alright and express those qualities to others. Being merciful, compassionate, and gracious takes attention away from you and what you’re doing for the other person and their needs, and how you can meet them. You’re not even looking out for the other to overtly gain attention. You’re looking at the need of the other and extending grace, mercy and compassion in a bid to help, to heal, to restore, to support, to serve, to enable, to enrich, to bless, to bring joy, to offer hope, to let them see the light of the world is Jesus Christ. You cannot do that whilst patting yourself on the back, being grateful that you’re not like them, that at least you wouldn’t do something like that, that at least you’re sweetly saved and sanctified.
That attitude is also problematic because it does not agree with the approach of Jesus, the character of Jesus and the desire of Jesus. If anyone could say He was superior in every way to those He came across, it was Jesus. And He took on the form of a servant and chose those to be with Him who were not the best in society. We should be humbled by Jesus’ attitude and be keen to pursue it. And pursuing that is inconsistent with a self-righteous attitude. The self-righteous attitude puts us in the place of God. A place that someone else wanted us to take. That someone else, of course, was the serpent in the garden, who suggested that God was jealous that we’d be like Him when we ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. What better way can we say we have that knowledge than to behave in a self-righteous manner?
We must be so careful, and what helps with that is the Holy Spirit’s conviction. What helps is being with saints who are keen to help us stay humble, and ever remembering the grace, mercy, and compassion of God extended to us. What helps is seeing the King choosing a tax collector to be among His apostles. Seeing the King at a dinner party with the disreputable in society, because He knew the importance of reaching those in need of the Doctor.
For His Name’s Sake
C. L. J. Dryden
Shalom
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