Verse: Matthew 9:9-13
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. 10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Devotion
It is human nature that we gravitate towards people like us. We feel more comfortable with people who share our similar values, similar tastes, and similar worldviews. This is on hyper drive right now in our culture with the division and tribalism we see every day in the news and on social media.

It was no different in Jesus’ day. The religious people didn’t like or even really associate with the non-religious people. So when Jesus calls Matthew to be his disciple it is scandalous! And then he goes to his house and hangs out with his friends! It bothers the religious people so much that they ask, “why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Why is Jesus spending time with people different than him? Why is he befriending people who maybe even don’t believe in God, or who are living lives that don’t line up with God’s commands?

Jesus’s answer is that he didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners. Jesus’ mission is to reach those who are far from him. Those who are stuck in their sin, maybe full of pain and shame, who maybe even don’t believe in God. He came to reach out to people who aren’t living according to God’s standards. This is his heartbeat. To reconnect people who are far from God with a loving God who wants to reach them.

I wonder if maybe we need to ask the question in reverse: “Why DON’T we eat with tax collectors and sinners?” There was a time in my life where I was so busy with church activities that I literally had no relationships with people who weren’t Christians. I wonder if Jesus met me at church if he’d ask me this question? I wonder if he’d be confused as to why I only spend time with believers instead of making time in my life to be with those who are searching, or far from him. This is why at CityLight we say that “we lean towards those who are far from God.” We want to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, and those footsteps lead us towards people who aren’t currently in relationship with Him or aren’t in fellowship with the church. I pray that God would give us all the same heart that he displayed in this story, and motivate our feet to go towards those who need him most.

Author: Christian Dunn