Flashback Episode — Identifying with Sinners: Matthew 9:9-13

All throughout the gospels, though we probably could extend this to include all of history, there has been a tension and debate over what God really wants. While many of us would be quick to say that God wants our hearts, it becomes less clear when you ask what that really means and what that looks like.

In the Old Testament times, outside of the Jewish nation, there were cultures sacrificing any and every sort of animal, cultures sacrificing humans, cultures that self-mutilated themselves, which is another way to say they cut themselves or harmed themselves in any number of ways, and cultures that did things that I don’t really feel comfortable repeating or even thinking about. In the Old Testament Jewish nation, there was sacrifice, but a clear boundary was given between what was acceptable sacrifice vs. what was not acceptable. This boundary was found within the writings of Moses, which they called “the law”.

When the New Testament writers were alive, there were fewer culture wars happening, but between the Roman and Greek cultures, there still was a huge gap between what they taught and what the Jewish nation taught. However, still at the heart of both cultures was sacrifice – either to an assortment of gods for the Romans and the Greeks, or to the One God for the Jews.

However, when Jesus steps on the scene, it seemed that He taught something different than all of the previous cultures. Though He was Jewish, the angle He saw the Old Testament writings clashed with the view the religious leaders in the first century had.

In our passage for this episode, we find one such place where Jesus challenged the religious leaders, and this place gives us an answer for what God really wants from us – specifically from Jesus’ perspective, and this helps us frame how Jesus lived His life.

This event is included in three of the four gospels, and I have picked Matthew’s version of it to focus on, because it includes a key phrase that the other two gospel writers missed adding. Our passage for this episode is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 9, and we will read from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 9, Matthew tells us that:

⁹ When Jesus was leaving, he saw a man named Matthew sitting in the tax collector’s booth. Jesus said to him, “Follow me,” and he stood up and followed Jesus.

¹⁰ As Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with Jesus and his followers. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they asked Jesus’ followers, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹² When Jesus heard them, he said, “It is not the healthy people who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³ Go and learn what this means: ‘I want kindness more than I want animal sacrifices.’ I did not come to invite good people but to invite sinners.”

Before getting into how Jesus responded to the Pharisees’ challenge, we learn that Jesus had just invited Matthew to be one of His followers. Perhaps as a “thank you” or because it was getting late, Matthew invites Jesus (and a number of his tax collector friends) over for supper.

However, like is very typical in the gospels, the religious leaders are watching, and like legalistic spies, the Pharisees are ready to challenge Jesus at every turn because He intentionally lived His life differently than they did. Inviting a tax collector to be a disciple was a shocking thing for Jesus to do, but it seems as though the Pharisees passed over this detail, perhaps because they didn’t realize the invitation was given, or maybe because they knew that a single person can change. Instead, the Pharisees focused most clearly on why Jesus then chose to hang out with Matthew’s tax collector and sinner friends, since this was very unusual and not something acceptable in their minds.

In a subtle challenge to Jesus, they ask Jesus’ followers a question instead of Jesus. Perhaps this is now late enough in His ministry that the Pharisees have realized Jesus is difficult to trap, or maybe they ask the followers simply because it was the cultural way to do this at the time. Either way, the question they ask is interesting, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” (v. 11)

The implied question hidden within their question for Jesus is, “Jesus, if you hang out with the lowest people, you are liable to be tainted by them. And whether it is simply your reputation that is tainted, or your actions and/or attitude, don’t you realize it is better to stand apart and to call others to stand apart with you. Shouldn’t we separate ourselves from those who are actively living in sin?”

But whether the disciples don’t know the answer, or whether Jesus knows what is up and walks over at the perfect time, He has an answer for them: “It is not the healthy people who need a doctor, but the sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I want kindness more than I want animal sacrifices.’ I did not come to invite good people but to invite sinners.” (v. 12-13)

Now on one hand, Jesus’ response is insulting to Matthew the host, and all of his friends. However, also tucked within Jesus’ response are two very profound ideas.

First, Jesus shares what God wants from us. Quoting from the Old Testament, Jesus shares the idea that God wants kindness more than animal sacrifice. All the symbolism in the world is worthless if the attitude is wrong. First, the attitude must be right, and only then can the symbolism be meaningful as God had intended it to be.

Secondly, Jesus shares a direct mission of His to invite sinners and not “good people”. Perhaps this is because the good people at the time did not need an invitation, but what is more likely the case in all points in history is that the people who self-identify themselves as “good” have chosen to stop their growth journey and have stopped being teachable.

“Good enough” is the enemy of where God wants to take us. God has so many amazing things in His mind for each of us, but if we settle for “good enough”, we stop short of the plan God has for our lives.

In contrast, those who recognize they are sinners are more likely willing to learn, grow, and be helped. Those who know they are sinners are able to understand they need help, and Jesus is more than willing to step in to help and invite them into the restoration plan God put in place to help them.

It is the same way for each of us today. Good enough is the enemy of God’s great plan for each of us, and it is up to us to be willing to be taught, helped, and led forward in our lives and our understanding of God and His plan for each of us.

With that said, as we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always open by challenging you, continue intentionally seeking God first in your life and choose to recognize your reality as someone who needs God’s help. While it is not pleasant to think of yourself as a sinner, only when understanding that you have sinned and have failed God will you be able to fully understand and appreciate what Jesus did for you on the cross. Someone who believes Jesus died for others when they didn’t need His sacrifice for them will ultimately miss out on salvation, believing they were good enough when they ultimately were not.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do, continue to pray and study your Bible – specifically the gospels in this case – for yourself to learn more of how much God and Jesus love you. Discover in the pages of the Bible a God who was willing to give everything for you because He loves you that much! Never let anyone get in the way of you discovering this God for yourself, and never think of yourself as not needing’ Jesus sacrifice. Jesus faced the cross for you because He loves you more than pain and death!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or settle for simply “good enough” when God wants to lead you towards the great life He created you to live with Him!