{"id":854,"date":"2026-05-26T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/?p=854&2026"},"modified":"2026-05-21T18:00:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T00:00:09","slug":"planting-doubt-matthew-9-9-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/planting-doubt-matthew-9-9-13\/","title":{"rendered":"Planting Doubt: Matthew 9:9-13"},"content":{"rendered":"
Focus Passage: Matthew 9:9-13 (NCV)<\/div>
\r\n

9\u00a0<\/sup>When Jesus was leaving, he saw a man named Matthew sitting in the tax collector\u2019s booth. Jesus said to him, \u201cFollow me,\u201d and he stood up and followed Jesus.<\/p>

10\u00a0<\/sup>As Jesus was having dinner at Matthew\u2019s house, many tax collectors and \u201csinners\u201d came and ate with Jesus and his followers. 11\u00a0<\/sup>When the Pharisees saw this, they asked Jesus\u2019 followers, \u201cWhy does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?\u201d<\/p>

12\u00a0<\/sup>When Jesus heard them, he said, \u201cIt is not the healthy people who need a doctor, but the sick. 13\u00a0<\/sup>Go and learn what this means: \u2018I want kindness more than I want animal sacrifices.\u2019 I did not come to invite good people but to invite sinners.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Read Matthew 9:9-13<\/a> in context and\/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!<\/p><\/div><\/div>\r\n

Part way through Jesus\u2019 ministry, immediately after inviting Matthew (also known as Levi) to follow Him, Matthew invites Jesus to his home for a big dinner. It\u2019s uncertain how many disciples Jesus had at this point, but regardless of the size of Jesus\u2019 group, Matthew invited many of his tax collector friends over to eat and to meet Jesus.<\/p>\r\n

When reading Matthew\u2019s gospel, specifically about this event, a subtle detail stands out to me as strange, and maybe even a little underhanded. While the supper was going on, Pharisees saw what was going on and \u201cthey asked Jesus\u2019 followers, \u2018Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?\u2019<\/strong>\u201d (v. 11)<\/p>\r\n

Perhaps at this point, the Pharisees had been stumped enough by Jesus that they decide to take aim at His disciples instead, or maybe they simply wanted to plant seeds of division among Jesus\u2019 group of followers. Whatever the reason for singling out Jesus\u2019 followers, the motive was almost certainly negative.<\/p>\r\n

Luke\u2019s gospel describes it a little differently. Luke records the Pharisees and teachers of the law \u201ccomplaining\u201d to Jesus\u2019 followers: \u201cBut the Pharisees and the men who taught the law for the Pharisees began to complain to Jesus\u2019 followers, \u2018Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?\u2019<\/strong>\u201d (Luke 5:30)<\/p>\r\n

While Jesus overhears them and responds to their question, when we instead focus on the tactic these men use, we see something that is incredibly effective at sabotaging a movement. If they can get the disciples talking and taking sides over Jesus\u2019 unconventional actions, then their group will be weakened and less effective.<\/p>\r\n

It seems as though Jesus was well aware of this, and before the disciples even have a chance to respond, Jesus speaks up with an answer. The answer Jesus gave both validates the decision each of Jesus\u2019 followers made when choosing to follow Jesus and Jesus\u2019 answer defuses the Pharisee\u2019s subtle attack.<\/p>\r\n

Satan knows he can win if he can simply plant enough seeds of doubt in a person\u2019s mind. Plant the right seeds that question God and undermine His character, and Satan has succeeded in closing that person\u2019s heart away from God. Some of the seeds Satan plants are questions that cannot be answered before we reach heaven, but many of them can.<\/p>\r\n

The remedy for doubt is by testing the challenges themselves.<\/strong> Look at both sides of the challenge and then make a decision. If Satan is attacking God\u2019s loving character, take a look at God\u2019s unloving actions included in the Bible, but instead of stopping there, also look at God\u2019s loving actions. Only after looking at both sides of an issue can we truly be informed enough to make a decision.<\/p>\r\n

Satan wants each of us to doubt God to the point we are unwilling to even claim His promises. If Satan can succeed with his seeds of doubt, we won\u2019t even bother thinking God has something better for us. The best way of answering Satan\u2019s doubt is by bringing the challenge to Jesus. Jesus does have an answer to Satan\u2019s challenges and His answer will validate our faith while also undermining Satan\u2019s challenge.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus<\/strong> \u201cReflective Bible Study\u201d package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here<\/a> and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!<\/em><\/p>

Subscribe<\/a> to this blog and never miss an insight.<\/em><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Part way through Jesus\u2019 ministry, immediately after inviting Matthew (also known as Levi) to follow Him, Matthew invites Jesus to his home for a big dinner. It\u2019s uncertain how many disciples Jesus had at this point, but regardless of the size of Jesus\u2019 group, Matthew invited many of his tax collector friends over to eat […]","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-text"],"nelio_content":{"autoShareEndMode":"never","automationSources":{"useCustomSentences":false,"customSentences":[]},"efiAlt":"","efiUrl":"","followers":[2],"highlights":[],"isAutoShareEnabled":false,"networkImageIds":[],"permalinkQueryArgs":[],"series":[],"suggestedReferences":[]},"yoast_head":"\nPlanting Doubt: Matthew 9:9-13 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/planting-doubt-matthew-9-9-13\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planting Doubt: Matthew 9:9-13 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Part way through Jesus\u2019 ministry, immediately after inviting Matthew (also known as Levi) to follow Him, Matthew invites Jesus to his home for a big dinner. 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