the sick and the well
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Before I start, Let’s discuss what happened this week in South Florida. this is such a challenging time for people and it is causing some to really struggle. We have something showing itself in our world today and Christians in this country need to be prepared for the spiritual battle that is here upon us now.
We know our God. We know His power can reach everywhere. We know that He has love and healing for the worse of the worse. And as we lift up His name and call out to Him in prayer, seeking His face and asking for His help, He will meet us.
We need to be a country that turns back to God. We, here in this place, need to be a people that follow Christ and love the unlovable, minister to the broken, which will in turn cause a change in our world that everyone hopes for.
Let’s ask God today, right now, who we can love, who we can serve, in the name of Jesus. Let’s be the church that we are called to be......
Let’s pray.
Father, we are hear today seeking you, seeking your heart, listening for your call, to do what you want us to do. help us with the words to say and the love to give....help us we pray. Amen.
Last week was a update from Alex and a great message that I hope encouraged everyone to press on in your walk and build the Kingdom despite the opposition against you, because growing the Kingdom is worth it all. We will have Alex back again. I would ask that you keep CEF lifted up in your prayers because it is a challenging ministry today and they can use our prayers always.
today, we will get back into looking at the relationships with Jesus, and if you remember we have looked at the forgiven woman and and another week we looked at Jesus dealing with the devil. this week we will look at the beginning of a relationship form between Jesus and Matthew, but Matthew doesn’t talk to much about his calling so by the end of the message, we will see Jesus point to two types of people that He has a relationship with, but He is clear that He came for only one type.
My title, and the time of year might cause us to think about having the flu or common cold, many are going through different sicknesses it as we speak. but as it was read, we saw Jesus reference two different types of people, or two categories of people. those who know they are sick and those who think they are well.
in our day and age, we have people with these same attitudes. as we go through these verses, may we discover what Jesus really meant by using these terms, and may we find the truth about ourselves and other people as well.
a good question to ask ourselves is why would Jesus identify some people with sick and others with being well? Let’s take a look.....
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.
So, first let’s get this picture. Matthew is sitting at the tax booth.... he is a tax collector. and tax collectors if you didn’t know were thought of with not much regard. they were people of little or no respect because they were Jews that were taking money from Jews and giving it to the Romans, they worked for the Romans and were seen as traitors in a sense....what was worse, they were known for calling their own prices so they could skim off the top of what they collected, in turn cheating their own people! that is why they were looked so down upon. You and I might not feel to kindly to a person like this. and this was Matthew.
For us, it’s tax season, and imagine the one who collected the taxes from you, told you how much you had to pay......and some of that money, maybe a lot of that money will go into the tax mans pocket. It would be wrong!
Tax collectors were so corrupt, they weren’t even allowed to become a witness in the court. they were thought of as no good......and
Jesus tells Matthew to follow Him. this hated person, to follow Him.
Does that speak to you? Jesus will take the worst of the worse.....the baddest around! Jesus can minister to anyone! think about it.
and just following someone when asked seems a little odd in our day but then it was actually a common and honorable thing because Jesus was known as a Rabbi, which meant when He called someone, He was planning on teaching them. it was the college of the day to learn and be an apprentice of an incredible teacher! When one was called, it was a good day! A day to have a party! hence we see Matthew follow Jesus and actually bring Jesus to a place together with Matthews friends in verse 10.
Matt 9:
And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples.
this scene is at a house that looks to be quite a get together. possibly a party or celebration for Matthew or maybe Matthew wanted his friends to meet Jesus. possibly some that had heard of Jesus and wanted to be around Him.
Let me ask you, why would people want to be around Jesus? why would they gather around Him?
Either He was filled with love and pouring it out to those around Him or He was religious and critical of the sinners? which is it?
it is easy to figure out, isn’t it. We all like to be around someone that is loving and kind. Jesus certainly had a way about Him, didn’t He.
the Pharisees had a way about themselves as well. we see in verse 11 some of their attitudes towards others.
And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
You know, the concept of holiness and purity in those days that the Pharisee had was to separate themselves from sinners, to not be close to them at all or hang out with them.... so it makes sense for them to ask this question about Jesus...
thinking about this position that they took, it is no wonder that another story in the bible that Jesus speaks on this... the good Samaritan, the two who were religious walked far away from the injured man.....where they worried more about their image of looking right rather than loving the person that was hurting or lowly.
this is a dangerous attitude!
may we here at CBC never fall into an attitude and lifestyle of looking down on others, but live with a willingness to reach out to any and all sinners, since someone reached out with God’s love to us, a sinner. Do we today think we need to separate ourselves from sinners?
I have heard of the Amish people separating themselves from the world and living in community with just each other. Some up in northern Maine have found the need to reach out and now on Thursdays they have a ministry where they reach out to the community and help with projects that need assistance. Praise God!
you know, In it references tax collectors, and it is Jesus talking about how they love only each other, but there is no reward for that..... what is really powerful is when a person can love the unlovable. this is tough unless one has recieved it from another.
Are there people in our communities that need the love of God? that need the gospel message? sure! you and I can be the person that shares the love of Christ with them.
back to the text we see the answer Jesus gives these religious leaders.
But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
interesting. Jesus creates two categories for people. sick and well. who is sick and who is well?
It is the sick that need the physician, so Jesus is there for them.
and the well? well, they think they are well. but, they just don’t know that they are sick. and this sick and well is further explained in the next verse.....
Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
sick and well are compared to the righteous and sinners. we know God’s word. there is no one righteous, no not one. so those who think they are righteous in themselves have the most miserable state to be in which is deception. the sinner has come to themselves and realized they are not perfect, and they need help. they need God. God meets them there and gives them mercy. as they receive the mercy of God, they can give it to others.
Jesus was putting the Pharisees in a place using the term go and learn what this means.... He was pointing to in reference to Israel. God wanted them to show mercy.
the Pharisees on the other hand, gave sacrifice because they were trying to earn their right standing with God, which Jesus is making clear to them that they have earned nothing. God doesn’t desire mankind to try and earn their own righteousness, but He desires them to come to truth about who they are and to confess, repent and receive the mercy from God.
this is the gospel, the good news. it crushes the pride of thinking we are righteous in and of ourselves but gives us a mercy that overwhelms our hearts.....which changes us.
this is the beauty of God.... the way Jesus works and it baffles the religious person, even to this day.
for you and I, may we see how God called even the lowest of the low to Him and gave mercy. May we be filled to all fullness of His grace to just give it to another that needs it today.
may we be completely overwhelmed by our great God!