Sermon Tone Analysis

In the six miracles of Jesus we have seen over the last two weeks, we have seen Jesus’ authority unfolding and we’ve been getting a broader and broader picture of who he is.

Matthew has sort of “grouped” these stories together to make a point, namely that Jesus is Lord and master.

He is master in teaching (sermon on the mount), master in healing, master of creation (in wind and seas), master over the Spiritual forces (in casting out demons) and master over forgiveness, even with authority to forgive people’s sins.

In our text today, we will see some of Jesus’ own words on who He is, why He came, and what that means for all of us.

How many here enjoy speaking on the phone?

How many really don’t enjoy speaking on the phone?

I would tend toward not enjoying it, although I’m happy to do it when it is good and beneficial.

Have you ever had someone call you, and they just start in on a conversation, and it sort of meanders from topic to topic and here and there and person to person and place to place?

You’re enjoying the conversation, it’s nice to hear from a friend or family member, but nothing specific gets discussed.

And then, after 10 or 15 minutes, the person might say, “anyways, the reason that I called is...” and then they will give some specific reason.

It’s not that all that other information was useless or bad or meaningless, it was a nice conversation, but it was all a build up.

Well, in our passage today, we start to get a little of that “the reason that I called you is...” with Jesus.

If you remember in the sermon on the mount, I mentioned several times that if you took all the ethics and good principles in the sermon on the mount, but missed Jesus and the rest of His life and ministry, the rest of his purpose for coming, then you’ve really missed it all.

It’s not that the ethical principles and the teachings aren’t good and valuable, its that they aren’t the main thing.

We’ve all heard that saying, “the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing...” and that is true when we watch Jesus’ ministry, interact with his teachings, and listen to the claims that He makes.

So when we see a phrase like “this is why I came” or “this is the reason for this...” then we should pay attention.

If you remember in the first set of three miracles in chapter 8, we saw Jesus interacting with the outcasts of society - specifically the man with leprosy, and the Roman centurion.

Jesus was willing to enter in to the uncleanness of the leper, and the social stigma of the Centurion in order to show mercy.

Last week, we saw that theme again, as he was willing to enter in to the danger and fear of the men possessed by demons, and calm the storm that had the disciples fearing for their lives.

Entering in and healing - entering in and saving.

That seems to be the theme of Jesus ministry, and we see that again today in Jesus’ words.

We have seen purpose statements already in the book of Matthew.

“he will save his people from their sins...”

“I have come… to fulfill the law...”

We see them in other scriptures as well.

All of these purpose statements must shape the way we view Jesus’ ministry.

He did many things, but all of them with reason - all of them with a goal - all of them in fulfilling the law, doing the will of His Father, giving life, calling sinners to himself, giving his life as a ransom.

Jesus came with Divine purpose: to call sinners to himself, and to usher in a new era of God’s redemption story.

1.

He Came as The Friend - Vs. 9-10

“As Jesus went on from there.”

From where?

From the place where he healed the paralyzed man, and he healed him both physically and spiritually, because he forgave his sins - and that caused a big stir among the scribes.

They accused him of blasphemy for claiming to have the authority to forgive sins - but he did have that authority, he does have that authority.

And with that story in our minds, the story of Jesus forgiving sins, Matthew records his own story.

There has been a lot of social stigma that Jesus has entered into and overcome so far in this section of matthew.

He touched the leprous man, he healed the Centurion’s Servent, he interacted with the demon-possessed men, and to the modern reader that would be enough - but just like the power of Christ became personal for Peter when Jesus healed his mother-in-law, the power of Christ became personal for Matthew, not in a healing, but in a simple command - a simple phrase.

“follow me.”

We saw this in Matthew 4 when he called Peter and Andrew, James and John, the two pair of fishermen brothers, and now we see it with Matthew - the very man who wrote down these accounts.

Why does he place his story here?

Right after the forgiveness of sin, and in the mix with a bunch of stories about the outcasts of society, about the rejected and the hated?

Well, if you notice the text it says that Jesus saw “a man sitting at the tax booth.”

We’ve talked about this before, but the men sitting at the tax booths were considered at best political opportunists, and at worse traitors.

In contract with the Roman government to collect taxes and, in this case, probably import duties and fees from the boats coming in.

They were known as greedy and conniving, because it is recorded that they could bolster their collections by demanding more than the amount due, and keeping whatever was extra.

In a Jewish world that had been taken over by Romans, Roman sympathizers and collaborators were not loved - they were despised, and here is Matthew.

Matthew is one of his names - in other places we find his name is Levi, a good Jewish name, named after Jacob’s third son and the priestly tribe of Israel.

His other name, Matthew, means “gift of God.”

It was common for men to have first names, like Simon Peter, another of the disciples.

So, among the outcasts in these stories, among the forgiving of sins, Matthew places himself here - a tax gatherer.

The authority of Jesus was real for Matthew, because he reached out to Him, a tax collector - hated by his peers, no doubt, and he called him - even him.

The next verse makes the point that Matthew is getting across even more clear.

So it wasn’t just Matthew, the tax collector, it was many tax collectors and sinners.

And notice that grouping - tax collectors and sinners.

That may sound odd to our ears, but it was the common reference in Jesus’ day - tax collectors were public traitors and publically shamed, and the “sinners” were often called the “am ha’Arez” - or the People of the land.

These were Israelites who weren’t staunch followers of the law - they weren’t as dedicated as the scribes and pharisees.

They were publically known for their “issues.”

We have talked before about the Rabbi and the Talmudim - the teachers and their disciples.

Most Rabbi of the day would have had some disciples, but they would have been the cream of the crop of Jewish young men.

They would have been those steeped in the law, and the Talmud, the traditions - they would have been those eager to fulfill the commandments and learn to interpret them.

Yet, who is Jesus reclining with?

These people - the tax collectors, and sinners.

Later in Matthew, in chapter 11, we will read that Jesus is remembered as being “a friend of tax collectors and sinners.”

And that would have been meant as a slur, as a denouncement of Jesus - but it was true.

Jesus says this of his disciples - and to sum up, he says, “you are my friends, I have chosen you, and I have chosen you for a purpose - to go and bear fruit for my kingdom, and to love one another.”

Jesus is a friend of sinners.

Jesus does choose the rag-tag, the outcast, the needy, the sinner.

He chooses them and changes them day by day into his image, and he commissions them to love one another and spread the message of the Gospel.

Matthew puts himself here in this story because he wants all his readers to know - he was that outcast, he was that despised one - he was that traitor - he was that sinner - but Jesus Authority became real when he said to him, “follow me.”

Have you answered that call?

O friend, you and I are that outcast, you and I are that traitor - you and I are that sinner, but Jesus extends his call to the weary, to the sinner, to come to Him - have you heeded that call?

Have you found Jesus to be the friend of sinners?

I have!

2.

He Came as The Physician - Vs. 11-13

And this story goes on.

We find Jesus “in the house.”

Luke’s version of the story makes it clear that this is actually Matthew’s house.

He was hosting a banquet for Jesus - a celebration of his power, of his life-changing authority and message.

There is that same wording - tax collectors and sinners.

Now, we could ask, why the pharisees were even around, they would not have entered in to such a banquet with the “people of the earth” like this.

Interestingly, Luke’s Gospel tells us that it was a “great banquet” this was a big feast, a large meal, maybe large enough to gather wondering eyes and curious minds from the outside.

And the Pharisees ask - “inquiring minds want to know,” Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?

And this is the kind of question you would ask just like that, “why does your teacher do this?”

When Jesus healed the paralyzed man and forgave his sins, the charge was blasphemy - and the idea of that thought is, “who does he think he is?”

When Jesus calmed the storm in the boat, the question was “what kind of man is this?”

And here, when Jesus is eating with these common people, the question is similar.

All of these questions together give us a glimpse into Jesus on Mission.

“who does He think He is?

What kind of man is this?

Why would he do that?”

And that is where Jesus’ answer comes in to clear up any confusion.

Here is that purpose statement - why did Jesus come?

This is it.

Luke Records it as well, in Luke 5:32 and we get the fuller quote, “I cam not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

He starts with a metaphor - “those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”

Jesus is the great physician, he is the healer, as we have seen, but he is also the healer of the Soul by forgiving sin, as we have also seen.

But you know something?

Sometimes that “need” of a physician is there but not recognized.

A doctor can provide no help to someone who refuses to believe that they need help.

Now, that analogy is not perfect, because God can and does change hearts, but that is exactly what is needed - a heart change.

That is what jesus came preaching, and we read in Matthew 3:2! Repent, for the Kingdom is at hand!