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christianityREAD: Matthew 9:9-13
Matthew 9:9-13
New International Version (NIV)
The Calling of Matthew
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.’[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Footnotes:
Matthew 9:13 Hosea 6:6
Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. —Matthew 9:12
In the mid-1970s, divorce filings and final decrees appeared in the Public Records section of our local newspaper. Rev. Bill Flanagan, a pastor at our church, read those names week after week and began to picture people, not statistics. So he created a Divorce Recovery Workshop to offer help and healing in Christ to hurting people during a difficult time. When concerned church members told Bill he was condoning divorce, he softly replied that he was simply extending God’s grace to folks in need.
When Jesus invited Matthew the tax collector to follow Him, he accepted. Matthew then invited Jesus to dinner at his house. After the religious leaders criticized Him for eating with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a p hysician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Matt. 9:12-13). Jesus, the Great Physician, wants to meet each of us at our point of need, offering forgiveness, healing, and hope. What we don’t deserve, He freely gives.
By reaching out to people in need, we can extend to others this grace of God in Christ—guiding them to His healing touch. —David McCasland
There’s advantage in our weakness,
There is blessing in our pain;
It is when we’re feeling helpless
That God’s grace and strength sustain. —Fitzhugh
When you know God’s grace, you’ll want to show God’s grace.
SOURCE: Our Daily Bread Daily Devotional
" 'Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings.' Indeed we do come to You, for You are the Lord our God."
—Jeremiah 3:22
I find it interesting that when Peter encountered the risen Christ, Jesus asked him the same question three times. How many times did Peter deny the Lord? Three. And three times Jesus asked him, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me . . . ?" (John 21:15–17).
The former Peter would have said, "Do I love You? No one loves You like I do, Jesus."
But the new-and-improved, repentant Peter said, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You" (verses 15–17).
Jesus used the Greek word agape for love the first two times, while Peter used a different word, phileo. Agape carries the meaning of intense, complete, devoted, sacrificial love, while phileo refers to love as in friendship. So Peter was essentially saying, "Well, Lord, all I can commit to right now is that I like You like a friend."
I wouldn't criticize Peter for that. It was an honest assessment of where he was. Don't ever boast of how much you love Jesus; boast of how much Jesus loves you. Our love is fickle. It runs hot and cold. But God's love for us never changes. It is always there. That is why John the apostle referred to himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved." That was not arrogant. John was saying that he knew Jesus loved him. And you need to know that Jesus loves you, even if you have fallen away from Him.
Maybe you have messed up. Maybe you are in a backslidden state. The way to get right with God is to return to Him. He says in Jeremiah 3:22, "Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings." So remember where you were. Return and repent of your sin. And then start living as God wants you to live.
SOURCE: Harvest Daily Devotional with Greg Laurie
