Eligible For Salvation?
Luke 5:27-32
February 25, 2018
This morning we approach the story of Matthew’s calling.
Matthew of course was one of the 12 disciples,
And even the man who wrote the gospel that bears his name.
And while that story is certainly an important one,
It is actually the debate that broke out after Matthew’s salvation
That leaves the most memorable mark.
It is in response to this debate that Jesus makes that famous statement, (32) “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
The startling thing that must first be recognized in that statement is that Jesus there revealed not only the type of people He calls to salvation,
But also the TYPE OF PEOPLE HE DOES NOT CALL.
According to Jesus there are people who are eligible for salvation
And there are people who are not.
You might find that reality a little shocking, but it is true.
I know our world likes to tote a Jesus with arms open wide
Who accepts everyone, but that just isn’t true.
• There ARE people that the Lord does not accept.
• There WERE people that the Lord did not accept.
And here in Luke’s gospel
Jesus gets extremely plain as to who those people are.
We are talking then about BEING ELIGIBLE FOR SALVATION.
Have you ever considered that question?
• Am I eligible for salvation?
• Do I meet the requirements?
• Am I one of the ones that the Lord is willing to save?
I can’t think of a more important eligibility based question than that.
Well this morning Jesus answers the question.
Here Luke gives us yet another CLASH between Jesus and the Pharisees.
• This is certainly one of many as they continually try to prove that Jesus did not receive His authority from God.
But it is also another story from Luke about the necessary attitude of salvation.
• Luke brings it out over and over, and this morning we see it again in this familiar story.
Let’s just break it down into 3 main points.
#1 A STRANGE CHOICE
Luke 5:27-28
Now after reading those two verses
There are MORE THAN A FEW PEOPLE in our world
Who SPOT A STRANGE DECISION that was made there.
However, I would also say that most people in our world
Would be wrong about the decision they picked to be the strange one.
MANY WOULD THINK it strange that Matthew would be willing to just get up and leave “everything behind” to follow Jesus.
But that’s not the strange decision.
If you know the truth about Jesus,
That’s about the most obvious decision that could have been made.
The strange decision in these two verses
Is the decision Jesus made to choose Matthew.
“After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax booth, and said to him, “Follow Me.”
Now because Rebecca loves it so much when we talk about tax collectors, we certainly have to make sure we all UNDERSTAND THE ISSUE.
(But take heart Rebecca, Jesus chooses tax collectors)
Probably easier than telling you about the office of tax collector,
I can read you an excerpt about them from a commentary I read.
The Roman occupation of Israel involved more than just a military presence; the nation was also subject to Roman taxation. The taxes in Galilee, for example, were forwarded by tax collectors to Herod Antipas, and by him to Rome. Antipas sold tax franchises to the highest bidder, and such franchises were lucrative business. Tax collectors had a certain amount that they were required to collect, and whatever they collected beyond that they were permitted to keep (cf. Luke 3:12-13). In addition to the poll tax (on everyone, including slaves), income tax (about 1 percent), and land tax (one tenth of all grain, and one fifth of all wine and fruit), there were taxes on transport of goods, letters, produce, using roads, crossing bridges, and almost anything else the rapacious, greedy minds of the tax collectors could think of. All of them left plenty of room for larceny, extortion, exploitation, and even loan sharking, as tax collectors loaned money at exorbitant interest to those who were unable to pay their taxes. Tax collectors also employed thugs to physically intimidate people into paying, and to beat up those who refused.
All of that was anathema to the Jewish people, who believed God was the only one to whom they should pay taxes. Tax collectors were viewed as traitors to their people, were classified as unclean, and were barred from the synagogues. They were also forbidden to give testimony in a Jewish court, because they were considered to be liars. Repentance was deemed especially difficult for tax collectors.”
(MacArthur, John [The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series; Luke 1-5; Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 2009] pg. 330)
I think that spells it out.
Even in our day we tend to classify out our sinners.
For Example:
• In west Texas we’re known for the “Good Ol Boy”. This is the type of unredeemed sinner we still tend to love and trust. They are obviously immoral in areas but because they hold the right kind of manners and ethical code we don’t mind being around them.
• But then we have the “thug” kind of sinner. And this is the guy who not only does things we don’t approve of, but they do them with such audacity and vileness that we don’t even want to be around them. They just rub us the wrong way.
In Israel that thug was the tax collector.
The fact that he would have the audacity to extort his own people on behalf of the Roman government was just unforgivable.
The scorn they received is made pretty evident by the fact that they weren’t allowed in SYNAGOGUE nor allowed to TESTIFY at a trial.
Now think of a person you know who is so vile
You don’t want them to come to church
And you wouldn’t trust them to testify under oath
Even if they were the only eye-witness to a crime.
Now you’re beginning to grasp the tax collector’s reputation.
And here we have “Levi sitting in the tax booth”
Now it is true that nothing immoral or dishonest
Is ever listed about Levi’s tax collecting practices.
Luke doesn’t give you all those harsh details,
• But in reality he doesn’t have to.
• The only way Matthew could have even become a tax collector was if he
secured the job by being the highest bidder.
No one made him do it.
He chose to do it, and he paid money to do it.
Furthermore his only income was the “extra” he received.
Luke doesn’t have to tell you what kind of a guy Matthew is,
Because the fact that he is in this position
Tells you everything you need to know.
No one wants Matthew around.
EXCEPT JESUS…
“He said to him, “Follow Me.”
It actually says that He “AFTER THAT He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi”
• Jesus just healed that paralytic in the crowded room.
• The crowd was overcome with amazement and fear.
• The Pharisees were a little shell-shocked because Jesus had just silenced them in regard to His authority to forgive.
Can you imagine how many of the people in that crowd were now following Jesus as He left that room?
And Luke says, “After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi”
“noticed” is a word that actually means “gazed intently at”
The point being made here is that
After Jesus revealed that He indeed has the authority to forgive,
He walked right out of that house and right up to this tax collector.
This isn’t random, this is intentional.
Jesus just proved He had authority to forgive,
Now He’s about to prove how powerful His forgiveness is.
He’s about to extend it to the vilest person in the area.
He’s about to offer it to the tax collector sitting outside.
Jesus tells Matthew “Follow Me”
It’s one thing to forgive that paralytic,
• For all we know he could have been like the man who was born blind. There were a lot of people who even thought that that man was born blind as a result of his parent’s sin, not his own.
• There would have been plenty of people rooting for that paralytic’s forgiveness, certainly the fact that 4 men would go to such lengths to get him to Jesus reveals how loved he was.
BUT OFFERING FORGIVENESS TO MATTHEW?
This is beyond belief.
Now I do want to make sure everyone understands THE INVITATION here.
• The call of Jesus here is not a call to “go to heaven”
• The call of Jesus here is not a call for “life abundant”
• The call of Jesus here is not a call for “your best life now”
The call of Jesus is a call to follow Him.
And incidentally to follow Him wherever He goes.
Jesus’ road would be Matthew’s road
Jesus’ work would be Matthew’s work
Jesus’ popularity would be Matthew’s popularity
Jesus’ scorn would be Matthew’s scorn
Jesus fate would be Matthew’s fate
And Jesus makes this clear on more than one occasion.
Saying to a would-be follower:
Luke 9:57-58 “As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Saying to His disciples:
Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”
Or we read the story of Peter a couple weeks ago
John 21:18-19 “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!”
There are many people in our world today that assume
That all Jesus wanted to know from people
Was if they wanted to go to heaven or to hell when they die.
But that wasn’t what He went around asking.
He asked people to totally abandon their own lives and to make His life their priority.
• He asked people to leave their family
• He asked people to leave their occupation
• He asked people to leave their wealth
• He asked people to leave their land
• He asked people to leave their safety
• He asked people to leave their reputation
And He asked those people to then put a cross on their back
And follow Him up the hill for the world to nail them to it.
Please don’t miss that.
The call of Jesus does NOT include the “saved but not committed” option.
When Jesus approached Matthew here, the stakes were clear.
Jesus said, “Follow Me.”
At this point Matthew will either follow or he won’t.
But Matthew DOES NOT HAVE THE OPTION of being a “Private follower”
Who gets to keep his tax booth.
That isn’t an option here.
SO PLEASE UNDERSTAND WHAT JESUS IS ASKING,
Because this is the call of salvation.
Matthew 16:24-26 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
Luke 14:25-27 “Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”
I certainly want you to understand that.
Do not assume that you can be a saved follower of Jesus
If you are not following Him.
But THE POINT you really must see is the peculiar decision that:
JESUS CHOSE MATTHEW
OF ALL THE PEOPLE Jesus had at His disposal to call into service and eventually to entrust with His message of salvation,
This tax collector would have been the least obvious candidate.
• This is a man who is already banned from the synagogue.
• This is a man who already has a reputation for not telling the truth.
• This is a man who is already not welcome in a single home in Galilee.
IN OUR DAY modern evangelism says Popular Athletes and Movie Stars
Have the biggest opportunity to impact the kingdom.
But Jesus passed all the athletes and movie stars by
AND ENLISTED THIS GUY.
That is what you call a strange choice.
But it was a choice meant to demonstrate the power of His forgiveness.
He had the authority to forgive even tax collectors.
And since that is the case, all of a sudden
Matthew’s decision doesn’t seem all that strange.
(28) “And he left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him.”
Can I make an obvious point here?
Matthew just made a decision of which there is no reversal.
We know that Peter, Andrew, James and John all left their nets to follow Jesus
• They did it in Matthew 4.
• They did it again in Luke 5
• They did it again in John 21
Point being that they, at least for a time, always had fishing to fall back on.
When Matthew left this booth, there was no going back.
He had to pay a large sum of money to get that job,
And there would be no getting it back.
WHY WOULD MATTHEW LEAVE ALL OF THAT?
BECAUSE HE GAINED CHRIST!
Remember the parables we have so often talked about?
Matthew 13:44-46 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
Neither one of those men where honorable men.
• One was digging for treasure in a field he didn’t own, and when he found it,
instead of informing the land owner, he took advantage of the owner’s
ignorance and bought the field for a price less than it was worth.
• The other had only one goal, and that was to make money, for he was a
merchant, and he found a good deal. He knew the pearl was worth more
than the price it was being sold for.
Those were men who were only concerned about getting more.
THE ONLY THING that could have caused them to give up all that they owned
Was if giving up all that they had would allow them to secure even more.
Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like that.
Matthew is proof.
Matthew left a lucrative tax-collecting business
Because he saw the value of Jesus as greater value.
What is said about Moses in the book of Hebrews could also be said of Matthew here.
Hebrews 11:24-26 “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.”
Matthew understood value.
• And he recognized more value in forgiveness than in wealth,
• So when Jesus came calling, Matthew followed.
• This filthy tax collector did what a young wealthy synagogue ruler will later refuse to do. (Aka: the rich young ruler)
Matthew’s choice isn’t the strange one…his is obviously a good deal.
The strange choice is that Jesus would choose Matthew.
So right off the bat, WE’RE TALKING ABOUT being eligible for salvation
And we find out that Matthew the tax collector was indeed eligible.
We might not have guessed that by looking at him, but Jesus said He was.
A Strange Choice
#2 A SHOCKING CELEBRATION
Luke 5:29-30
Here again there are some parts of this story that aren’t shocking
And there some parts that are.
It is certainly no shock to us what Matthew does.
“And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a great crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them.”
THAT IS NOT SURPRISING.
Matthew just received the greatest offer of his life,
Certainly he is going to share what he has found with his friends.
MATTHEW IS CELEBRATING!
Why wouldn’t he?
Remember the man who lost a sheep?
Luke 15:5-6 “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’”
Remember the woman who lost here coin?
Luke 15:9 “When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’”
Remember the father who lost his son?
Luke 15:32 “But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.'”
That is why Matthew is rejoicing.
And can we also again just point out that
A FRUIT OF TRUE REDEMPTION IS EVANGELISM.
No one who has the light hides it under a bushel.
If you’ve got the light, you shine the light.
That is what Matthew is doing.
Furthermore we just realized that perhaps Matthew wasn’t as unlikely of an evangelist as we first thought.
• Matthew wasn’t welcome in a synagogue, but he didn’t go to the synagogue.
• Matthew wasn’t welcome in court, but he didn’t go to the courthouse.
Matthew was a tax collector and that is who Matthew went for.
And he invited all of these tax collectors to his house.
Luke says he also invited “other people”
Which seems rather nice since Matthew actually called them “sinners” in his gospel. (A title which the Pharisees obviously agree with)
This was no upstanding gathering.
The shocking part is that Jesus attended.
• These men were considered unholy
• These men were considered unclean
• These men were considered defiling
• And yet Jesus is in that house eating with them
(30) “The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?”
Well, we obviously see the mentality of the Pharisees.
They had no compassion whatsoever.
In fact, Matthew’s gospel includes a statement that Luke does not:
Matthew 9:13 “But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
These Pharisees didn’t care at all about these tax collectors
Or these other people as Luke calls them.
They were useless leaches to society that had no benefit,
And therefore it is a complete and total waste of time
For anyone who seeks to be near God to even associate with them in the least.
And yet here, Jesus is eating with them.
I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT TO ZOOM IN A LITTLE MORE ON THIS.
From my perspective it seems to me that
Christians are all over the place on this concept.
It seems to me that the pendulum often swings to one far side or the other, without very often landing where Jesus walked.
ON ONE HAND we have the crowd of Christians who, like the Pharisees, have no compassion.
• They seem to forget that we were left on this earth for the purpose of reaching even the vilest of sinners.
• They would rather stay in their social circle of Christianity with their Sunday suits and Easter dresses, but never be forced to come in contact with the “unclean” of this world.
• They live in fear of defilement
• They live in fear that their reputation might be harmed
• They live unconcerned about the wrath that abides on the wicked of the world.
That is a social “club like” form of Christianity
That was nothing like the Christianity of Jesus.
• Jesus dwelt among lost people.
• Jesus entered a world full of lost people.
• He walked our filthy earth and rubbed elbows with the most vile among us.
You are going to have a tough time being like Jesus
If you circle never leads across the path of the sinful and the wretched.
Consider what Paul said in that famous passage about church discipline:
1 Corinthians 5:9-10 “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.”
And yet there are a great many professing Christians
Whom Jesus saved out of sin,
Who now turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to the people that are still there.
That is obviously not like Christ.
ON THE OTHER HAND We also have a form of Christianity today that has made friendship with sinners the primary and really only goal.
They drip with compassion it’s just that they lack conviction.
They are so concerned with maintaining a friendship with sinners
That they are also content to let the sinners remain sinners
So long as the friendship stays intact.
The first group would not have gone to the party Matthew threw.
The second group would have gladly gone, but they would have only gone to eat and laugh.
That is also not what Jesus did.
• Jesus went, but this wasn’t a social visit.
• Jesus went, but this wasn’t just about making new friends.
• Jesus went, but this wasn’t about learning to identify and meet people where
they are.
In fact, in verse 32 Jesus explains exactly WHY He went to that party,
And that was “to call…sinners to repentance.”
You must understand something about the work of Christ.
He is called the friend of sinners.
But He did not come just to make friends.
He came to reconcile sinners back to God.
He couldn’t do that by avoiding sinners
And He couldn’t do that by just befriending them.
When we lack COMPASSION we fail to be like Christ.
When we lack CONVICTION we also fail to be like Christ.
The Pharisees obviously fell into the first group and that is why they couldn’t believe Jesus would attend that party.
• They are the people who wouldn’t rejoice with the man who found the sheep.
• They are the people who wouldn’t rejoice with the woman who found the coin.
• They are the brother who wouldn’t rejoice with the father who found his son.
They are totally ignorant of God’s redemptive heart.
And so they ask why Jesus would attend this banquet.
A Strange Choice, A Shocking Celebration
#3 A SOBERING CORRECTION
Luke 5:31-32
You just have to marvel at the simple wisdom of Jesus
To answer even the most controversial question.
WHY WOULD YOU GO ASSOCIATE WITH THOSE SINNERS?
And Jesus responds:
“That’s like asking a doctor why he associates with sick people.”
(31) “And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick.”
Imagine getting sick and calling your doctor…
• The receptionist answers and says, “How can I help you?”
• And you say, “I don’t feel good, I’d like to make an appointment.”
• And the receptionist responds, “I’m sorry Dr. so&so doesn’t see sick people, call us when you feel better.”
That’s absurd!
Well, then you understand the mission of Jesus.
Luke already revealed to us that Jesus is the One who can:
• Give grace to spiritual beggars
• Give forgiveness to captured criminals
• Give sight to the spiritually blind
• Give rest to the religiously burdened
• Give salvation to sinners
So what good would it do if Jesus refused to associate with blind criminals or with burdened beggars or with tax collectors and sinners?
From Jesus vantage point
The Pharisees just asked a really STUPID QUESTION.
And Jesus makes them look foolish with His answer.
And then He continues:
(32) “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
This is the spiritual reality behind the analogy He just gave.
Jesus didn’t come for the physically sick.
• He is called the Great Physician, but that has to do with His ministry of healing
men of sin, not His job to stop all physical infirmities.
Jesus came for sinners.
• He came to lead sinners to repentance.
And certainly that should clarify our calling
We are called to do the same.
But there is one more thing that is important to see here.
Had Jesus only said, “It is those who are sick who need a physician, I have come to call sinners to repentance.”
Then we would just understand that Jesus is clarifying His calling.
BUT THAT IS NOT ALL JESUS SAID.
He also threw in there a jab.
He added “It is not those who are well who need a physician…I have not come to call the righteous”
Jesus didn’t just reveal who He came to save,
But He also went out of His way to purposely reveal
Who He DID NOT come to save.
He included not only those who are eligible for salvation,
But He also revealed those who are ineligible for salvation.
According to Jesus who is ineligible for salvation?
“those who are well” or “the righteous”
Now you must UNDERSTAND THE SARCASM that Jesus is using here.
For Jesus knows full well that there is none who is righteous, not even one.
Jesus is revealing that while He is more than willing to save sinners
THERE IS A GROUP THAT HE WILL NOT SAVE
And that is those who don’t think they need it.
It is those who trust in their own righteousness.
We call them the self-righteous.
It is people like those in Nazareth who after Jesus insinuated that they were blind in need of salvation responded by saying, “Physician, heal Yourself!”
It is men like these Pharisees who in John 9 argue with Jesus that they most certainly are not blind.
John 9:40-41 “Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.”
People who refuse to see their own sinfulness
And who insist upon their own righteousness as adequate for salvation are ineligible for the salvation of Jesus.
It is only the poor in spirit who are eligible.
• If you come to Jesus in humility He will save you regardless of your sin,
• But if you approach Him in pride you will walk away empty handed.
Jesus just revealed that here.
SO LET’S JUST MAKE SURE WE GET THE POINT
• Jesus came to save repentant sinners regardless of their level of sin.
• Jesus saves those repentant sinners by leading them out of their sin and after Himself.
• His salvation of sinners is not just a promised tolerance of their sin, but rather a repentance of and a deliverance from that sin.
On the other hand
• Jesus refused to save sinners who would not repent.
• Their lack of repentance is EITHER because they loved their sin, OR because they refused to acknowledge that their sin was real.
• Either way, sinners who refuse repentance are ineligible for salvation.
Those people are like a sick man who refuses to go to the doctor,
Insisting that he is fine on his own.
Jesus came “to call…sinners to repentance”
Let that sink in.
• Jesus didn’t come to make you feel loved…
• Jesus didn’t come to just coddle you in your sin…
• Jesus came to reconcile you to God.
He came to lead you to repentance.
• Upon your repentance He came to grant you forgiveness of that sin.
• He then came to pay the penalty your sin has earned.
• And He came to give you His righteousness in return.
But if you won’t acknowledge you are a sinner or you won’t repent,
Then Jesus has nothing for you.
That is when you are rendered an ineligible candidate.
This morning I simply encourage you to leave it behind and run to Jesus.
