Jesus Vs. Sinners – part 1 (Matthew 9:9-13)
Jesus Vs Sinners – Part 1
Matthew 9:9-17 (9-13)
Thus far we have seen Jesus take on a host of problems.
• Everything from full blown leprosy
• To Paralysis (twice)
• To a Fever
• To a Tsunami
• He even defeated an entire army of demons
Thus far nothing has been much of an obstacle for Jesus.
He has systematically reversed the effects of sin over and over and over.
But this morning Jesus is up against His biggest challenge.
This is not Jesus vs. Sin
This is Jesus vs. Sinners
And while Jesus defeats sin every time He encounters it,
It is well documented that sinners gave Jesus all sorts of trouble.
I’m reminded of the visit back to His hometown.
Mark 6:1-6 “Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.” And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief.”
And of course we are familiar with Jesus weeping over Jerusalem.
Matthew 23:37-39 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. “Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! “For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!'”
And how many more instances like this do we see in the Scriptures.
• The scribe who loved comfort?
• The disciple who wanted his inheritance?
• The entire mob of John 6 who only wanted bread to eat?
• The rich young ruler who loved his money?
• Or even Judas who knew Him personally and still refused to believe?
It is clear that Jesus had no problem dealing with sin,
But it was sinners who gave Him trouble.
That is of course not to say that Jesus could not have flexed His muscle
And forced any and all of them to instantly bow to His will.
He could have. (Ask the soldiers who tried to arrest Him)
The problem was that when given the opportunity
Men repeatedly did not want the freedom that Jesus offered.
And this is really the problem of humanity.
One could almost say that sin is not man’s biggest problem.
(For we are well aware by now that Jesus can deal with sin)
Man’s biggest problem is love of sin.
The problem with most people that we find
Is not that they don’t know what to do with their sin.
The church has had that answer for 2,000 years.
The person we have had no answer for is
The person who recognizes sin yet wants to keep it anyway.
There is nothing you can do for that person.
This morning we see Jesus in action as He deals with sinful men.
And what we get here are three different scenarios.
Three different confrontations.
In this text Jesus deals with three types of people.
THE PROVEN SINNERS (9-10)
Matthew and his tax collector friends. Those everyone recognizes as
sinners.
THE PAPER SAINTS (11-13)
The Pharisees. These are those who look good on paper, but in reality
aren’t as good as they suppose. God is not nearly as pleased with these
people as they are with themselves.
THE PROGRAMMED STUDENTS (14-17)
John’s disciples. These are those who are confused. They see religion as
an acceptable substitute for a relationship with God. They are legalistic and
are having difficulty trusting Christ.
Let’s look at how Jesus deals with them.
(we won’t make it all the way through, but we will finish it later)
#1 THE PROVEN SINNERS
Matthew 9:9-10
We have in this group Matthew who according to verse 9
Was “sitting in a tax collector’s booth”
And that really says all that you need to know
About Matthew’s choice in life.
Becoming a tax collector in Matthew’s day
Was sort of like buying into a franchise today.
You simply saw the investment as an opportunity to make money,
And so you bought into the business.
And while the business was extremely lucrative, it was also despised.
For a Roman tax collector was not like today’s IRS agent.
Matthew was taking money from Jews and giving it to Rome.
And that would have been bad enough, but Matthew
(as did all tax collectors) was going even further.
A tax collector made income by taking more than was required,
And even to tax things that did not require it.
For Example: Rome may have required a tax on every fishing boat of $5.
• So a tax collector would charge him a tax of $7
• Then the tax collector would charge him a tax on the fish he caught.
• Then the tax collector would charge him an income tax on the fish he sold.
• Then the tax collector would charge him a tax to dock his boat.
And really the tax collector could tax him any other way he wanted.
You might be wondering how he got away with it.
He did so because he was an employ of the Roman government
And therefore had the Roman army to enforce his rulings.
THE TAX COLLECTOR WAS WORSE THAN A ROMAN.
He sold out his own countrymen and took money dishonestly
Just to pad his own pockets.
It was greed, extortion, terrorism, deceit, bullying, and oppression
All rolled into one job.
And we know that is what Matthew was.
Of course in verse 10 we are confronted with even more of them.
“behold many tax collectors and sinners came”
So now we have many tax collectors and beyond that
We have also added “sinners”
In the church we sort of use the word “sinners” to speak of everyone. Romans 3:23 has taught us that we are all sinners.
But in Jesus day the term “sinners” was a term
Reserved only for the most vile of society.
This was the prostitutes, the drunkards, the immoral, the scum of Israel.
It is because they are so vile that we are amazed at what happens here.
• Jesus has just forgiven the paralytic
• The crowd was amazed that He could forgive sin
• Obviously the tax collector knew what was going on
• And obviously Matthew was intrigued
And as Jesus walked by the Scripture says, “He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth;”
I love it when the Scripture says that Jesus “saw” someone.
You’ll see it again at the end of the chapter.
Matthew 9:36 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”
And what is clear on this day is that when Jesus “saw…Matthew” He obviously saw that Matthew wanted what He had to offer.
Matthew had heard about Jesus ability to forgive sin,
And he wanted that forgiveness.
Jesus saw that in this man, and that is why the sermon is so short.
• There was no conviction of sin (Matthew was already convicted)
• There was no threat of judgment (Matthew was already afraid)
• There was no thesis on Jesus ability (Matthew was already convinced)
Jesus just said, “Follow Me!”
And please note this was Jesus invitation.
It wasn’t to simply believe…
It wasn’t to be willing to go to heaven…
It wasn’t even to have life abundant…
Jesus simple invitation was “Follow Me!”
Because we are familiar with the conversation with the scribe in chapter 8
This was a following that promised a man to be homeless
Possibly even to leave his family and never collect his inheritance.
Jesus was asking Matthew to leave his life.
(And by the way if Matthew left that booth, he would never be allowed to return)
It was repentance, it was faith, it was commitment all rolled up into one.
We call it saving faith.
And Matthew “got up and followed Him”
And then Matthew threw a party for Him in his house.
(10) “Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples.”
(Both Mark and Luke reveal that this was Matthew’s house were the party was.)
So not only does Matthew leave his job as a tax collector
But he instantly gathers everyone else he knows
That would like forgiveness and introduces them to Jesus as well.
And the sheer fact that they all come indicates that they are interested.
And so to many people’s surprise
Jesus didn’t have any difficulty at all with the Proven Sinners.
Those people who were aware of their guilt flocked to Jesus.
Those people who were aware of their sin ran to Jesus.
And the only invitation they received was “Follow Me!”
So friend if you are at a point
Where you have made more mistakes than you care to admit.
If you are in such a way where everyone is aware of your sin,
And all you want is forgiveness.
Let me give you the good news.
Jesus can forgive you. Jesus will forgive you.
And His invitation is “Follow Me!”
Let go of your old lifestyle of sin.
Leave your tax booth
And commit your life to Christ.
It is that simple and the proven sinners were doing it in groves.
Well goodness if Jesus was that successful with the proven sinners
One might assume that the other two groups will be a piece of cake.
Not so!
#2 THE PAPER SAINTS
Matthew 9:11-13
To see this group I really only have to give you one word.
“Pharisees”
(11) “When the Pharisees saw this”
If you aren’t familiar with the Pharisees just understand that
No one was prouder of themselves than the Pharisees.
• Originated during struggle for independence from Greece
• Stood against Greek influence in Israel
• Actually helped Israel win her independence
The problem of course was their passion took them way too far
And they considered themselves as more important than everyone else.
Of course Jesus never pulled any punches.
Matthew 23:1-7 “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.”
So you know the Pharisees to have been very religious in all respects.
They appeared (on the outside at least)
To be the exact opposite to the sinners of verses 9 & 10.
These men loved Israel, these men detested those filthy sins,
They would have never committed those vile acts.
And that is why I call them “Paper Saints”
Because on paper no one looked better than a Pharisee.
Here one would expect that if Jesus can reach the vilest of sinners
Surely the religious would pose no threat, but that isn’t the case.
(11) “When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with tax collectors and sinners?”
Now that is interesting on a number of levels.
First, they don’t go to Jesus with their question.
• They don’t want the truth
• They want to destroy Jesus
• This is an underhanded, back door, gossip manuever
Secondly, it gives us great insight into the spiritual condition of Israel.
These were the spiritual leaders of Israel, and they couldn’t even figure out why Jesus would associate with these people.
It is no wonder that at the end of the chapter Jesus sees the people as “distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd”
The shepherds of Israel could care less about the lost sheep.
AND SO JESUS CONFRONTS THESE COWARDLY SHEEP KILLERS
(12-13) “But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. “But go and learn what this means: ‘ I DESIRE COMPASSION,AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Here Jesus exposes them in three ways.
1) YOU DON’T GRASP GOD’S MINISTRY (12)
“It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.”
And it really couldn’t get any clearer than that.
Healthy people don’t call for a doctor.
No one takes chemo unless they have to.
And that is Jesus’ point.
WHO WOULD YOU HAVE ME GO TO?
You see among other things the Pharisees are probably a little jealous
That instead of choosing to dine with them,
Jesus chose to dine with the tax collectors and sinners.
But Jesus responds that that only makes sense.
You don’t think you are sick, so you wouldn’t listen to a doctor.
They know they are sick, and so I must go to them.
So they didn’t grasp God’s ministry.
2) YOU DON’T GRASP GOD’S MESSAGE (13a)
“But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’”
Jesus here quotes from Hosea, reminding the Pharisees that
Of all their religion, none of it was what God really wanted.
If you could ever make one accurate statement about the Pharisees
It is that they always missed the point.
Matthew 23:23-24 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!”
DID THEY REALLY SUPPOSE THEY WERE LIKE GOD BECAUSE OF ALL THEIR RELIGION, WHEN THEY SHOWED NOTHING OF THE COMPASSION OF GOD IN THEIR LIVES?
Despite all their study of the Old Testament,
They had obviously failed to ever understand God’s message.
God’s message is all about redemption, not destruction.
Even when you read those difficult passages of judgment in Scripture
You are quickly aware that the only reason God gives them is because
He is trying to persuade men into repentance so that they won’t be judged.
God is a God of great compassion.
And yet the Pharisees didn’t get that at all.
3) YOU DON’T GRASP GOD’S MISSION (13b)
“for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
• It wasn’t for the righteous that Christ relinquished His glory and stepped out of heaven.
• It wasn’t for the righteous that Christ suffered the temptation of Satan.
• It wasn’t for the righteous that Christ endured the hostility of man.
• It wasn’t for the righteous that Christ submitted to death on a cross.
The righteous didn’t need it.
Christ came for sinners.
Christ suffered for sinners.
Christ endured for sinners.
Christ died for sinners.
1 Timothy 1:15 “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.”
SO WHY WOULD THEY EXPECT JESUS TO COME AND HANG OUT WITH THEM?
They already thought themselves to be righteous.
That is like preparing to go on a mission trip to reach the Lozi people
And when you get in Africa the missionary over there upset because
You spent so much time with the Lozi and not enough time with them.
It would be to fully misunderstand God’s mission.
And the Pharisees obviously did.
AND SO THESE MEN OBVIOUSLY HAD A PROBLEM.
• These men didn’t understand the message of God.
• These men didn’t understand the mission of God.
• These men didn’t understand true ministry.
• And in fact all they really wanted to do was stand in the way of it.
They were convinced that they were already pleasing to God
And so they saw no need for a savior.
And there we learn a valuable lesson.
A man doesn’t come to Christ unless he fully understands
The gravity of his sin and his desperate need for forgiveness.
If you are here today and you are not the least bit concerned or convicted about your sin, then Jesus has absolutely no appeal to you.
And that is why the invitation that Jesus gives these Paper Saints
Differs greatly from the one He gave the Proven Sinners.
• He told the Proven Sinners “Follow Me!”
• But look at what He told the Paper Saints, “Go and learn”
You see, they needed to go and spend time in God’s word
And get convicted of their sin, because in their present state
They were in no way ready for a savior.
And even though there is a third group to deal with later,
Take just a moment here and understand the point.
We know beyond a shadow of a doubt who Jesus is.
He can undo sickness
He can undo fallen creation
He can undo demonic possession
He can forgive sin
He is everything we are looking for.
BUT WHO IS HE LOOKING FOR?
Jesus is looking, not for the perfect,
But rather for those who know they are not.
Luke 18:9-14 “And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Psalms 34:18 “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Psalms 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”
God is looking for the broken.
God is looking for those who recognize their sin.
Now don’t let that translate into some sort of theology
That makes you believe your sin is ok.
Jesus will call everyone of those sinners out of that sin
And begin to work sanctification out in them.
But He looked initially for sinners
Because they were the ones who knew they needed Him.
If you think for one minute that you are able
To make yourself attractive to Jesus through all your
Religious ordinances and churchy garb you are mistaken.
No one looked better on the outside than a Pharisee
And Jesus all but ignored them.
It is not about how attractive you are to Jesus.
It is about how attractive Jesus is to you.
And no one is more attracted to Jesus
Than a sinner who can’t seem to get out of their sin.
So this morning if you are stuck in sin, then look to Jesus.
Simply leave your life of sin and follow Him.
But this morning if you are completely unaware of your sin.
Then go and immerse yourself in Scripture, see your sin, and then come to Jesus.
Because while Jesus willfully saves sinners,
He also adamantly rejects the righteous.
So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God
That He may exalt you at the proper time.
Matthew 9:12 “But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.”
