Follow Me!

June 3, 2008 by admin.

In Christ Jesus, the only Way that leads to our salvation, dear fellow-redeemed,

The statement is so straightforward and simplistic, we’re often tempted to just slide by it (v 9), “‘Follow me,’ he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.” Was this some kind of mind control being displayed by Jesus, some divine power that caused Matthew to drop everything and follow after our Lord? No doubt Matthew had heard about Jesus and the gracious words of forgiveness that he had spoken, but those words wouldn’t have meant anything to Matthew unless he had first realized the tremendous burden he had been carrying in his heart.

Matthew was a tax collector, a Jewish man chosen by the Romans to gather in taxes from his fellow Jews. And the Romans loved to tax everything — clothing, food, land, slaves — you name it! You can imagine that these tax collectors weren’t local favorites, working for “the enemy” and taking their hard-earned dollars. Add to it that many of these tax collectors were crooked individuals known for inflating the price of merchandise and taxing it accordingly, just to line their own pockets with extra profit, and you see why they’re often lumped together with “pagans” in Scripture.

Like all tax collectors, Matthew suffered shame and disgrace because of his vocation. He wasn’t allowed into the synagogue for worship, in addition to being treated as an outcast by his own people. We’re not told that Matthew personally was a shady character known for taking advantage of people, but you have to wonder what else was weighing on his conscience that day. What led him to so quickly take Jesus up on his offer? We may not know the specifics, but what we do know is this: Matthew realized that he was a sinner. He knew he needed help. He knew he had no answers of his own, and here before him was the one sent “to seek and to save the lost” (Lk 19:10). His was an invitation Matthew couldn’t pass up.

This morning we rejoice, not only for Matthew, but also for ourselves, because we also have received our Lord’s invitation. This morning he says to each one of us:

“Follow Me!”

I. An invitation meant only for those sick with sin

II. A call meant only for those saved from sin

The account before us this morning occurred early in Jesus’ ministry. While up in Galilee, he had been giving evidence of his divine authority by healing a great number of people. He had just finished taking care of a paralyzed man, the one whom his friends had lowered down through the roof to get close to Jesus. Not only did Jesus make it possible for this man to walk again, but he offered him something even more important. He said to him (Mt 9:2), “Take heart, son, your sins are forgiven.” What a happy day, right? Not in the eyes of the Pharisees! These self-proclaimed religious “know-it-all’s” rained on the parade by accusing Jesus of blasphemy, of making himself out to be God! Keep this in mind when we come back to these same Pharisees a bit later as they continue to stick their noses in Jesus’ business.

Jesus wasn’t about to let a little opposition deter him from his mission. That’s why he goes on to issue his invitation to Matthew, the tax collector. He knew that Matthew was sick – sick with sin – and only he as the Savior had the antidote. And there was enough to go around for everyone who needed it.

Good thing, too, because Matthew had some friends for Jesus to meet who were as sick as he was. So he issues an invitation of his own to Jesus, inviting him over for dinner (v 10), “While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and ‘sinners’ came and ate with him and his disciples.” A motley crew indeed! You might say it was a whole houseful of Matthews! Here the word “sinners” has the connotation of social degenerate. This designation could have included everyone from prostitutes and thieves to those who were just guilty by associating with tax collectors and other social rejects. Even with various backgrounds and their own unique stories to tell, they still had one thing in common – they were all sinners.

It didn’t take long for the Pharisees to log their complaint (v 11), “When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and “sinners”?’” In those days sharing a meal with someone was one of the closest expressions of fellowship you could make. The Pharisees wouldn’t be caught dead in the company of such lowlifes, and they wanted to know how Jesus could lower himself to such a level. Even though they couldn’t stand Jesus, still they were miffed because he was wasting his time with these “sinners” while neglecting to hold an audience with them.

Why didn’t Jesus spend time with these Pharisees? Why didn’t he invite them to follow him? Because his was an invitation meant only for sinners, and the Pharisees didn’t think they fell into that category. They didn’t think they were sick. So Jesus explains why they were left out (v 12), “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” Jesus’ invitation was meant only for sinners. Matthew and his friends knew they were sick. The Pharisees claimed otherwise. Jesus came with a cure – in Matthew’s case, he even made house calls! He came calling with the medicine of his blood and righteousness, through which he could heal all people with the balm of forgiveness. But the Pharisees rejected the cure. In their eyes they were just fine, able to save themselves from the cancer of sin. Little did they know, they erred in their self-diagnosis, and the result would be deadly.

Jesus still comes calling today with his invitation, “Follow me.” And, just as in Matthew’s day, that invitation is meant only for those who know they are sick with sin. Unfortunately, the world around us is intent on convincing people that they’re not sick, that there’s nothing wrong with them, and that anyone who would tell them otherwise is out-of-line and judgmental. What’s even worse, this faulty and fatal perception is also being perpetuated in the religious realm, even among many Christian churches. No one wants to talk about the sickness of sin, choosing instead to ignore such negative thinking in light of offering more of a “feel good” message instead. Just check out the sermons of the popular TV preachers today, and let me know how often you hear self-esteem being promoted and sin being ignored. No one likes to hear they’re sick. No one wants to hear they’re a sinner.

But unless we know how sick we are, we’ll never appreciate how precious our Savior’s cure is. Until we realize how helpless we are in producing a cure, we’ll never long for the cure found only in the blood of Jesus. Unless we take a long, hard look at the x-ray of God’s law and see how terminally ill we are, we’ll never treasure the antidote of God’s grace. So don’t be surprised when you come here to Messiah and you get a dose of reality in all its ugliness dumped on you every Sunday by hearing over and over again that you’re a sinner. Then and only then will you appreciate the joy of hearing Jesus say to you, “Follow me.”

Jesus’ invitation to Matthew actually served a twofold purpose. Not only was he inviting him to receive the solution to his sinfulness, but he was also issuing him a call – a call meant only for those saved from sin.

Take note again of how Matthew responded to Jesus’ invitation, “Matthew got up and followed him.” The verb tense used in the original Greek language indicates that his following of Jesus began at that moment and continued uninterrupted into the future. In his account, Luke adds the information that Matthew “left everything” to follow Jesus (Lk 5:28). He left his counting table and everything else behind to serve his Savior, no longer collecting taxes but now eager to collect souls for his Lord!

Matthew started his ministry at home with a little “friendship evangelism,” inviting his friends and coworkers over to meet Jesus. We can just picture how elated he was, realizing what a difference Jesus had made in his life and now being so anxious to share his joy with those around him! So it works with us too. We know what we were and what we are now because of Jesus. We’re satisfied customers, and everyone knows that satisfied customers make the best salesmen. Just like Matthew, we know that we’ve been called to share our Lord’s cure with the world!

This is where the Pharisees got it all wrong. Jesus concludes by telling them (v 13), “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” You heard me read those words earlier as part of the First Lesson for today. They were first spoken by the Lord to the hypocritical Israelites in the Old Testament who continued to make sacrifices and carry out other outward signs of worship even though their hearts weren’t in it. That’s the same pit the Pharisees had fallen into. On the outside they prided themselves in keeping God’s laws, but their sacrifices were empty of mercy, as evidenced in the fact that they protested Jesus’ healing of the paralyzed man along with many others. They had refused mercy to sinners. They refused to heed Jesus’ invitation to forgiveness and his call to service. In their own eyes they considered themselves “righteous.” Jesus only wanted sinners – saved sinners – to serve in his kingdom.

Today I want you to take home with you the positive example of Matthew in heeding the Lord’s call, while recognizing the error of the Pharisees and their attitude towards worship. Sometimes we tend to think that our service to God only has to do with attending church, reading the Bible on occasion, saying some prayers, and plunking a few dollars into the collection plates each week. But the Lord wants more than our outward sacrifices. He once told his prophet Ezekiel (Eze 33:11), “My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain.” Lip service is just pharisaical hypocrisy. God wants more – he wants our hearts! He wants us to take to heart what we’ve learned, to appreciate our Savior’s forgiveness, to abandon our sinful lives, to make changes in line with his will, and to seek out ways to serve him by reaching out to others. We’re all equipped to do so, because Jesus’ call was meant only for those saved from sin, and we all fall into that category.

So did Matthew. While recognizing his sinfulness, by the power of the Holy Spirit, he also recognized his Savior and heeded his call to “follow me.” Tradition has it that, in addition to writing the Gospel that bears his name, Matthew ended up doing mission work in Ethiopia where he was either burned to death, stoned, or beheaded – just for following Jesus! For Matthew it was all worth it, for as sick as he was with sin, he was healed by Jesus, and he considered it a privilege to serve him. May we also heed his invitation and his call, always considering it a joy and a privilege to hear our Savior say to each of us, “Follow me.”

Amen

–Rev. Jonathan Rockhoff

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