Matthew 9:9 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.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
The calling of Matthew is much like other stories in the gospels about Jesus calling his disciples, simple. We don’t get a passionate plea. We don’t get Paul in Athens. We get a simple request to follow. This probably had to do with difference in the culture of Greece and Israel. A rabbi calling you would have been a major event. It was something that all the disciples would have likely already been passed over for. Matthew had deserted his people to seek after money (as that was the view towards tax collectors for Rome). Jesus put him to the test: money or me? Jesus puts everyone to this test: ignore, destroy, or follow. He is a dividing line even within families. Later, (chapter 24) he will tell his disciples that some of their own parents will turn them in. When confronted with Jesus, we can bury our heads in the sand (ignore), try to attack him/his followers/his words (destroy), or we relent to his Lordship (follow).
The calling of Matthew is much like our calling. We are put to the test: our idols or Jesus? What are we going to do with him? The story of the man with the legion of demons is relevant here. After the exorcism (Mark 5:18-20), Jesus didn’t have to call the healed man, he called after Jesus. Jesus’ response was to not allow him to follow. Instead, he was sent on a mission (just as the healed paralytic had been). Unlike the paralytic, this man obeyed. To follow Jesus doesn’t mean you become homeless. It doesn’t mean you must become a missionary. It doesn’t mean you must become a martyr. It means you obey. It means you do what the rich young ruler could not do. While each trail is different, all go out from the Master only to come back to the Master. All end the old life and begin the new life. They way is never an add on. We don’t “accept Jesus” like we accept a new pair of shoes. I will wear this one on this occasion and that one on Sunday. Obedience is the universal call, though it will manifest in different ways for each of us. If your road isn’t narrow, you’re on the wrong one. If your road isn’t dangerous, you’re on the wrong one. Christianity isn’t comfortable. If your road is smooth, it leads to death. If you’re not on any road, he knows where to find you. He found Matthew collecting taxes against his own people. He found one disciple under a tree. He found some out fishing. He found one with many demons. He can find you. In the meantime, you can find him in the Scriptures. The parable of the Sower says that some early followers were consumed with the cares of this world. I’m afraid too many Christians have floated from following to ignoring him. We put on our Jesus shoes on Sunday, but dress, talk, watch, and act like the world the rest of the week. This isn’t following the Master but ignoring him. Get up and follow him, as Mathew did. This will make you die daily to your idols.
Good word and challenging!