This week’s reading: Matthew 9:1-13
Hi Friends,
In this week’s reading, we are going to hear about some rather unusual things that Jesus did. But then again, this is the whole point, right? We humans tend to get everything backwards, so Jesus came to set it all straight. Listen to this wisdom:
“On hearing this, Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’” Mt 9:12-13 NIV
Which is easier to say? Let’s start in the beginning of our reading with these men who brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus, trusting that He would be willing and able to heal. We can also read this story, with some added information, in the Gospel of Mark 2:3-12 and the Gospel of Luke 5:18-26. In those two accounts of this story, we hear that these friends were so filled with Faith that they made an opening in the roof of the home where Jesus was teaching, so they could lower their paralyzed friend down to Him. Jesus makes note of their incredible Faith…let me pause here for a moment. Sometimes it is the Faith of others that lead to our breakthroughs, as in this example here. It was like they were not going to let anything stop them from bringing their friend into the Presence of Jesus. What an amazing act of love, don’t you agree? Yet do we have any friends who, might not be physically paralyzed, but sin has left them powerless and disabled. Perhaps they have never heard of Jesus. Wouldn’t it be awesome if we were like these four friends who wouldn’t let anything, not any awkwardness, not any potential rejection, not anything stop us from getting our friends into the Presence of Jesus? Just a thought. So these guys bring the paralytic to Jesus and immediately Jesus tells him…tells him what? He tells this man the unusual. Many would expect Jesus to have said something like, “You are healed, go and walk.” But instead Jesus talks about sin. How interesting. What is even more fascinating is, after He perceives what the Pharisees are saying in their hearts, He asks them “Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?” (Mt 9:5) If I am honest, I always thought getting up and walking was the harder of the two, but my goodness how wrong I was! When the Lord opened my understanding to these verses, and to why these Pharisees were having a meltdown at what Jesus said, it all made perfect sense to me. Healing someone physically is wonderful, but it is temporary since we will not live here on earth forever. Getting rid of someone’s sin debt, on the other hand, is an eternal-changing, forever life-giving act of pure Love. Perhaps we have all had this backwards, huh? We rather God fix all our worldly problems, but do we think twice about the sin we still embrace? For God, healing this paralytic was no big deal, but if Jesus did not take his sin away, then this guy would have only had this blessing for the time he spent here on earth. His eternity would still be in question. Jesus does the hardest thing first, by forgiving our sin, then He does the rest as we choose to work with Him. I am belaboring this point because we really have to make the most important thing, the most important thing in our lives, and this of course is Salvation. Once we are saved, we should desire that others come to Christ too, so He can save them as well. Physical healing in this world is awesome, but without spiritual healing? It means nothing.
Follow Me. We talked about who this Matthew (click link for more information) is and here we read about Jesus calling this tax collector to follow Him. This is another very unusual thing, isn’t it? I mean, he is an enemy to the Jewish community because he works for the detested Romans, and probably steals a little off the top from the Jew’s taxes for himself too. Why would Jesus pick this guy to follow Him? If you have never watched the series “The Chosen,” I certainly hope you will reconsider. The way they have depicted the interactions between the rest of the disciples and Matthew, this tax collector, has been genius so far. The show in NO WAY replaces the Bible, and yes they take many liberties because, well, it’s a show. But if you are like many, having this visual about the tension that must have happened by this calling of this particular Jew, is so very helpful to understand the depth of the love and mercy of Jesus. The Bible, and rightly so, is focused on Jesus, so we do not get the intricacies of the relationships of His followers. This is one of the greatest things about this project though, it not only shows the Humanity of our Lord, but also His very human interactions with each, and within each, of these relationships. Ok, back to the Bible. So Matthew drops everything and follows Jesus and they end up at his home for dinner. As I said above, when we truly encounter Jesus, we should naturally want to bring others to Him as well. And so Matthew invites his “sinner” friends to this dinner too. And in come the complaining Pharisees again! “How can Jesus be a holy Man if He is consorting with these sinful people?” Can you hear the self-righteous, judgmental hearts in what they say? I love how Jesus replies to their objections, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” (Mt 9:12) Have you ever been kind of sick, but refused to go to the doctor? I do this a lot, and have many reasons for it, but one of them I have to admit is Pride. I think I don’t need them! I can heal myself, thank you very much!! Could this be what is happening here with these Pharisees too? Absolutely! They did not think they, themselves, needed a doctor! After all, they were the strictest, most devoted members of the Jewish community, who prided themselves on how closely they followed the Talmud, that is the law and rituals! But notice I said, “prided themselves”? They could not possibly need this Rabbi’s help with anything! But this is our real disease, isn’t it? They thought that their life style made them righteous and holy and good and…and they had no need to change. This is so very dangerous, my Friends! Just because we attend church, read the Bible, do some good works, and so on, does NOT mean we have an open invitation to Heaven. As I always say, the heart of the matter is always a matter of the heart, and these guys had a very dark, prideful heart. If we do not go to this Divine Physician and receive the internal, spiritual healing we are desperate for, then as I said above, anything and everything else in this world means nothing.
I desire mercy. Jesus quotes Scripture to the Pharisees here from Hosea 6:6 which says, “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” Instead of reaching out in love to the lost and unaccepted, these Pharisees chose to disassociate with them, leaving them lost and unaccepted! So again, Jesus does the unusual, He shows great mercy by welcoming them with open arms! Just like the leper from last week’s reading, Jesus had no problem with reaching out and touching these people who had been tossed out by the religious as if their sin was contagious…and He still doesn’t have a problem with this, my Friends. Here’s the one of the countless beauties of God’s Holiness, He does not get infected with our sinfulness, but if we humble ourselves in His Presence, we can be impacted by His Love. And so Jesus eats with the sinners…and still does, if we will have Him! I love Revelation 3:20 where Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” You see, having a meal is one of the most intimate activities we can do with one another. It usually means good conversation and laughter in addition to the life-giving foods we share. Share. That’s an important word that I hope you will hang on to this week. Again, if we have truly encountered Jesus, then we should want to share Him with those around us. This doesn’t mean we have to preach the Word to every single person we meet…but it might. The key is to love God and desire to love others, then simply follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. He will tell us what to do, what and how to speak to others, and when to do it all. Not everyone will humble themselves to want to hear, but that is not our responsibility. That is between them and God. What is our part, is wanting to be like Jesus and doing the unusual, share the story of our Salvation with whoever is listening. This is a big part of my New Life in Christ…and I would not change it for the world. It is like I am already in Heaven when I am teaching and sharing His Word with others. The peace and joy are out of this world! I do hope you want this too so…won’t you join me?
Until we meet again, keep lifting your eyes to God, He’s closer than you think.
<>< Peace, Diane
