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Manual of Early Evangelism Lesson 1 |
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Jesus' encounter with a
despised sinner
Matthew 9:9-17
Key text: "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’ " (Matthew 9:12-13).
Lesson objective: To understand that Jesus’ purpose and mission is centered on his redemptive work of bringing salvation to sinners. Yet, the salvation that Jesus brings upsets the status quo and often calls for a radical break from traditional religious norms.
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| The call of Matthew illustration by Alexandre Bida |
Introduction
The passage before us (Matt. 9:9-13) has to do with Jesus’ call to a sinner named Matthew, a despised tax collector. Matthew worked in the region of Capernaum, where Jesus lived (4:13; 9:1). And he would have undoubtedly seen Jesus or at least heard of him before their encounter.
Matthew was probably a customs officer at the border of Capernaum’s trade route. He was hated and despised by his own people for being a collaborator with imperial Rome and their puppet rulers. Jewish tax collectors were a notorious group and barred from the synagogues. They were an unscrupulous class that had bought or bribed to get their appointments to become very wealthy. They burdened their own people with excess tax, while bribing the wealthy and declaring less tax for them.
It is easy to see why the Pharisees were furious with Jesus’ apparent lax attitude in sharing a meal with Matthew and his kind (sinners). After all, does not Scripture state that the righteous is not to sit with deceitful men or with the wicked (e.g. Psalm 26:4-5)? It is amazing to see how Jesus responds the opposite of traditional norms. What the self-righteous Pharisees did not understand, and what many churched people today do not yet grasp, is that Jesus’ redemptive activity must be thrust into center stage. When seen from this perspective, the Pharisees are left void of their accusations. It is like telling a doctor not to get to close to the patient because he might get contaminated with the same condition as the patient or get blood on his hands!
The next passage is linked to the previous controversy, only this time it deals with the disciples of John the Baptist (Matthew 9:14-17). It seems that not all of John’s disciples were fully convinced that Jesus was the Christ. Yet they were sincere, and this is probably why Jesus takes time to explain to them new changes already present on the horizon of his redemptive mission. The disciples of John and the disciples of Moses (Pharisees) fasted on a regular basis. The Pharisees fasted on Mondays and Thursdays, and the disciples of John apparently did, too. The Pharisees were religious fundamentalists who sought to separate themselves from everything they deemed "worldly." John’s disciples were most likely apocalyptic, that is, gloom and doom last-days prophets.
But Jesus’ disciples were radically different as they were filled with the presence of their Master’s joy! Who can possibly fast when sinners are being saved? Who can separate themselves from the world when salvation is laid at its front door? Who can preach gloom and doom when the message of salvation is good news? No, the old religious patterns of yesterday’s old covenant will not hold the new wine of today’s new covenant gospel of Jesus.
In both the above passages, Jesus is not concerned with maintaining past shadows for ritual’s sake alone as much as he is concerned with the reality of showing mercy by sharing the good news of God’s saving grace (9:35-38).
Questions for Bible study
Read the following verses and respond to the questions:
1. Matthew 9:9-13
a. What area was Jesus passing through when he came upon Matthew? v. 9a. See 4:13 and 9:1. Where was Matthew sitting? v. 9b. What profession was he in?
b. What does Jesus say to Matthew? v. 9c. Does Jesus want Matthew to go somewhere with him, or is there a much deeper meaning to Jesus’ words?
c. What is Matthew’s response? v. 9d. What does his response mean? Could he have responded differently? See 19:21, 22.
d. What was going on at Matthew’s house? v. 10. Who were present at the house? Why do you think that undesirables were there?
e. Who else was there, and why was this group upset with Jesus’ disciples? v. 11. Would you also be upset? Why?
f. What is Jesus’ response to them? v. 12. What does a doctor have to do with what is going on? Is someone sick?
g. Who is Jesus addressing here, and why? v. 13. How healthy were the Pharisees? Are they among the righteous who do not need Jesus? Are you? Who is? See Romans 3:9-10, 19-20, 23.
2. Luke 19:1-10
a. Where was Jesus passing through? v. 1. Who else was there, and what was his profession? v. 2.
b. What is it that Zacchaeus wants to do? v. 3a. Why is he having trouble? v. 3b. What solution does he find? v. 4. Why?
c. What happens next, and what does Jesus say to him? v. 5. Why does Jesus insist on this matter?
d. What is Zacchaeus’ response? v. 6. What was his attitude toward Jesus: fearful or joyful? Why?
e. What was the attitude of the people who heard Jesus’ invitation to Zacchaeus? v. 7. Why?
f. What attitude does Zacchaeus demonstrate at Jesus’ invitation? v. 8. Did Jesus tell him to make restitution in this manner, or does Zacchaeus follow Jewish custom? See Exodus 22:1; 2 Samuel 12:5-6. Does he do this legalistically or joyfully? Explain the difference.
g. What had come to this house? v. 9a. Explain. Why was Zacchaeus excluded by his own people but accepted by Jesus? v. 9b.
h. What does Jesus say is the purpose and mission of his first coming? v. 10. How does he accomplish this task with Zacchaeus?
3. Matthew 9:14-17
a. What question do the disciples of John ask Jesus? v. 14. What do you think is their motivation for asking such a question on this topic?
b. What answer does Jesus give them? v. 15a. What does Jesus mean by the analogy of a wedding feast? What does Jesus mean by the bridegroom being taken away? v. 15b. Is he speaking of his death, or his Second Advent? Explain how the disciples would have understood this.
c. What does Jesus mean by these two short parables? vv. 16, 17. What great truth are they designed to teach?
Contemporary interaction:
Respond to the following questions:
1. As committed followers of Christ, what can we learn from Jesus’ availability and approach in sharing the good news of his presence to Matthew and Zacchaeus?
2. What kind of negative response to our endeavors can we expect from some within our own church community? Can you give a discrete example?
3. How did Jesus follow up his call in each of the above cases? What can we learn from this in integrating new believers into the fold?
4. Is Jesus message to sinners one of condemnation, or one of joy? Why can’t old traditions hold the new wine of the gospel? Give examples.
5. What is Jesus’ motivation for seeking the lost, and what challenge does he lay at his disciples’ front door and to every generation? See Matthew 9:35-38.
Conclusion:
Jesus’ purpose and mission is the salvation of the lost. His encounters with despised sinners and society’s outcasts are centered on his redemptive activity in sharing the joy of his presence. We are disciples of the gospel of his new wine!
Lorenzo Arroyo,
2004
