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Unconventional But Consistent

Text: Matthew 9 : 9 - 13

Jesus was as unconventional as the scribes and Pharisees were traditional! More than just being unconventional, He was unafraid to practice what He preached! It is one thing to be merely unconventional. It is another thing to be totally consistent with Himself and all that He taught. Jesus was able to do both in the most remarkable manner.

THE CALLING OF AN UNLIKELY DISCIPLE

A scribe who applied to be a disciple was turned down. A wavering disciple was encouraged to persevere. These were some of the puzzling things that Jesus did! If His life and ministry had not been blameless, even more controversies would have been sparked. How did Jesus choose people to become disciples anyway? We have another classically puzzling incident of Jesus choosing disciples in this text.

“As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man
named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He
said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ So he arose and followed Him.”
Matthew 9:9

What did Jesus see in Matthew? On what basis had He chosen him? Let us ponder over the following thoughts.

1. The Focus is Not on the Person Called

We are sometimes taken aback at what Jesus did, because we focus on the wrong things. If we are talking about the subject of discipleship, we tend to think in terms of the potential of the disciple. That is not a totally invalid consideration. However, it is not the main consideration at all.

2. The Focus should be on the Person doing the calling

The focus should always have been on the Person of the Lord Jesus in the first place. He had spoken infallibly. He had led unerringly. Nothing was out of place in His life and ministry. Surely that should call for a greater sense of faith and trust in Him! He had proven Himself to be an excellent reader of people’s hearts!

The work of disciplining depends much on the Teacher, rather than on the pupil. It is the Teacher who is able to make a pupil an outstanding servant of God!

3. The Fullness of Time

One of the most unlikely candidates to succeed surely must have been this man called Matthew. He was a tax collector. He belonged to a profession hated and despised by just about everybody in Israel. He was seen as a collaborator of the Romans. The evil reputation of most of the tax collectors did Matthew’s personal reputation no good.

However, time proved that Jesus was right in calling him to be a disciple. This man would one day become the synoptist author of a Gospel named after him.

IN THE COMPANY OF KNOWN SINNERS

If His calling of Matthew wasn’t strange enough, Jesus ate with people whom the scribes and Pharisees would never associate with.

“Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table
in the house, that behold, many tax collectors
and sinners came and sat down with Him and
His disciples.”
Matthew 9:10

What was Jesus doing? Why did He associate with the tax-collectors and sinners? Couldn’t He have chosen “better company” to have a meal with? Would His association with these people not tarnish His good name somehow?

HURLING CRITICAL REMARKS

Soon critical remarks were heard. The Pharisees, a group of people sworn to keeping themselves apart from others they considered unworthy and sinful, were questioning the disciples.

“And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to
His disciples, ‘Why does Your Teacher eat with
tax collectors and sinners?'”
Matthew 9:11

Their attitude and their line of criticism were typical and to be expected. They decried other people’s way of ministry. Anything that they didn’t approve of was sharply criticized. The sneer in the words of the Pharisees was unmistakable. They disapproved of Jesus and his friendship with the sinful! Perhaps He was like them too, if He liked their fellowship so much.

AN UNANSWERABLE CLASSIC REPLY

Jesus was not at a loss for words. He knew what He was doing. His classic reply caused the Pharisees to be dumbfounded.

“When Jesus heard that, He said to them,
‘Those who are well have no need of a
physician, but those who are sick. But go
and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy
and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call
the righteous, but sinners to repentance.'”
Matthew 9:12-13

The words of Jesus were unanswerable! His logic was faultless. Why did He go to the tax collectors and sinners? Because they may indeed be compared to the sick. They needed Someone who could make them well! Had not they learned why He healed the sick? He was that Divine Physician! He forgave sins and healed souls too!