9:9-13 Matthew's Cameo Matthew has been writing his gospel with the express purpose of making the Jews aware that Jesus is the Christ. He's been quoting the Messianic passages to prove that the entirety of God's word promised from Genesis to Malachi was referring to Jesus. Now,we get to the part where Jesus calls a tax collector to follow him. You have to understand that the most devoted followers of God would hate Matthew. His occupation as a tax collector made him a deeply hated man all,over. When Jesus called him it was a shock. There's no way Matthew would have approached Jesus, adding him to the group assured that scribes and Pharisees would have more reason to hate Jesus. Now here's the point of what Matthew did, He immediately left his career to follow Jesus, and this outreach Jesus did gave Him an audience of the friends and associates of Matthew at a dinner. There are some people who will just not be won to Christ by a pastor, an elder or deacon. Matthew was a part of a population of shunned people. His friends would have been other tax collectors and even some Romans. It took an invitation from a sinner to arrange that dinner. For many people, the first year of becoming a Christian is when you still have contact with lost friends that you may still have influence over. It's the time when an addict is most convinced of their decision to follow Jesus and the greater likelihood of sharing the gospel with them. Later on as the Holy Spirit begins encouraging growth for the new believer but some of that believer's friends remain entrenched in their sin that a separation occurs. Former friendships are lost and the people the new Christian chooses to hang around increasingly become other Christians. So when Jesus is there eating with and teaching those the religious establishment considers unworthy, the scribes and Pharisees do their thing and begin asking why, if He's such a Godly man why is he associating with sinners? Jesus says that the sinners are why He's here. He's not there to coddle the religious leaders who insist they are righteous. He's there for the sinners to welcome them into the kingdom. Then He quotes Hosea 6:6 [6] For I desire compassion rather than sacrifice, And the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. In Hosea's time, the people were consistent in their commitment to sacrifice, to the rituals but they were not worshipping from the heart. Jesus is warning them, God has always preferred His people serve not to complete a ritual but to be genuine in their expression of love to God and others. And the leaders in Jesus’ day were guilty of the same thing. They believed that their adherence to the Law gave them the right to judge others as being ‘less’ than they. Its the same today and is why Porch Ministries exists. To go to those that today's leaders consider unworthy of pursuit. To meet on our porches to talk about Jesus. To be a place that sincere people can meet and learn without the stigma of entering a ‘church’ building. Porch Ministries is currently working in St. Cloud,Fl, and in places as far away as the Philippines. For information on how you can participate, please send inquiries to DavidsPorch59[gmail].com. Matthew 9:9-13 [9] As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew sitting in the tax collector’s office; and He *said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him. [10] Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and began dining with Jesus and His disciples. [11] And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” [12] But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. [13] Now go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, rather than sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”