Matthew 9:9-13 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.’[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
SOAP – Matthew 9:11-13
Matthew was a tax collector for the Romans. Although tax collectors were deeply despised by the Jews and considered outcasts, Jesus chose Matthew to be a disciple. Matthew invited Jesus to dinner, and Jesus was unashamed to eat with him and the sinners who attended. Jesus’ mission from God is to save sinners – to meet them where they are and offer new life and new hope in Him.
What efforts are you making to introduce unbelievers to Jesus like Matthew? Where are you struggling with judging, dismissing, and disregarding sinners like the Pharisees? Believers are called to represent Jesus to the lost. We are commanded to be light in a dark world, to stand for truth in a world of lies, and to be healing salt in a decaying culture. No soul is beyond God’s grace.
Father God, I thank You for loving and saving a sinner like me. Lord, give me Your heart and Your passion for the lost. Increase my willingness to extend my borders and open my home to those who don’t know You. Lord, help me to love like You love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.