Summer 2011 Bible Study: Week 4 Day 5

Well hello again my friends! Well, I must tell you, the water park, a three year old and almost 50 middle school and high school students, made for a really fun day yesterday. My son isn't a huge fan of the water, or hasn't been, until recently, until yesterday! I could not get that little man out of the water! He played and played and played. He went on a few rides, he swam, he splashed, it was a really fun day. And I did something I hardly ever do, I went out, on an adventure with this little man and didn't bring a camera! I did not capture a single moment from yesterday on film. And for me, that is very rare.

Looking back on my lack of picture taking, I find myself blessed with sweet memories and a day full of playing with my son rather than watching and pictures taking. I am often more comfortable taking pictures and watching him play. But, I will admit, the Lord stretched me, and I, pregnant and all, had a really good time playing with him and the other kids. It was such a sweet day for me.

And in the midst of it all, I read the Word over and over and even managed to do a little research. So, are we ready to dive into the same story, told in three different places?

Lord, reveal Your Word to me. Teach me. Keep me awake today as I go about my day. Remove bitterness from my heart and flood me with peace. Amen.

It is important to note a little bit about the Gospels we will be jumping in and out of during our time together. You see, Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the "synoptic" gospels, because they give a synopsis of most of the same events from the life of Jesus. John stands on its own, filling in gaps that the others leave out. Each one of these gospels was written for a different audience and emphasizes different things about Jesus. The Gospel of Matthew was written primarily for the Jews and emphasized how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of a kingly Messiah. Mark was written primarily for Roman or Gentile Christians, so it includes few Old Testament prophecies, and explains many Jewish words and customs. Jesus is portrayed in Mark as the Divine Servant. Luke was also written primarily for Gentile believers, as it also explains Jewish customs and uses Greek names. Luke set out to write an orderly narrative of the life of Jesus, and presented Jesus as the Son of Man, emphasizing His full humanity. John’s Gospel emphasizes Jesus as the Son of God, and includes more of Jesus' revelations about Himself than any of the other gospels. It also gives a much more detailed picture of the events during Jesus' last days.

So let's start in Matthew, turn with me to Matthew 9: 9-13 and read it once more.

We are told in Matthew 9:9 that Jesus went on from there... this is always a clue to me. My very first question is where did he move on from, so we are going to back up a little bit to make sure we read our scripture in context.

Read Matthew 9:1-9

Here we are told that Jesus came back to His town of Capernaum. He time that day healing a paralyzed man who was brought to Him by a few of his friends and our Sweet Jesus faced questions from the teachers/Pharisees.

Now, jump over to Mark 2:13-17 and read that portion of our story carefully. We might as well leave a sticky note or some kind of marker in these stories as we are going to flip back and forth between them several times... Praise Jesus for sticky notes.

You see, the first thing that connects our story together is the location. Matthew notes that Jesus had already gotten in a boat and came back to Capernaum and Mark supports Matthews writing by saying that Jesus had been outside by the lake.

Return to Matthew 9:9-13 with me. We are told here that the man who Jesus approached and told to follow Him as a man by the name of Matthew.

But if we turn over to Luke 5:27-31 and read it carefully.

We will notice here that Luke notes the name of the man Jesus approached as Levi. As we dig in a little bit more we discover that Levi or Matthew is the son of Alphaeus, as mentioned in Mark 2:14. So, why the two different names? Matthew is the Greek name and Levi was the Hebrew name. As a tax-collector, Matthew worked for Greek-speaking Romans. He gathered taxes from Hebrew-speaking Jews

Part of the reason I love this story is because the tax collector was considered by the Jews to be a traitor and very probably a thief. Why? Because the land of Israel was occupied by Rome and the taxes collected went to Rome. There were several levels of authority but the customhouse officers, who were encouraged by their superior to charge compensatory taxes, did most of the real tax collection. These men often charged fraudulent taxes with remedy almost impossible. These tax collectors over charged (Luke 3:13) and brought false charges of smuggling in the hopes of extorting hush money. The tax collectors were called "publicans" and this word means that they were a collector of public revenue. In other words the tax collector worked for the government in charge and that government happened to be Rome. The publicans or tax collectors were considered traitors and apostates. They were also defiled by their contact with Gentiles and because they were working for the "enemy" Rome, they were hated.

Matthew was this man. He was a tax collector by trade. "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" (Matthew 9:9). When Jesus called Matthew, he went and followed and became one of Jesus' apostles. Matthew was a Jew who worked for the Roman government and therefore, he too was hated. Yet, when he left his job to follow Jesus he left his money and wealth behind. He sacrificed in one of the hardest areas, he gave up financial stability, he trusted Jesus immediately, and left his security behind.

Therefore, the fact that these tax collectors were hated and considered the worst sinners by most of the population and the Pharisees in particular was that they worked for the occupiers, Rome. "While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and 'sinners' came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, 'Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and "sinners"?' 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 9:10-13).

Because the Pharisees hated the tax collectors and sinners, they thought that Jesus should too. The fact that Jesus sat and ate with what was considered the dregs of society was an act of grace that the Pharisees could not comprehend. This passage is the answer to how Jesus treated the tax collector and sinner. He called them to repentance and grace. Christ had mercy upon the tax collector and sinner and He always received them because that was why He came. Luke 19:10 says, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.".

I adore this story. I love that Jesus came not for the righteous but for the sinner. I love that He points out that the healthy do not need a doctor, the perfect do not need a savior and Praise Him that I am neither healthy no perfect. I love that He heals me from pride and the common cold. I love that He has been healing my husband from strep and my son from weariness. But more than that, I love more than anything that Sweet Jesus came to save the sinner, me.

Comment: How was hopping around the Word today? How did you like the same story told three different times? How are YOU?

Lord - Your Word is refreshing. Please remind me as I go on about my day that You have come to save the sinner, me, which means, I will never be perfect, so I can stop stressing about trying to be. Please remind me that You are my healer and my savior and my friend. Thank You for time in Your Word and time with You this morning. Amen.