01/20/2009
Author: Pastor Gordon
9 As Jesus was going down the road, he saw Matthew sitting at his tax-collection booth. "Come, be my disciple," Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. 10 That night Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to be his dinner guests, along with his fellow tax collectors and many other notorious sinners. 11 The Pharisees were indignant. "Why does your teacher eat with such scum?" they asked his disciples. 12 When he heard this, Jesus replied, "Healthy people don't need a doctor—sick people do." 13 Then he added, "Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: `I want you to be merciful; I don't want your sacrifices.' For I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough." Matthew 9:9-13 (NLT)
Until we recognize our weaknesses we will never be fully healed. Jesus wants the Pharisees to see that they are spiritually sick. He reinforces the point by quoting, `I want you to be merciful; I don't want your sacrifices.' The faith of the Pharisees was external and formal. They had missed the heart of God. ‘For I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough.’ He comes to call everyone because, ‘All our righteousness is as filthy rags.’ How many times are we still in need of the Doctor of our souls but we still think we are well?
