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Matt 9:9-13
The money was good, but was the job worth it? Matthew had a loathsome job–working for Rome, taxing his fellow Jews. Tax collectors were social outcasts. Devout Jews avoided them because they were usually dishonest. The job carried no salary. They were expected to make their profits by cheating the people from whom they collected taxes.
Patriotic and nationalistic Jews hated them because they were agents of the Roman government and hated them with a double hatred if (like Matthew) they were Jews, because they had gone over to the enemy. They were betraying their own people for money.
The money was good, but was it worth the hatred of your own people? Still, he sat behind his desk in the tax office. Until, one day, into his life came Jesus.
Have you got a story to tell like that? You were going along with your life–not happy, but not miserable either. Your job was O.K. Your family was terrific. Still, you were searching. And then, just at the right moment, into your life came Jesus.
Many people have stories like that to tell. Stories of a new beginning, stories of a sudden life-changing experience. There was quite a remarkable story in Reader's Digest sometime back. In December 1974, ten-year-old Christopher Carrier was abducted by one of his father's ex-employees, David McAllister. Dave stabbed young Chris with an ice pick, shot him in the head, and left him in crocodile-infested swampland in Florida. Incredibly, Chris survived, but he was blinded in one eye. For years, he struggled with fear and anger over the attack. And to make matters worse, the police just couldn't make the case stick against Dave. He was still a free man.
Young Christopher Carrier tried, as best he could, to carry on with his life. As a teen, he found spiritual healing in his church. He went into youth ministry and became a highly effective counselor to teens. But deep in his heart, Chris wondered what he would do if he ever met Dave again.
In 1996, police finally coaxed a confession out of Dave. They also offered Chris a chance to meet with his attacker. Over the next few weeks, Christopher not only forgave his attacker, but he also even helped his attacker find peace in Christ. With Chris' help, Jesus walked into Dave's life. The day after giving his heart to Christ, David McAllister died.
It's a remarkable story. But it happens time and time again. People are changed when Jesus walks into their life. Many years ago, journalist Lee Strobel investigated a story about a hardened gang member named Ron Bronski. Bronski found God in prison.
As an atheist, Lee Strobel was skeptical of Bronski's story. In fact, he expected to use his journalistic skills to expose Bronski as a fraud. This was the young man that police officers referred to as a "sociopath" or as "garbage."
However, Lee heard a different story when he spoke to a pastor who met Bronski after his conversion. This man referred to the former gang member as "one of the most beautiful, loving people I know." In fact, when Ron Bronski was brought to trial for his crimes, the police officers, prosecutors, and judge who had gotten to know him were so convinced that the former gang member was a new man that they set him free. Today, Ron Bronski runs an inner-city ministry for street kids.
The story has been told for 2,000 years. "I was a criminal . . ." "I was filled with feelings of revenge and hate . . ." "I was grieving with a heart full of pain . . ." "I was dissatisfied with my work, my family, but most of all myself, and then . . . Jesus came into my life."
This was Matthew's story. It may be your story. Matthew was sitting there in the tax collector's office, prosperous but despised. And along came Jesus. And what did Jesus say to him? "Follow me." Don't just study about me. Don't just admire me. Follow me. And just like that, Matthew rose and followed him. He could have refused. Who would have blamed him? It would have been easier. Most of us don't like to take on new challenges.
It would have been easier for Matthew if he had stayed at his tax table. The Christian community since early times has commemorated Matthew as one of the martyrs of the faith. Many of us, given the choice, would have preferred being a live tax collector to a dead disciple. But that's not the choice Matthew made. He followed Jesus. In fact, Matthew brought many of his former associates to meet Jesus. So many that someone remarked about Jesus, "See, he eats with sinners and tax collectors."
Matthew was simply doing what Christ wanted him to do–spread the word. That's part of what it means to follow Jesus. It means to be an ambassador of Christ. It means to live a life of service in a world where many people hunger for power, to live a life of love in a world where many people lust for revenge, to live a life of giving in a world in which many are simply takers. "Follow me." These are not words to take lightly. Jesus was calling Matthew to a life of service. He was calling Matthew to follow–to go where he went. To live as he lived. To love as he loved. This is a tough assignment for anyone.
James E. Kiefer in his Biographical Sketch of Matthew notes that among Jesus' disciples were people of widely diverse backgrounds. They included not only Matthew, a former agent of the Roman government, but Simon the Zealot. Josephus tells us that the Zealots were fanatical nationalists, determined to drive out the Romans by guerrilla tactics, ambushes, assassinations, terrorist methods, or whatever worked. Their motto was, "No king but Messiah, no tax but the Temple, no friend but the Zealot." It's not clear that Simon was, or had been, a member of the group that Josephus describes, but it seems clear that he would have regarded himself as at the opposite end of the political spectrum from Matthew.
Jesus' love knew no boundaries. A terrorist, if he repents, would be as welcome at Christ's table as the holiest person in the realm. Even more so, for later in this text, Jesus summed up his ministry like this: "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means, "˜I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." And that is still Christ's message to us today.
Maria discovered that. "Supposing there is a God, would He accept a woman like me?" That's the question evangelist Luis Palau confronted that strange day when Maria Benitez-Perez visited him. Maria had made an appointment under false pretenses, claiming that she wanted to interview for a job. But as soon as she entered his office, Maria made her intent clear. She was the secretary to the Communist Party in Ecuador. She denounced everything having to do with God or with Jesus Christ. Her bitterness overwhelmed him. But Luis listened respectfully and replied gently to everything Maria said. Soon, Maria was telling him her life story. It was a tale of pain, suffering, and sin. And she ended it all with one question, "Supposing there is a God, would He accept a woman like me?"
Luis did not hesitate. He turned to Hebrews 10: 17– "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." Maria tried to explain once again all the sins she had recently committed. Palau countered with Hebrews 10: 17–"Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." Seventeen times Maria tried to explain why she was unworthy of forgiveness. Seventeen times, Luis Palau repeated the words "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." And finally, Maria Benitez-Perez bowed her head and prayed to receive Christ.
"It is not those who are healthy who need a physician," said Jesus, "but those who are sick." Will you confess your need for Christ today? Are you ready to make a change in your life? If you're ready for more–a true adventure in living–then Jesus says to you, "Follow me."
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Rev. Charles Eldredge is a member of Maitland Church of the Brethren. He has a Facebook page and can be contacted by email: ce1133 @verizon.net.