Could it be?

Matthew 9:9-13

As a child, no matter where you were, no matter how many other mothers were there, when your mother called your name you knew who was calling.  And the same is true for anyone who has come to Christ by faith through grace.  Jesus has stated in John 10:27, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” 

There is a term used by theologians called election, and I believe that is what is taking place in the life of Matthew the tax collector, and it is also the same process Jesus used to call the ones Jesus refers to as His sheep.  Later in the gospel according to John, we have Jesus telling us the following: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” (John 15:16)  How true that was with Matthew the tax collector, he was sitting at his tax booth waiting for the next victim when Jesus called him to follow.  And in that same way Jesus called you and I to also follow Him.  I was getting a haircut when my barber ask me to attend a Bible study with him, and unlike Matthew, and maybe unlike you, it took six months before I was willing to allow the Spirit of God to draw me to Himself.

Daniel B. Wallace is professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, and this is some of what he has to say on election: “The process of election, as worked out in our own lives, does not violate our will. That is, the doctrine of "irresistible grace" does not mean "divine coercion," as if God bullies you into submission to do his will. Rather, it is compelling persuasion. The devil has blinded the eyes of the world (2 Cor. 4:4) and once our eyes have been enlightened by the Spirit of God, we see clearly what God has done for us. Further, if grace were resistible, this would mean that the person who can resist God's will is a strong and powerful individual and those who can't (and thus those who get saved) are weaklings. That is not the biblical picture.”

I believe the professor is on the spot, that was true in Matthew’s life and also in mine, and we have this account from Matthew, “As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.”  Matthew made a major decision to leave his business and to follow Jesus, and then the unthinkable happened, Jesus and his disciples went to Matthew’s house and had dinner with Matthew’s friends, and who would be his friends; tax collectors.  The “we have never done it that way before” religious Pharisees ask his disciples this question: “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”  Jesus replied in this way: “But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Could it be that many have not paid attention to the words of Jesus?  “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.”  Could it be that our self-righteousness is getting in the way of seeing the sinfulness of our hearts?  Could it be many are trying to earn acceptance with the Lord by sacrifice, and refusing to humble themselves and receive mercy?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice