2nd Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 5) – June 11th, 2023
Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church, Block
Rev. Joshua Woelmer
Text: Matthew 9:9–13
“Follow Me”
Theme: Jesus calls us to follow him, even if we seem unworthy like Matthew.
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
What would you do if Jesus came by your work and told you to drop everything and follow him? I doubt this is a question that you have pondered, but given what we now know about Jesus, I think every one of us would jump at that opportunity, wouldn’t we? We know that He’s God, that He speaks the truth, that He cares for us, and so forth. We love Him and believe in Him. But let’s try to place ourselves in someone else’s shoes from nearly 2000 years ago. It won’t be perfect, but what if you were someone like St. Matthew in our Gospel text for today?
Now, the first thing we should note is that Matthew did not yet know that Jesus was God. The disciples had to eventually come to this conclusion. They did not begin with the revelation that this man calling them to follow him was God. They learned it gradually as they watched his miracles and listened to his preaching. It’s interesting to watch their belief in Jesus increase and decrease. Sometimes they’re strong believer, and sometimes they deny Jesus.
Right before this text, we should not that Jesus healed the paralytic. This is the passage where some friends opened up the roof of a house to lower him down. The first thing that Jesus says to the man is this: “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven” (9:2). The scribes say to themselves that he is blaspheming. He’s claiming to be God by forgiving sin. The truth is, he would be blaspheming, if he weren’t truly God. How does Jesus respond? “‘But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—he then said to the paralytic—‘Rise, pick up your bed and go home’” (6).
Matthew probably heard of this miracle before Jesus approached his tax booth. Even if he saw it firsthand, it’s fair to say that he understood Jesus as a great prophet and probably the Messiah, but maybe not God who is worth worshipping. At least, not how we understand Jesus today.
The next thing to consider is Matthew’s position. He was a tax collector. Let’s start on the wealth part of this position. It’s one thing for you to have a decent job that pays the bills, and it’s another thing to be in the top 10%. Imagine if you were a New York lawyer earning top dollar, and a religious teacher comes by and says, “Drop everything and follow me.” Would you? Even if he did a miracle, you’ve got to weigh your options, right? Would you give up a job like that to follow Jesus? Maybe you can imagine it, but let’s be honest, it’s a bit harder.
Finally, Matthew was a “sinner.” Tax collectors were despised by fellow Jews. They collected taxes for a foreign government. They weren’t Romans, but they were Jews who sold out their countrymen for riches. They were seen as traitors. Plus, they often cheated people by gathering more than they should.
Put this all together: Imagine some foreign totalitarian government took over our nation, and your own son was hired to collect taxes for them. Then, he demanded more than he needed from you and your family to just to get rich. What would you do? You’d probably disown him to start. That’s how tax collectors were treated—they were lumped in with all the other “sinners” of their age, people who broke the Jewish law flagrantly.
So let’s put this all together. If you were Matthew, and a Jewish Rabbi who has just done a miracle called you to follow him:
1) Who does he think he is, God Himself?
2) I’m bringing in bank, why would I give up this sweet gig?
3) Anyways, would he really want a “sinner” following him?
Jesus’s answer to all of this is simple: Follow me.
Jesus came to bring forgiveness and healing to sinners. Jesus’s call to Matthew—and to all of us—breaks through this opposition. Jesus doesn’t offer anything to Matthew—not money or possessions or anything. Jesus doesn’t offer us anything in the world if we will just follow him. All he says are those two words: Follow me.
He says them to you too. Follow me.
In many ways, we are like Matthew. We have sinful natures, just like Matthew and just like the Pharisees. Perhaps we are drawn by the allure of the world and its riches and fun. There’s probably a reason why Matthew became a tax collector. Perhaps we recognize that we don’t deserve God’s grace and mercy. The truth is, we don’t, not by our own merit.
Like Matthew, we need grace. We need God to recognize our plight and call us anyways. We are those who are sick in need of a physician. Jesus is our physician. That is very good news for us. We gather here like patients in a hospital. He heals us when we sin. He heals us when we are sinned against. If you’ve come to church today for any reason other than healing, then heed Jesus’s words to the Pharisees: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (12). You do need Jesus, more than you think. And he is here for you.
This shapes how we see the world and other people. It doesn’t matter if they are wealthy New York lawyers or “sinners” whom we would rather leave alone on the side of the road—every person is in need of spiritual healing. Every single person has a soul that is tainted by sin. Every single person needs Jesus and His healing. Jesus’s harsh words to the Pharisees turn into words of encouragement for us Christians: “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (13).
God desires mercy for you who are sinners. He desires mercy for the sinners in your life. What He does to sinners is forgive them and set them on His path and make them His disciples, following Him to the cross and resurrection and eternal life. That is where we are going. We follow Jesus by listening to His Word and believing in the miracles that He works in our lives, most especially the Sacraments that bind him to us. So come, let us follow him.
Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.
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