Palm Sunday | Matthew 9

Hi, my name is George Sinclair. I'm the lead pastor of Church of the Messiah. It is wonderful

that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah, either

by myself or some of the others. Listen, just a couple of things. First of all, would you pray

for us that we will open God's Word well to His glory and for the good of people like yourself?

The second thing is, if you aren't connected to a church and if you are a Christian, we really,

I would really like to encourage you to find a good local church where they believe the Bible,

they preach the gospel, and if you have some trouble finding that, send us an email. We will

do what we can to help connect you with a good local church wherever you are. And if you're a

non-Christian checking us out, we're really, really, really glad you're doing that. Don't

hesitate to send us questions. It helps me, actually, to know, as I'm preaching, how to

deal with the types of things that you're really struggling with. So God bless.

Jonathan, as you know, is joining us to preach the Word. And for those who don't know, Jonathan

used to be, I believe, a ministry intern here, and now Jonathan and his wife are serving the

Lord on the other side of the river. So thanks, Jonathan, for coming to preach.

Thank you. So just remaining standing, let us pray as we open God's Word to meditate upon it.

Heavenly Father, I thank you for your presence where your Word has opened your speaking. And

I pray your Holy Spirit would come upon the words that are spoken this morning, that you would

direct my words, but also that you would help all of us to receive your words, the truth that you

have for us today. I pray that you would touch our hearts in ways that we might have tried to hide

our hearts, and that you would give us the grace to walk in the newness of life which the Gospel

brings. And I pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated.

Amen. So it's a pleasure for me to be here. It's a joy to see very familiar faces, faces that I've,

people that I've known for years, that many of you have played such a key role in my life. And it's

such a joy to be here, open God's Word with you. As some of you know, my wife and I moved to Quebec,

and just as I say, the other side of the river. It's along the river, but it's a little bit,

it's on the other border, close to where Hawkesbury is. If you know the little town called Rego,

we moved there a few years ago. And I've been working over the last couple of years as a cook

and supervisor in a federal government training college. And so I work there, and it's been a joy

to work there and be able to be a light as much as the Lord gives grace among the people there.

And I want to share with you a brief story of what has happened there. So I work Thursdays to

Sundays, but the deal is I work starting at two or starting at one or two to the evening, so I don't

miss church Sunday mornings. But anyway, I get to work there. And one of the things that's pretty cool

that happens is that on Sundays when I get there and I serve people their meals, they ask me,

how was your day? What did you do today? And so it kind of pushes me to out of my comfort zone to say,

well, I went to church this morning. And there was one guy in particular, I won't say his name,

but he would often come. He was kind of like the life of the party and all that. But every time I

would ask him, hey, how are you doing? How's it going? And he would kind of show up in the line,

and he said, he would always say, well, I'm alive. To which I would respond, hey, I'm glad you're alive.

I'm glad you're here. It's good to see you. And we proceed to do that. And then he would ask me,

well, what did you do this morning? How was your day? How was your weekend? And on one particular

Sunday, I said, well, I went to church this morning. And he was kind of like, oh, interesting.

And I said, I taught Sunday school as well. And to which he responded, oh, that's really good. I

guess if it makes you happy, like that's a very good thing. I know, to serve your community that

way and all that. And he kind of explained away what was happening and kind of, you know, led the

conversation to a segue to something else. And, you know, for me as a Christian, my primary concern

isn't necessarily being happy in life. Of course, I want to be happy in life. But there's another way

around that. But I wasn't going to try to explain that to him. Like, the conversation is closed,

buddy. Like, I'm not going to try to say, well, actually, that's not how I, like, he would just

think that I try to be unhappy in life. And I go to church and associate church with pursuing

unhappiness. And that's just kind of weird. The story that we're looking at today is a

story about Jesus who is encountering someone who we might call a relativist, someone who

kind of lives by his own law, his own preferences, his own ambitions. And his life is kind of

centered around that. And Jesus is encountering him. And what do you think Jesus would say to

someone like that? Would he say something like, hey, I'm so glad that you're doing what makes

you happy in life? So let's look at the text. We're looking at Matthew chapter 9. I invite

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

you to turn with me, if you have your Bibles, to chapter 9, verse 9, which goes something like this.

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth.

And so we'll pause here. We'll just kind of unpack who are the characters, what is the setting.

Jesus has just healed a paralytic person. And so he did a miracle, very clearly a miracle. He wasn't

there with, you know, surgical kind of equipment or anything. Like, it was a miracle. He spoke,

and the man was healed. And it was kind of like a play on words. Which one is easier,

to say your sins are forgiven or take up your mat and walk? Jesus was just really highlighting the power

of his word, which is something which belongs to the creator. And now he's here. He's going across,

you know, just some of the different territories in Rome, in the Roman Empire. And he's crossing a

border, and he finds someone called Matthew. Now, Matthew is a Jewish man. The other gospels of

Mark and Luke tell us that his name was Levi. But Matthew decided to abandon that name and associate

with the new name that is Matthew. And so Jesus is calling Matthew. And Matthew is a Jewish man.

He is working for the Roman Empire. And so already you get a sense that he is an asymmetrical

character. Is that too big a word? He's kind of like, he's Jewish in his being, but he puts on

Roman clothes and works for Rome. And at that time, the Jewish people were seen as the oppressors,

or the victims, and the Romans were seen as the oppressors of the victims. You know, it's kind of

like this weird thing happening where Matthew is just kind of working for the bad guys, if you will.

And so there's something asymmetrical about him. There's something strange about Matthew. And the text

doesn't say exactly what it is, but I get the impression that Matthew was just tired of being on the

losing team. You know, maybe he just wanted to work for the winning team. He would want his efforts to

go forward. You know, he maybe had a skill that he wanted to contribute in the world. And so as a tax

collector, which is actually originally someone who would work in the border and would receive kind of

the shipping, and he would kind of add taxes to whatever cost the shipping would be. And that way,

he would gain money. And the way that people did that back in those days is that they would add extra

fees that he would keep the money. That was something that the Roman Empire kind of valued. So Matthew was

this character who was not prized by the Jewish people. He was not someone who was well-received,

appreciated. He basically cut himself off of his tribe to pursue his ambitions.

And so in that sense, we can see him as a relativist. So what would Jesus say to someone

like that? What would Jesus say? Would he say like, my friend, hey, I'm so glad you're just,

you know, doing what makes you happy in life. You know, someone who's like stealing, someone who's

not honest in his dealings. Like, would Jesus actually say that? Like, just to affirm him? Like,

that's the Canadian thing to say. What would Jesus say? He says here in verse 9, and Jesus said,

follow me. Jesus said, follow me. Now, there's something about human beings that we are followers.

And if you're here thinking, I'm a follower of no one. I am my own person, and I just do whatever I do,

and whatever I want to do. Well, from the time you were a baby, you were actually following

your mother's cues. You were looking at her eyes. You're following her smile, trying to understand

the world through your experience of your mother. So chances are, if you've had that experience,

you're a follower. And if you ever go on YouTube, you definitely hear the call to click, like, and

subscribe to get more of this content. And so the whole world, in a sense of the whole media world,

is based on this premise that we are followers, that we follow things. And me as a cook, I like my,

I have my certain chefs. I have my Greek chef that I follow online, the Indian chef, and all these

different chefs that I kind of learn my recipes from, because I'm kind of learning on the fly. I didn't

go to chef school. So I'm definitely a follower, and I'm sure some of you, maybe in ways that you're

conscious of or unconscious of, are followers as well. And so there's something human, that we are

followers, and we follow either someone or someone's or something or some things. That is really what we

are, and it's not wrong to follow things. That's not the point that I'm making here. There's nothing

wrong with following. But when we make following someone or something the ultimate in our life,

that's when it becomes murky waters. And so Matthew was a relativist who would have followed

his happiness, maybe the happiness of being prosperous, wealthy, famous, appreciated and applauded by Rome.

He was pursuing happiness. And in that sense, happiness, when we follow it as the ultimate,

becomes a tyrant. Now, I know I sound a bit extreme as I'm saying that. But I am guessing that maybe

some of you here might have this similar experience where whenever you feel angry or whenever you feel

sad, you feel guilty. I shouldn't be feeling this. And there's something about, you know, I should be

feeling happy. Or I should brush this off and pursue happiness right away. And maybe if you're a parent,

you've experienced this as well. Your children are crying and you're like, no, no, no, cover the tears.

Let's stop this right away. As soon as possible. This is uncomfortable. Or if your child is screaming,

no, no, no, no, let's stop this. Let's calm this right down. Let's try to find happiness together.

And in a sense, happiness has become an idol. Why? Because happiness is just a fraction of our human

experience. Happiness is just a small part of what it means to be human. And if you read the book of

Psalms, you get a sense that the human experience is way more. The emotional spectrum of what it means

to be human is way bigger. And so happiness is a good thing. Happiness is a very good thing.

It's a gift of God. But pursuing happiness as the ultimate, as the ultimate thing, the very guiding

principle of our life, that's when it becomes a tyrant that we cannot experience the rest of what it

means to be human. And it's impossible not to feel it when you're pursuing happiness. And I am wondering

if Matthew felt this when Jesus came up to him and said, follow me. Follow me. Jesus has two words to

Matthew. And we see that Matthew has a type of conversion experience. When you look at it from

a symbolic, choreographical point of view, we see in verse 9, Matthew rose and followed him.

You think of Isaiah 60 or Psalm 1, when people are, when it says that, blessed is the man who walks

not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers.

Matthew was sitting in those who were oppressing the people of God. He was sitting in that sense,

but he decided he saw Jesus, he heard the words of Jesus, and he got up. And he got up and he followed

Jesus. And I want to share with you my first point here, if we can have that on the screen.

Jesus' word is healing power. Jesus' word is healing power. Now why healing power?

We're in the context of the gospel of Matthew here, where Jesus is doing healings. He's doing

multiple healings. And he healed the centurion's servant, where the centurion asked Jesus, would you

say one word and my servant will be healed? And Jesus says, go, he's healed. And same thing with

the paralytic. He says one word and he's healed. And this whole rhetoric of what Matthew is doing here

that he's showing, showcasing the authority of Jesus' word. And what kind of authority is that?

The authority to break us and crush us? No, the authority to heal, to bind what is broken.

And so how does this look like? How does this work? That Jesus' word brings healing.

See, we're made for God's presence. We were made to behold God, to know God, to behold him as the

highest possible being, the highest possible pursuit, the highest goodness, the highest beauty.

That is our original relationship, the intention that God made us for. And you read that in the

early pages of scripture. That is God's intention for us, to know him and behold him. But what our

original ancestors did, Adam and Eve, is that they, having heard the word of the serpent, Satan,

they decided to turn and they didn't follow God anymore. They followed their own selves,

their own ambitions. The devil said that you could be gods if you just eat from the tree of the

knowledge of good and evil. You will be gods. And so they decided to follow their own selves,

their own self-interest, their own autonomy. They became followers of self. And in that sense,

they became distorted. In that sense, there was a breaking off from God. There's no way to have

relationship with God when we follow our own selves, when God is other-oriented in his own being and in

his relationship to his creation. And so in the garden, there was this exile where Adam and Eve were

cast out of the garden. And every human being afterward has experienced this exile of not being

in fellowship, not beholding God, not being in the presence of God. And that has characterized the rest of

humanity ever since. So when Jesus called Matthew, he invited him back into this original knowing and

beholding. There's something about Jesus's words, maybe Jesus's face, the blending of the two,

that Matthew saw, the face of God. And he thought, whoa, I need to follow this man. I need to follow

his man. And as someone who would have worked at the border, I'm sure he would have heard the stories,

the miracles of what Jesus has done. But his time came when Jesus said, follow me. And Matthew,

who is the writer of this gospel that we're looking at, he wrote this down because he has tasted and seen

the goodness of Jesus, the goodness of knowing God and beholding him. He wrote this down so that we

could participate in the same thing. And I don't know where you find yourself today. Maybe you're

not a follower of Jesus. You're a follower of happiness, maybe, or a follower of your pursuit of

wealth or fame, your work, whatever it is, your relationship. You're a follower of something. I know it.

But these things are temporary. And so when we follow something that's temporary, these pursuits

die when we die. The value is ephemeral. It's gone when we're gone. I was talking with one of my

colleagues, co-workers, someone that I supervise. And I asked her, like, look, for this type of job,

you need to have a vision that's higher than merely washing dishes, putting the food out,

serving the people, putting a smile on, and just kind of closing the day, closing the kitchen.

Like, you need to have a vision that's higher than that. And I know that you want to buy a car with

the money that you make, and that's a good vision, but you need something that's even higher than that.

Something that will not perish. Something that will bring you to the next point in your life that

you will carry with you. And once you figure that out, I give you a week to think about it. Once you

figure it out, come tell me so that I can help you reach that goal. We all need to aim for something

that is high. Why not aim for the highest thing? Why not aim for Jesus? If you're not following Jesus,

I want to encourage you that Jesus is the highest possible pursuit in this life. Your life will never

be the same. He will transform it for the good. And I want to invite you to consider that. Hopefully,

as we unpack the rest of the sermon, you'll understand a little bit more what that entails.

But Jesus is good. Jesus is good. He's good for all of us. From wherever background you come from,

he is good. Or maybe you're a follower of Jesus, but you're cold or dull. However, you may feel that

in your heart of hearts. Maybe if I would ask you, how are you doing? You'd say, I don't really know.

I'm just kind of like, I don't know. I just kind of go on and on and on, not really knowing and

kind of in the fog about where you are with Jesus. I would call on you to wake up. Wake up from the

slumber. Maybe you're following idols. Maybe it's the happiness thing that's kind of overtaken your

pursuit of Jesus. You kind of pursued Jesus and happiness, Jesus and something else. Get rid of the

idols. Get rid of these things, these pursuits that don't fill you, that don't give you eternal life.

Turn from them and follow Jesus and ask Jesus to search you and to know you.

And in the words of the great 1980s band, take a chance. Take a chance on Jesus. I'm thinking of

Abba. Maybe it's not a great example, but take a chance on Jesus. Like, if you need to wake up,

take a chance. Like, ask Jesus what it is and just take a chance. Just go up to someone who's in need

and give. Like, honestly, take a chance. Make it tangible, fleshly, real. Make your faith real, incarnate.

Live it out. Or maybe you're a solid follower of Jesus. Well, praise God. I praise God with you for that.

But don't give up. Keep going. Keep bearing fruit in line with the repentance that you've originally started with.

And be thankful to Jesus. Cultivate thankfulness. Keep going. Cultivate thankfulness.

Or lastly, maybe you're a discouraged follower of Jesus. Maybe you've been mocked. People have laughed at you.

Maybe you've suffered loss. I don't know what it is. But as it says in the book of Acts, and I know you've been going through the book of Acts,

rejoice in that you're accounted worthy of suffering for the name, the name of Jesus.

There's no greater honor in suffering for doing good in the name of Jesus.

That is a good thing.

And we want to follow Jesus because His word

is health. His word is healing

power. And His healing power is what brings us

into and fits us for this friendship with God the Trinity,

the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

As Jesus heals us,

as we get to see Jesus, we behold Him,

we hear His voice, we receive it,

and we trust in Him.

What happens is that it's not just kind of like,

you know, me here, Jesus there.

It's that

Jesus sends His Holy Spirit.

The very Spirit, the very presence of God

to indwell us.

So our life is not the same, you know.

It's really not Jesus my buddy.

It's really

God in me.

And as the Holy Spirit works in us,

our gaze, our sight

is set upon God the Father in Heaven.

And we're no longer just kind of just walking like this,

looking at the next task,

looking at the next pursuit,

feeling bogged down because it didn't work out,

or feeling good because it worked out,

but feeling anxious because you feel it's going to be taken away from you

at any moment.

We're following God,

the triune God,

who gives new life.

And now what does that look like?

Friendship with God.

We get a beautiful picture

of Matthew beholding Jesus

in the beauty of the gospel

in the next verse.

Let's look at verse 10.

It says,

And as Jesus reclined at table

in the house,

behold, many tax collectors and sinners

came and were reclining

with Jesus

and His disciples.

So Matthew,

presumably out of humility,

he left some details out

which we find in Luke

and in Mark.

It says that Matthew

held a great feast,

a great banquet.

He splurged.

And what did he do?

What did he splurge on?

Well, he received Jesus and His disciples

as well as sinners

and tax collectors.

And this is a reflection

of God's own hospitality

which we celebrate at communion,

that we celebrate that God receives us

and that God feeds us

with His own body,

His own life.

But Matthew is transposing that

into what it means

as a human being.

And so as the gospel grips us,

as the gospel grips us,

we begin to consolidate our lives.

That's where the Holy Spirit leads us.

We begin to consolidate our lives.

We see that Matthew,

he consolidates

his time,

his treasure,

his talents.

He looks at what he has,

does an inventory,

a stock inventory.

He looks at who he knows

and he brings them together.

We see his old friends,

maybe his,

you know,

if you work in an office building,

maybe his smoking buddies

at the bottom of the building

at the entrance

or his,

you know,

his drinking buddies after work.

He says,

come along,

I have something to show you.

And he brings his new Jesus

with them

and together

they share in a meal.

And there's something

absolutely beautiful,

Jesus reclining with them.

It's a very kind of

ancient way

of just,

you know,

being with people

that you would recline

at the table.

But being reclined,

you know,

if you're reclined,

you're not really going anywhere.

Like,

Jesus is not there

kind of looking at the door

like,

okay,

when's the next,

when's the perfect exit moment?

Like,

when is the conversation

kind of dying

so I can gun out?

And I showed my presence,

people know that was here

and then,

phew,

he's out.

No,

he's reclining

at table.

He's eating with them.

He's enjoying

their very presence.

There's something

absolutely beautiful

with that.

Now you might think,

okay,

if I did that,

like,

my friends would reject me.

Like,

I would get pushback.

My neighbors,

if they saw me do that,

like,

if they saw me

receive these sinners,

tax collectors,

with,

you know,

people with the tattoos

or people who smoke

or people who smell different,

like,

if they saw me do that,

like,

I would get pushback.

And they'd probably say something like,

like,

what is up with you

and,

like,

this Jesus stuff?

Like,

you're going a little bit

off the rails here.

Like,

that's a bit too much.

At least move upward.

At least try to invite people

that are higher than you

in your work

or higher than you

in society

so that way you can kind of

move your way up with them.

Like,

that's a good idea.

That's a wise idea.

That's what wise,

sophisticated people do.

Well,

that's exactly the criticism

that Jesus

and Matthew

receive in verse 11.

Let's read it.

Verse 11.

It says,

And when the Pharisees saw this,

they said to his disciples,

Why does your teacher

eat with tax collectors

and sinners?

There you have it.

Why does your teacher

eat with tax collectors

and sinners?

And I'd like to have

my second point

just so we can expound on this.

What is happening here?

What is happening here

is that

Jesus eats

and fellowships

with sinners.

He is clean.

He is mercy of God.

I'll say this again.

Jesus eats with sinners

and eats and fellowships

with sinners.

He is clean.

He is mercy of God.

He is the very definition

of what he means

to be clean.

He's the very definition

of the mercy of God.

And this is what we see

happening here

in this story.

Jesus makes very little

of externals

in case you're wondering,

in case maybe you have forgotten.

The externals,

not so much.

Jesus cares for the heart.

He goes towards

the heart of each

and every single one of us.

And this is a picture,

Jesus eating with

and fellowshipping with

his disciples

and with sinners

and tax collectors.

This is a picture

of what the cross accomplishes.

So that when Jesus

comes down,

you know,

he's not going up the ladder.

He's coming down.

And in a sense,

he came down from heaven

as we read earlier.

Came down from heaven

to be with people

who are hungry,

people who are in need.

And as he is there,

he is fellowshipping with them

to show the ultimate reality

of what is going to happen

in the glory of the resurrection.

That we will have fellowship

and we will eat with Jesus.

That we will have

a good future with Jesus.

So that when he went to the cross,

he took everything

that made us poor

and needy and weak

upon him.

So that we could have

the riches of Jesus.

And the riches

is the very fellowship

of Jesus.

The very knowing

of God himself.

That is the cross

and that is what

Jesus accomplished

at the cross.

And this picture of eating

is a picture of eternity.

When you put your trust

in Jesus.

When you put faith

in Jesus.

Now Jesus is not

this distant hero

with no time

or interest

in you.

In the people

in the story.

He is literally eating.

Literally eating

with them.

He knows

human beings

but he knows you.

He knows your thoughts.

He knows your experiences.

He knows your pursuits.

Your ambitions.

He knows what kind

of imagination you have.

What you dwell on

when you're sitting quiet.

He knows all those things.

And he wants to have

a relationship

with you.

And you may be wondering

yeah but what if I'm

what if I'm disordered?

Like what if I'm financially

just kind of off the rails?

What if just my

my luck in life

I just

I don't have it?

What if

what if I'm not beautiful?

What if I'm not successful?

What if I always get turned down?

What if my sexuality

is just

I don't even have

a definition for it.

I don't even have

a word for it.

I don't even know

where I am.

What if

what if

and what if

Jesus is clean.

He is mercy of God.

And as we put

our faith in him

we receive

his cleanliness.

And that's the beauty

of what the cross

accomplishes.

You see in the Old Testament

there was this concern

that the

the innermost sanctuary

of the presence of God

could be contaminated

because sin

and uncleanliness

would go

and creep towards

like a serpent

towards the inner sanctuary

of the temple

or the tabernacle.

That was the concern.

That was what

all the regulations

were about.

But these regulations

are expired

because Jesus

who is the very

presence of God

he is clean

and like a mountain

has water dripping

all along it

and it's unstoppable.

I live on a mountain

and come springtime

I have to make sure

that my water pump

is functioning

because my basement

will be flooded

in a matter of seconds.

The water is so powerful

and you look at it

flow down the mountain

and it's unstoppable.

And that's the picture

of the Holy Spirit

coming out of Jesus.

And a few chapters later

in this account

we see the unclean woman

the woman with

the issue of blood

she comes to Jesus

and she touches Jesus

and what happens?

Power comes out of Jesus

and she is made clean.

And it's the same thing

same principle

that as we come to Jesus

frail

faulty

as you may be

Jesus is clean

and makes clean.

He is mercy of God.

What he is showing

and that picture

he is showing

for us

what might be for us

if we come to him.

And this

this is made clear

in verse 11.

Let's look at verse 11.

This relationship

with God

and how he makes us clean.

Verse 11 says

And when the Pharisees

saw this

they said to his disciples

why does your teacher

eat with tax collectors

and sinners?

And verse 12

but when he heard it

he said

those who are well

have no need

of a physician

but those who are sick.

What is going on here?

The Pharisees

are not catching on.

They think

that

okay

I can make myself clean

by my religiosity

by obeying rules

obeying laws

pleasing God

like this.

I don't really need

Jesus' power

or cleanliness.

I don't need

the mercy of God.

I can leave that

to the others.

I

follow the principles

of God.

I follow the laws

of God.

Therefore

I am clean

and I'm good.

And that's

the very religious spirit.

That's very contrasted

with the relativist spirit

which is

I don't need

really what to

I don't need

really any laws

or any principles

to follow.

I'm just going

to follow myself

and whatever else

other leader

I can find

on the internet.

So you have

these contrasts.

We have the relativist

who is

all heart

passion

but no external

conformity

and you have

the religious

who is all

external conformity

but no heart.

And their hearts

are

whatever heart

that they have

is revealed

in calling

Jesus

teacher.

See with a teacher

you learn things

and you climb

your way up.

You go up the ladder

and you move

towards

one degree

of glory

if you will

one degree

of healing

of wholeness

to another

to another.

And that's

anyway

that's the hope

that's the anticipation

that's why people

kind of go into it

in the first place.

But Jesus

counters that

he says

in a sense

Matthew

you're not going

to be

you're not a

relativist anymore

but I'm not going

to allow you

to become

a religious

person.

You're going

to follow me.

And what that

looks like

is that Jesus

corrects the Pharisees

by saying

those who are well

have no need

of a physician

but those who are sick.

In a sense

Jesus says

you're going

to relate

to me

as a physician.

You're going

to relate

to me

not as a

teacher first

but as a

physician.

And so

here's my

third point.

The world

says

follow

teachings

for your

healing

and Jesus

says

I will

heal you

then teach

you.

So you see

it's completely

different.

Jesus is not

offering

a religion.

He's not

offering

relativism.

He's offering

a relationship.

a lively

relationship

with your

maker

with your

creator.

He is

your creator

come to you

come to us

this morning

calling

follow me.

He's saying

follow me

to you

to me

so that we

would commit

ourselves to him

and maybe

recommit

ourselves

to him.

And Jesus

has a special

insight into

the human

person.

His word

play here

is really

masterful.

He's talking

about those

who are

well

have no

need of

a physician

but those

who are

sick.

He's talking

about these

deep realities

of what it

means to be

a human

in real time

in real space.

He's saying

that we're

sick.

He's saying

that it's not

good enough

to be

religious.

It's not

good enough

to try

harder.

It's not

good enough

to have

walked with

Jesus

for many

years

having

believed

the gospel

and now

saying

I got it.

I've got

this.

I can

just go

on and

continue

with my

own

thing

and have

my own

mind

about

reality.

Jesus

says we're

sick.

There's

something

sickly

about us,

about each

and every

single one

of us

which is

called

sin.

He's

using

another

layer

as he's

describing

in verse

13.

Go and

learn what

this means.

I desire

mercy

and not

sacrifice.

For I

came not

to call

the righteous

but sinners.

Those who

are sick,

those who

are sinful

are one

and the

same.

He's

describing

each and

every one

of us

and he's

saying that

he is

the physician

of our

souls.

He is

the only

one who

will make

us right

with God

and he's

the only

one who

will make

us right

with others,

right with

this world.

Jesus is

the physician

of each

and every

one of

us.

Now

Jesus is

also

centering

in on

what it

means to

have a

relationship

with him.

I mentioned

the relativists

have

internal

kind of

some

heart

passion

but no

external

conformity

whereas

the religious

have external

conformity

but no

heart

really

whereas

a relationship

with God

starts with

the heart

and moves

outward

into external

conformity.

We see

this in

verse 13.

He says

having said

that he

is the

physician

now he

says

go and

learn

what this

means.

I desire

mercy

and not

sacrifice.

He's

quoting from

the Old

Testament

and he's

saying

I desire

God

desires

from

God's

own

heart

his own

being

what he

wants

from us

is to

share

in his

own

being.

God

is love

and he

wants us

to share

in that

love.

In your

translation

it probably

says

mercy

and in

the original

language

from which

this is

quoted

the word

is

chesed

which is

to say

God's

covenantal

love

God's

faithfulness

the very

fact that

God has

been faithful

when Israel

has been

unfaithful

the very

fact that

God has

been faithful

when you

and I

have been

unfaithful

that he

is there

he's pouring

out his

love

upon him

upon us

upon the

Holy Spirit

as the

Father pours

his love

upon Jesus

Jesus

pours his

love

back to

the

Father

and the

very

love

is the

love

of the

Holy Spirit

which wraps

us in

into this

eternal

dance of

God

do you

know this

love

is this

love

living in

you

that is

the ministry

of the

Holy Spirit

to participate

in the

eternal

love of

God

and what

is absolutely

beautiful

and stunning

and riveting

of this

story

is that

you're never

too far

you're never

too poor

never too

ugly

never too

shameful

never too

old

never too

young

never too

disordered

never too

clumsy

never too

weak

never too

lost

for Jesus

to receive

you

and to

heal you

but it

starts with

following

Jesus

and that's

a form

of worship

I'll put it

this way

following

Jesus

begins

with

beholding

him

seeing

him

looking

at

him

our

face

is the

window

of our

soul

and the

way

in which

our

face

is

directed

shows

where

our

attention

is

and where

our

attention

is

is

where

our

allegiance

is

and where

our

allegiance

is

where

our

actions

will

follow

and so

we need

to look

to

Jesus

our whole

life

is found

in him

so as we

look to

Jesus

we follow

him

and then

as a matter

of discipleship

we learn

to discern

Jesus'

mercy

towards

each one

of us

as the

true

physician

of your

souls

Jesus

is always

more willing

to receive

us

to heal

us

if you're

going to go

to Jesus

and say

Jesus

you're the

healer

of my

soul

would you

receive

me

I'm

broken

and I've

been following

you for

ten years

like I

don't know

why

but I'm

just in

this place

of

unclarity

and lack

of

truth

and I've

just been

in the

same sins

Jesus

is not

going to

go

I'm

your

teacher

bad

student

no

he's

the

physician

he will

say

yes

come

I'm

so glad

you've

come

back

I will

make

you

clean

I will

show

you

the

mercies

of

God

and

lastly

as a

matter

of

mission

learning

God's

mercy

for

you

and

for

others

we

see

this

pictured

Matthew

he

lived

it

out

he

received

the

mercy

of

Jesus

and

he

showed

it

to

others

he

consolidated

his

life

he

brought

his

old

friends

his

new

Jesus

together

and

it's

a

matter

of

mission

of

being

ambassadors

of

Jesus

in

this

world

of

knowing

the

mercy

of

God

and

showing

it

to

others

and

that

is

carried

out

by

the

fruit

of

the

spirit

you

don't

need

to

be

an

extravagant

missionary

who

knows

all

the

perfect

zingers

and lines

on how

to

have

people

reconsider

Jesus

you

just

need

to

bear

fruit

in

the

Holy

Spirit

that

enough

is

strange

in

this

world

showing

love

peace

patience

kindness

gentleness

faithfulness

that

is

strange

I

tell

you

just

doing

that

is

far

reaching

and

so

as

we

consider

these

things

to

follow

Jesus

discern

his

mercy

as

well

as

learning

his

mercy

for

us

and

for

others

extending

it

to

the

world

as

we

consider

these

things

we'll

pray

and

we'll

close

I

invite

you

to

stand

and

I

have

a

final

point

which

is

a

prayer

and

maybe

wherever

you

are

in

this

walk

this

prayer

applies

I've

tried

to

make

it

so

that

wherever

you

are

this

prayer

is

relevant

let's

pray

this

together

Jesus

you

alone

are

the

physician

of

my

soul

I

renounce

all

idols

in

my

life

and

receive

your

cleansing

mercy

today

help

me

to

follow

you

first

and

foremost

and

to

show

the

same

mercy

to

those

around

me

in

your

name

Jesus

amen

and if

maybe

if it's

the first

time

that you're

doing

this

come talk

with me

or come

talk

with someone

just let's

talk about

this

let's talk

about this

new

Jesus

thing

and let's

bow our

hearts

father in

heaven

I thank you

for your

mercy

revealed to

us in

the person

of your

son

Jesus

and I

thank you

that you

are not

distant

but you're

close

that you

indwell

us

that you

come in

us

through your

Holy Spirit

and I

pray that

as we

consider

these

things

as we

meditate

upon

these

truths

that you

would

give us

great

hope

in knowing

that you

are the

physician

of our

souls

and that

you would

give us

just the

grace to

take action

to take a

chance for

you

to cast

our whole

lives upon

you

to not rely

upon our

own strength

but to seek

after you

to set our

gaze upon

you

and I

pray that

in Jesus

mighty name

amen