Mat 9:13 | KingComments | STEP | As the Lord goes on, He passes by a tax collector’s booth. In the tax collector’s booth is Matthew. He is a tax collector ( ), that is a tax officer in the service of the Romans, the occupying power. The fact that he is in the tax collector’s booth means that the counter is open to people who have to pay their tax. When we think of tax officials, we usually do not do so with feelings of affection. For a man like Matthew, people don’t have those feelings either, and with him it goes much further. He is rather a hated man because he works for the occupier. He is not waiting for the arrival of the Messiah, because he is conspiring with the enemy. In his case, we now see how the Lord can free someone from such a situation. He is liberated from this situation by the mighty voice of God’s King. Only two words – and Matthew’s life takes a totally different turn and gets a completely different purpose. The power of the Lord’s call is so great and the attractiveness of His Person so irresistible that it breaks the spell of money. The power of the Lord’s Word has caused the paralytic to stand up and go to his home ( ). That same power of His word makes Matthew stand up and follow Him. The first consequence of the Lord’s calling in Matthew’s life is that he receives Him and his disciples hospitably in his own home. As a good disciple of his Lord, he has also invited many fellow tax collectors and other sinners. Instead of collecting money from others, he now spends his own money in offering an opportunity to meet the Lord. The tax collectors and sinners come with a desire in their hearts to get what Matthew has also received: deliverance from their sins and peace for their conscience. That is not to the liking of the Pharisees. The conduct of the Lord is not in keeping with their views on separation. If He really came from God, He would be careful not to mix with such people, they think. They do not criticize the Lord, but His disciples. That is not a good way of doing things. We too must be careful not to criticize someone else to others behind the person’s back. Often the expression of criticism is a proof of the absence of mercy. That is the case with the Pharisees. They are completely alien to the mercy of God present in Christ. The Lord does not leave the answer to their question to His disciples. Perhaps His disciples were embarrassed. In any case He has heard what the Pharisees have said about Him to His disciples and He answers. The opposition of the Pharisees gives Him the opportunity to explain the purpose of His service. He has come to those who are sick, that is to say here, those who are sinners, to heal them, that is to say, to set them free from the burden of their sins. Then He gives the Pharisees an order. They have not yet understood anything about what God wants. If the event in Matthew’s house would have been an exam, they would have failed completely. Their remark and attitude have made it clear that they know nothing of God. In their pride they believe that God must be very satisfied with their strict way of life. The Lord gives them, as it were, a second chance when He says that they must leave and go and find out what God really means by the word from the book of the prophet Hosea: “I desire compassion, and not sacrifice” ( ; ; cf. ). Then they will come to the discovery that they themselves are lost sinners who need the mercy of God. The Lord concludes His words to them by pointing to Himself as the fulfilment of that word from Hosea 6 ( ). He did not come to receive sacrifices from the righteous, but to prove His mercy to sinners. If He had come to call the righteous, the Pharisees would have come to Him in large numbers. Now, as an expression of the fact that He came to call sinners, He also called Matthew.

‏ Matthew 9:13

The Calling of Matthew

As the Lord goes on, He passes by a tax collector’s booth. In the tax collector’s booth is Matthew. He is a tax collector (Lk 5:27), that is a tax officer in the service of the Romans, the occupying power. The fact that he is in the tax collector’s booth means that the counter is open to people who have to pay their tax. When we think of tax officials, we usually do not do so with feelings of affection. For a man like Matthew, people don’t have those feelings either, and with him it goes much further. He is rather a hated man because he works for the occupier. He is not waiting for the arrival of the Messiah, because he is conspiring with the enemy. In his case, we now see how the Lord can free someone from such a situation.

He is liberated from this situation by the mighty voice of God’s King. Only two words – and Matthew’s life takes a totally different turn and gets a completely different purpose. The power of the Lord’s call is so great and the attractiveness of His Person so irresistible that it breaks the spell of money. The power of the Lord’s Word has caused the paralytic to stand up and go to his home (Mt 9:7-8). That same power of His word makes Matthew stand up and follow Him.

The first consequence of the Lord’s calling in Matthew’s life is that he receives Him and his disciples hospitably in his own home. As a good disciple of his Lord, he has also invited many fellow tax collectors and other sinners. Instead of collecting money from others, he now spends his own money in offering an opportunity to meet the Lord. The tax collectors and sinners come with a desire in their hearts to get what Matthew has also received: deliverance from their sins and peace for their conscience.

That is not to the liking of the Pharisees. The conduct of the Lord is not in keeping with their views on separation. If He really came from God, He would be careful not to mix with such people, they think. They do not criticize the Lord, but His disciples. That is not a good way of doing things. We too must be careful not to criticize someone else to others behind the person’s back. Often the expression of criticism is a proof of the absence of mercy. That is the case with the Pharisees. They are completely alien to the mercy of God present in Christ.

The Lord does not leave the answer to their question to His disciples. Perhaps His disciples were embarrassed. In any case He has heard what the Pharisees have said about Him to His disciples and He answers. The opposition of the Pharisees gives Him the opportunity to explain the purpose of His service. He has come to those who are sick, that is to say here, those who are sinners, to heal them, that is to say, to set them free from the burden of their sins.

Then He gives the Pharisees an order. They have not yet understood anything about what God wants. If the event in Matthew’s house would have been an exam, they would have failed completely. Their remark and attitude have made it clear that they know nothing of God. In their pride they believe that God must be very satisfied with their strict way of life. The Lord gives them, as it were, a second chance when He says that they must leave and go and find out what God really means by the word from the book of the prophet Hosea: “I desire compassion, and not sacrifice” (Mt 9:13; Hos 6:6; cf. 1Sam 15:22). Then they will come to the discovery that they themselves are lost sinners who need the mercy of God.

The Lord concludes His words to them by pointing to Himself as the fulfilment of that word from Hosea 6 (Hos 6:6). He did not come to receive sacrifices from the righteous, but to prove His mercy to sinners. If He had come to call the righteous, the Pharisees would have come to Him in large numbers. Now, as an expression of the fact that He came to call sinners, He also called Matthew.