David Bahn – Reflections

Matthew 9:9-13

⁹ 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.

¹⁰And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. ¹¹And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹²But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

We might not think of Matthew as “easy picking” for Jesus; such a term is often used by people who want to take advantage of someone. Jesus is not here to take advantage of anyone; he is here to seek and save sinners. From that standpoint, however, it must have been quite easy for Jesus to choose Matthew the tax collector. Tax collectors were a notorious lot. Charging people by the pound, axle, bag, or tassel, these men had so much power and authority that by their arbitrary taxing methods they could make people’s lives miserable. They took what they could get away with while paying Caesar the least amount possible of their take. They kept the remainder. They often lived quite well.

When Jesus saw Matthew he saw a man who obviously needed a new line of work; a different calling. But he also saw someone who was loved by God enough to redeem. His call of Matthew wasn’t really a call to mere social upward mobility. It was a call to discipleship, to following, to learning about God’s Kingdom and God’s ways.

He was using the commodity most precious in the Kingdom of God: mercy. When he looked at Matthew he saw a man who needed healing, hope, purpose and life. He knew Matthew didn’t need sacrifices and ritual, but the very thing those sacrifices and rituals pointed to. In a very real way, if we learn to look at the world like Jesus did, we will see people differently. We may even learn to give the most precious gift of all: God’s mercy. That’s not really easy picking, but it is our calling in Christ.