Follow me! (mathew 9:9)

As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named
Matthew sitting at the customs post, he said to
him, ‘Follow me’” (Matthew 9:9). We can imagine
that Matthew was not well thought of by his
fellow Jews. He was a tax collector after all.
That Jesus would even talk to him would be
strange enough, but that he would say “Follow
me” to such a person certainly raised a lot of
eyebrows in Jerusalem, especially among the
Pharisees who were within hearing range of this
moment.
“Follow me.” This seems such a simple
suggestion, but knowing the times and the
feelings that the Jews had about tax collectors
and the reputations of many of the tax collectors,
this statement takes on a profoundly important
meaning for us personally. Our own feelings
about the “tax man” today, help us to recognize
the wonderment of the Pharisees observing this
event. “Why does your teacher eat with tax
collectors and sinners?” (verse 11) Of course, we
do not want to get caught up in thinking in the
ways that the Pharisees did, but they are
recognizable to us. Very recognizable. There is a
little of the Pharisee in all of us. Jesus’
challenges to the Pharisees are direct challenges
to us in our own lives as well.
We need to see Matthew’s perspective here as
well. Jesus must have seen something in
Matthew. Did he see a hunger deep down in
Matthew’s heart, a need to find some deeper
meaning in his life. We do not know whether
Matthew was known to be a cheater, like so
many of the other tax collectors who looked out
for themselves at the expense of others because
they had the power to do so. But we do know
that Matthew was like us in that he too was a
sinner. And he must have had some sense of this
within himself. Jesus knew Matthew’s heart and
loved him for who he was, just as he does each
one of us. He could see Matthew’s essential
goodness, and his hunger for meaning and
purpose. This is why Jesus said to Matthew,
“Follow me.” This is why he says it to us today
as well.
The recognition of our own sinfulness is central
to our understanding of this gospel passage.
Jesus confronts the cynicism of the Pharisees
saying, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor
but the sick” (verse 12). This statement strikes
the center of the target for each one of us. We
are sick with sin. All human beings are. The
question is: Do we recognize our own sinfulness,
or do we, like the Pharisees, see it only in others?
Do we fool ourselves in thinking that we are not
like those sinners, that we are better than them?
Do we make a grave mistake in thinking that we
do not need a “doctor” to heal us of our
woundedness? When Jesus says to the
Pharisees, “But go and learn what this means: ‘I
desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come
to call the righteous, but sinners” (verse 13), we
are to hear this with the ears of our own hearts,
within the depths of our own souls. I know I
need to do so. For I know that I am a sinner in
great need of God’s generous mercy. And I know
that it is God’s desire to offer me and each and
every one of us that mercy. But here is the kicker
too: he wants us to be merciful with one another
in the same way. We are to be like him, not like
the Pharisees. He is saying to us, right now,
“Follow me.”
Lord, Help us to hear your call ever more deeply
in our hearts each day. Inspire in us a soul deep
desire to follow you as Matthew did. Give us the
insight to see our own woundedness. And
strengthen us in courage and in faith, so that we
can see the wisdom of being merciful to others in
the way you have been merciful to us. We pray in
Jesus’ name. Amen!