Hear the Call of the Gospel and Follow Jesus, Receiving Mercy

[Jesus said:] Learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners (v 13).

[Prayer]

Heavenly Father, we cannot by our own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ our Lord or come to you, but you continue to pour out your Spirit upon us ... calling, gathering, enlightening, and sanctifying the whole Christian church on earth through the Gospel. Help us, like Saint Matthew, to hear your call and to follow you, receiving your mercy ... in Jesus’ name.

[Introduction]

If not for the call of the Gospel, Saint Matthew may very well have died as just another rich man despised for his wealth. But today he heard Jesus calling. Follow me, our Lord said and Matthew left everything to do just that, becoming merciful, just as he is merciful. Because of this

WE TOO CAN HEAR THE CALL OF THE GOSPEL AND FOLLOW JESUS TO RECEIVE HIS MERCY THROUGH HIS SACRIFICE

I. When Matthew first heard the call in Capernaum, he didn’t hesitate to follow.

As our reading begins, Jesus has just crossed the sea of Galilee from the east (Mt 9:1) and in mercy healed yet another man, this time of paralytic misery. Matthew writes, and going on from there, Jesus saw a man who was [in charge of] a tax booth (v 9). In the Gospels of Mark (2:14) and Luke (5:27), we learn this man’s name was Levi, the son of Alphaeus. But here, Levi is being called Matthew (v 9), whose name means “Gift of Yahweh.”

Now Matthew was a tax collector. In other words, rightly or wrongly, God’s gift to us was despised and rejected by the people.

It’s weird to think that a tax collector could be a gift. In Scripture, tax collectors are despised and rejected because they are thought to be the prime example of all that is morally, ethically, and spiritually wrong with the world. They are regularly lumped in with sinners (v 10), and swindlers, and adulterers (18:11), and Gentiles (18:17) ... which is simply a nicer word for irreligious, unmerciful, heathen haters. Tax collectors were thought to be thieves ... men who soak the public with hidden fees. Worse, tax collectors were thought to be traitors who conspire with the government.

But suddenly, this man who was despised and rejected by the people, heard the call of the Gospel. Jesus said follow me, and Matthew stood up and followed him ... just like that ... no questions asked (v 9).

II. The call to follow our Lord is prominent throughout all the scriptures.

God’s call is an act of mercy. God called Noah this way, and because Noah believed the promise of God, he and his family were brought safely through the water of baptism, which now saves you (1 Pt 3:20-21). God called Abram this way. In mercy, he gave Abraham faith that God would provide a sacrifice in place of his only son, the one he loved (Gen 22:13). Then God called Israel through Moses. Tell them, he said, I will cause them to ascend out of affliction ... to the land flowing with milk and honey (Ex 3:17). And so he did. Moses stood up to Pharaoh, and in mercy, God saved Israel (Ex 14:30), giving them a feast every day. All of the prophets who followed all heard similar calls to follow, and so they did ... just like that. Isaiah replied, Here I am! Send me (Is 6:8). And because of men like Isaiah, we know the LORD waits to be merciful to you (Isa 30:18).

Follow me, Jesus said to Peter and Andrew (4:19), then James and John (4:22), and Philip and Nathanel (Jn 1:43). Follow me, he said to Matthew, whose real name is Levi, a son of Alphaeus, who may very well have a brother named James, who also was one of the twelve. Follow me, he said to all of you, in your baptisms.

We all have heard the call to follow Jesus and should therefore do so all the days of our lives, listening to the voice of the Good Shepherd, who is full of mercy. I know them, and they follow me, Jesus said (Jn 10:27).

III. But is it really that easy to just follow the call of Christ and do what he says?

Well ... as you heard in our Old Testament reading from Ezekiel, the answer is yes and no.

Too often, we say no, because ... as God told Ezekiel ... we are just flat-out rebellious, crying out ... I want to do what I want to do when I want to do it. I don’t want to be merciful.

We in the Holy Christian and Apostolic Church have been saying no ever since the fall ... being rebellious, refusing to open our mouths to speak the Gospel ... refusing to receive what God gives (Ez 2:8).

IV. But when we hear the call to follow, and say yes, Jesus enables us to learn how merciful he really is.

He did not come to call the righteous ... those who think they have not sinned ... those who think they have no need for the forgiveness of sins. He came to call you and me. He calls through his means of grace. And that begins in the Divine Service.

Matthew writes: As Jesus reclined at the table in [Matthew’s] house, behold many tax collectors and sinners came to join them. They came to celebrate with each other that Jesus was there ... that Jesus had come to be in communion with them ... that is unity ... that Jesus had come to save tax collectors and sinners (v 10; Lk 5:32). ... That Jesus has come to eat with us.

When the Pharisees saw this, they didn’t like it one bit.

Though they know God is merciful (Ex 34:6) ... though they know he desires all men to be saved (Isa 45:22) by publishing peace and bringing good news (Isa 52:7) ... though they know he is the faithful God who keeps his covenant (Dt 7:9) ... forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin ... they grumbled that God would save those people (Jonah 4:2).

Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners, they said to our Lord’s disciples (v 11). By objecting to Jesus’ practice of eating with sinners ... that Jesus was uniting himself with you and me ... the Pharisees show they are in no way willing to be merciful themselves, accepting Jesus on his terms. They were boasting that they think their so-called faith is sufficient all by itself.

When Jesus heard them doing this, he said, Those who are strong have no need of a physician, rather those who are sick. But while you are going, learn what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice (v 13).

This is our Lord’s call to repent, which you can do.

God has never desired for you to develop your own sacrificial plan ... like the Pharisees did ... one that will deceive you into thinking you can stop sinning and that you don’t need the mercy of his forgiveness every single day.

Instead, God in Christ desires you to know he is the one who is merciful ... that his steadfast covenantal love is found only in him ... in the blood he shed ... in the life that he sacrificed. He desires you to know that his mercy is seen when you see your sin hanging on his cross. He desires you to know that your sin is so despised and rejected by him, that our merciful Lord Jesus died on that cross in your place ... as your sacrifice. And because he is just, righteous, and merciful, he desires you to know that ... Hallelujah! He is now risen! ... And eternal life awaits you by grace.

And now you can be merciful, just as your Father is.

[Conclusion]

Whereas Matthew was previously a pitiful, morally bankrupt man, he received the same mercy and forgiveness offered to you, and he followed Jesus for the rest of his life.

Won’t you now, too?

Follow the example of Saint Matthew. Read, mark, learn, and take to heart God’s Word in the Gospel according to Matthew. Call your brothers and sisters. Tell them where they can find Jesus: here at Trinity. When you are weary and heavy laden, you too will then know that Jesus will give you rest. His Word has the power to turn us from our sin and draw us near to Jesus at the foot of his altar ... the cross ... and receive the fruit of his salvation ... sharing his mercy with one another ... in his name.

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