Matthew 9:9-13 - Learn From Matthew - June 21, 2020

Today is Father’s Day. When you think of your own father, and consider what you would like to say to him or thank him for today, what would it be? It’s a little different than what we tell our mother’s on Mother’s day, isn’t it? We generally thank our mothers for taking care of us when we’re sick, for making our meals, for keeping us alive. But fathers, what was their contribution? In general, I believe we think of all the things our fathers taught us: how to throw a football and cast a fishing lure, how to ride a bike and drive a car, and, hopefully, above all, to know and love God and his Word. Fathers, today you get a break from teaching, today we all get to sit at Jesus’ feet and learn some life lessons from one of the more unlikely apostles: Matthew, the tax collector.

So, what exactly can a person learn from a tax collector? First, humility. We see Matthew’s humility in what he writes and in what he chooses not to write about himself. Mark and Luke, in their parallel accounts, call Matthew by his given name: Levi (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27), which means “associate.” But Matthew never calls himself Levi but always Matthew, which means “Gift of the Lord.” We assume that this is the name he received once Jesus found him and rescued him from his sins, from certain death and from slavery to the devil. He recognized that his new life of faith was completely God’s gift to him – and so, Levi is now Matthew from now on. We also see Matthew’s humility in how he describes himself. Each of the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) record a list of the twelve apostles (Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:13-16) – and while every list identifies Judas Iscariot as the one who would betray Jesus, only Matthew’s own list identifies him as a tax collector (Matthew 10:3). In this simple way, Matthew confesses that he was a lost sinner before Jesus came into his life and called him to faith.  

We see Matthew’s humility in what he writes about himself…and in what he leaves out. In Luke’s account of Matthew’s calling, he notes that Matthew left everything, got up, and followed Jesus (Luke 5:28). In Matthew’s own gospel however, while he records that other apostles left everything to follow Jesus (Matthew 4:22), he doesn’t say anything remotely praiseworthy about himself. In his view, what he did was not worth mentioning. Rather it was what Jesus did for Matthew, calling and converting him from a despised tax collector into an apostle, that’s what Matthew remembered and wrote down.

There’s a lesson for all of us – and especially fathers, isn’t there? How quick aren’t we to boast about all we are, all we’ve done – while conveniently leaving out the ugly, dark, and unmentionable parts of our past – not only in the stories we tell our children but even in our own minds? Let us therefore learn humility from Matthew. Let us learn that the only name that really matters is the name our Lord gave us when he called us to faith in Baptism (Revelation 2:17); that if it wasn’t for our Savior’s regular gift of forgiveness, we would still have to identify ourselves as idolaters and adulterers, as murderers and thieves, as failed husbands and fathers (1 Corinthians 6:9-11); may we finally learn that if there is anything worthwhile that we have done, it is only by the grace of God working in us (1 Corinthians 15:10). This Father’s Day, let us all learn humility from Matthew.

The second lesson we can learn from Matthew has to do with sacrifice. Even though Matthew himself didn’t see it worth mentioning, Luke tells us that he left everything, got up, and followed Jesus (Luke 5:28). While tax collectors were generally reviled in Jesus’ day just as much as debt collectors are today – there’s no doubt that Matthew was giving up a very profitable career to follow Jesus. Fathers, are we willing to do the same? No, I’m not asking whether you’re willing to quit your job and head to the seminary or become a missionary. I’m asking whether you are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to put God’s Word – and leading your families into God’s Word – before everything else in your life? Do you read Bible stories and sing hymns and pray with your children – or do you delegate spiritual matters to your wife? When you go on vacation do you take the lead in continuing family devotions and seeking out a church to attend – or do you lead your family to take a vacation from Jesus when you’re away from home? When Sunday school resumes in the fall, will you stick around to deepen your own understanding of Scripture in Bible class – or are you teaching by example that Bible study is just for kids? I could cite dozens of studies that show that when children grow up they are more likely to imitate the religious habits of their fathers than their mothers – but I don’t think I have to. Just think about what your own father’s habits and routines were and then consider your own habits and routines today. Fathers, the Bible makes it clear that you are the spiritual leaders, the pastors, of your families (Ephesians 6:4) – learn from Matthew to sacrifice whatever it is that might get in the way of carrying out that eternally important job.

But…and this is a big BUT…but don’t do it in order to make God happy. Don’t make these sacrifices in order to earn your heavenly Father’s favor. That’s idolatry. It’s idolatrous to believe that our meager sacrifices appease God. That’s what the worshipers of Baal and Asherah and Molech believed in the OT which led them to sacrifice their children, engage in sexually immoral behavior with temple prostitutes and shout and slash themselves to get their god’s attention (Leviticus 20:1-3; Deuteronomy 12:31; 1 Kings 18; 14:23-24). This is still what people do today when they promise to do this or that for God if only they will heal them of a sickness or give them a promotion or do this or that for their children or grandchildren. It’s not that God doesn’t sometimes require us to sacrifice; it’s that none of these sacrifices can satisfy God’s anger over our sins. Peter writes: if God did not spare angels when they sinned but handed them over to chains of darkness…and if God did not spare the ancient world but preserved Noah…along with seven others…and if God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, by turning them into ashes when he made them an example of things to come for the ungodly (2 Peter 2:4-6) – do you really think that God’s wrath can be appeased by any feeble sacrifice of time, money or energy we make? Those who think they can placate God’s wrath by sacrificing goats or bulls or their children or their time, money and talent fail to understand how much God hates sin. The same God who drowned the entire population of the world, except for Noah’s family; who sent fire and brimstone to burn up Sodom and Gomorrah still burns with fury today at the sin he sees in our world and in our lives. Make no mistake, God hates both sin and the sinner (Psalm 5:4-5) – and nothing we could ever sacrifice could ever appease him.

God is so angry at sinners that the only thing that could appease his anger is God himself. Because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), it took God in human flesh to live a life that stood up to his standard of perfection (Matthew 5:48).  And when it came to paying for sins, neither the blood of goats or bulls nor the blood, sweat and tears of people like us could pay for even a single one because we are all tainted by sin (Hebrews 10:4). The only sacrifice that could appease God’s righteous anger was Jesus’ sacrifice of himself on the cross. And the good news is that Jesus’ sacrifice worked! As Paul says since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1).

And that, fathers, is why we will be willing to sacrifice anything to follow Jesus and take our families with us. That’s the lesson Jesus was trying to teach the Pharisees when he said go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ In fact, I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners. God doesn’t desire sacrifices from us to appease his wrath – he desires to be merciful to us for Jesus’ sake. And once you know and believe that wonderful truth – that’s when your sacrifices don’t feel like sacrifices at all. That’s when you are glad to skip out of work early (perhaps sacrificing a potential promotion or pay-raise) to lead your family in prayer at the dinner table. That’s when you sacrifice your own hobbies and interests in order to spend time with your children and be their God-given role model. That’s when we have a room full of men for a voter’s meeting (as we did last week) and a council full of men willing to give of their time and effort to lead this church. All of that happens not because you don’t want God to be angry with you but because you know and believe that because of Jesus – he’s not.

And if you have any doubt that God desires to be merciful to you, then you will get tangible proof in just a few minutes. The Pharisees despised Jesus for his willingness to eat with tax collectors and sinners. They believed that if Jesus really was the Messiah – that he would only eat with righteous people – like themselves; not with those who were clearly “sinners,” like Matthew and his friends. You fathers may believe that the responsibilities God has placed on you are too much for any man to bear. And you’d be half right. It’s far too much for a sinful man like me or you to bear – but it’s not too much for the God-man, Jesus, to bear. And that’s why he invites you to come up here to this table to eat with him. Because you’re sick and need a doctor. Because Jesus came to call sinners, and we all qualify.

In fact, our Lutheran forefathers cited these verses as the very reason that we should eagerly and often receive the Lord’s Supper. The Formula of Concord says that these words of Jesus prove that communion was ordained for those who “have a weak faith and are shy, troubled, and heartily terrified because of the great number of their sins. They think that in their great impurity they are not worthy of this precious treasure and Christ’s benefits. They feel their weakness of faith and lament it, and from their hearts desire that they may serve God with stronger, more joyful faith and pure obedience. These are truly worthy guests for whom this highly venerable Sacrament has been especially instituted and appointed” (FC SD VII:69).

Learn about God’s mercy from Matthew. Learn that Jesus doesn’t hold his nose as he sees stinking sinners like us come up to eat at his table. Learn that he instituted this meal of his body and blood not for the self-righteous, not for those who think they can do without it, but for the unrighteous, for those who know they are doomed without it. The Lord Jesus didn’t give his body and shed his blood for healthy people, but for people like us, who are sick with sin; who desperately need this powerful medicine to wash away our sins and assure us that eternal life is ours.

Today is Father’s Day – and today all of us, but especially we fathers, can learn from Matthew the tax collector. Learn humility – that’s it not about you but about what God has done for you and is doing in you. Learn to sacrifice – not to appease God’s anger but because Jesus already has. And finally, learn that Jesus doesn’t call you to follow him, to hear his Word, to the high honor of being a father to his children – to make you earn his love – but to have mercy on you, to give you the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. Above all, learn that this sermon was not really about Matthew at all – but about Jesus and his mercy to unworthy sinners like him and us. Amen.