Breaking The Barriers

Friday, January 13th - Matthew 9:9-34

It's amazing to see the things that Jesus has been doing and saying. It's tough sometimes to let these familiar passages feel new again. But as we read together in a fresh translation and as we blog together, I've been trying to experience these things as if I were there or to picture what it would be like to have things like this happen around me today.

This morning, I'm going to focus on a brief part of today's reading, just verses 9-13, Jesus' interaction with Matthew, Matthew's friends, and the Pharisees' response.

Matthew, as a tax collector, was an outcast in Jewish society. Just seeing him probably disgusted people. Some likely feared him, either because of his ties to the Roman government or because he had the power and the desire to demand more than they owed in taxes and, possibly, more than they could afford to pay. He was a traitor, a Jew serving the occupiers.

One day, as Jesus is walking through the streets, he sees Matthew at his booth. He doesn't walk past. He doesn't ignore Matthew, or hope Matthew doesn't see him. He doesn't rebuke Matthew for his sinful lifestyle or decisions. He said, "Follow me, and be my disciple." And Matthew got up, left his job behind forever, and followed Jesus. Then, later, Matthew invites Jesus to meet his friends. Our text describes the group as "scum." But Jesus accepts the invitation to join them. He talks with them, enjoys their company, and loves them.

Matthew's interaction with Jesus reminds me of at least a couple things. First, I'm so thankful that Jesus has come for the sinners. I'm thankful that even though I'm a traitor, who has turned to go my own way, he sees me, comes to me, and invites me to follow him.

Second, I'm challenged and convicted. I'm challenged to have eyes like Jesus, to see people for who they are, to break down the barriers caused by my perception or my social comfort or my own insecurities and recognize that the common factor for all of us is that we each need Jesus, and he loves us all. I'm convicted by my tendency to categorize people the way the Pharisees did. These people are like us; those are not. These are not exactly like us, but they're similar in a way we like. The lines might be political. They could be based on behavior. They could be simply because someone did something I didn't like while I was driving. The lines might be drawn because I admire them or because I fear disappointing them.

It's natural. Some people we feel more comfortable around than others. But Jesus related to people in supernatural ways. The only barrier left standing was, "will you follow me or not?" But even when they chose not to, he still loved them.

As I consider these words in Matthew, my prayer is this: "Thank you, Jesus, for seeing me, for loving me, and for inviting me to follow you. Please help me to see people through your eyes and not my labels, that I might be used by you to be an instrument of your love in the lives of the people around me. Help me to love them, so that they might experience your transforming grace, your forgiveness and follow you."

Brian Quade