Matthew relates to us the story of how he met Jesus. It is a sobering account when considered from Matthew's perspective. As a Jewish tax collector employed by the Roman government, Matthew was disliked among his own people and probably thought of as a corrupt representative of an oppressive government. In a word, a 'sinner'. But Jesus reached out to him. How do you think that made Matthew feel? If his response is any indication, it must have been VERY meaningful to him. The Bible says that Matthew got up from his tax collector table and followed Jesus (Mt 9:9-13).
The next scene has Jesus at Matthew's house having dinner with other 'sinners' and being criticized for it by the Jewish religious leaders. Jesus responds to the criticism by reminding his detractors that his purpose for coming is to "call not the righteous but sinners."
If you're like me, we spend lots of time around our brothers and sisters in the Church but have little intentional contact with anyone else. We might be forced into sharing time and space with unbelievers or even critics of religion on the job or in school but our usual practice is to flock together with others whose feathers look like ours while avoiding the other birds.
That clearly was not the way of Jesus nor should it be our way. We need fellowship with our fellow followers of Jesus but 'sinners' (those outside the circles of faith) need the love of Christ and the keys to his kingdom.
Yes, we should spend time with 'sinners' first, because Jesus did and second, because God has given us what this troubled world needs most: the good news of God's forgiveness in Christ. Pray for God to put a Matthew in your life. And when He does, be Jesus for a moment and watch the holy sparks fly!
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