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24
A Call to Stand Apart
It happened the same way with the brothers Jesus had just called.
Peter and Andrew heard the call, dropped their nets on the beach,
left their fishing boat, and walked away with Jesus. They didn’t ask
how they would make a living or support their families. The call to
be His disciple they found too compelling to rationalize or postpone.
They simply obeyed the call and joined Jesus.
Reports of Matthew’s action created citywide interest. And in the
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exuberance of his new discipleship, Matthew desperately sought to
influence his former associates. So he organized a party at his house
and invited relatives and friends. Those friends included not only
tax collectors but also many other people of “doubtful reputation,”
people strictly avoided by their more scrupulous neighbors.
But Jesus didn’t hesitate to accept the invitation, even though He
knew it would offend the Jewish leaders and place Him in a dubious
position in the eyes of others. With pleasure Jesus attended the dinner
party, where Matthew seated Him at the head table surrounded by
dishonest tax collectors
During the party some rabbis tried to turn the new disciples
against their new Master by asking, “Why does your Master eat with
tax men and sinners?” Jesus overheard the question, and before His
disciples could answer He challenged the rabbis with the words:
“Healthy people don’t go to the doctor, only the sick. Why don’t
you go and try to work out the meaning of these words, ‘I would
have mercy, not sacrifice.’ I haven’t come to call the self-righteous.
I have come to call sinners to repent.”
The Pharisees claimed to be spiritually complete, with no need of
a spiritual physician. They considered tax collectors and Gentiles as
dying from their soul diseases. So Jesus confronted these religious
leaders with an obvious truth: Why would He not associate with the
very people that needed His help
A legal religion can never attract anyone to Jesus. It’s so devoid
of love! Fasting and prayer motivated by a self-justifying spirit are
abominable. Even solemn religious services, religious ceremonies,
the public “humiliation” of self, and impressive sacrifices intended to
show that a person is “entitled” to heaven are a complete deception.
Nothing we can do can ever purchase salvation
In the final analysis, it is only when we renounce our self-interest
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that we can become a believer, a follower, a disciple of Jesus. The
