Pastor Alex Sands, Kingdom Life Church

Series: The King and His Kingdom (Gospel of Matthew)

Text: Matthew 9:9–17

August 1, 2021

9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. 10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” 14 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. 17 Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

Why is Matthew’s conversion so significant?

1. It’s arguably the most  dramatic   and  unexpected  conversion in all the gospels.

A. As a tax collector, Matthew was  despised  by everyone and considered  irredeemable .

B. He totally  abandoned  his old life in order to follow Jesus.

C. Takeaway: Following Jesus means  surrendering  everything to Him and accepting the fact it may  cost  you more than others.

27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

2. It’s arguably the most  controversial  conversion in all the gospels.

A. Matthew and his house guests caused the Pharisees to question Jesus’  morality  and his  authority  to call disciples.

B. The feast led John’s disciples to question Jesus and his disciple's level of  commitment .

C. Takeaway: Following Jesus means tuning out  distractions  like self-righteous critics and empty traditionalism,  and accepting his call to share the life giving gospel with all.

33 And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.”

3. It marks the first of many battles over  righteousness  based on  works  (old wineskin) vs  faith  (new wineskin). They are totally  incompatible .

39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’ ”