Unlikely disciple

"St. Matthew" by Pompeo Batoni

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 9:1-13


TO CHEW ON: "As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office and He said to him, 'Follow me.' So he arose and followed Him." Matthew 9:9


I love Matthew's uncomplicated faith, shown when he dropped everything and followed Jesus. Didn't he have to give this career change some thought? Apparently not. Or maybe he had given it thought, had become increasingly discontented with his job, was aware of Jesus, secretly longed to get to know Him better, and here was his opportunity.

Matthew is an interesting choice as a disciple. The Bible tells us he was a tax collector—one of a class of people who worked for the hated Romans. Tax collectors made their living by charging slightly higher fees than the Romans for general, agricultural, census, and traveler taxes. Licensed tax collectors often hired publicans to do the actual collecting. Publicans, who tacked on additional fees, were usually Jews and doubly despised as tax collectors and traitors.

Matthew was one of these publicans whose booth was beside the road outside Capernaum. In addition to collecting the road tax, he may also have collected taxes from fishermen. Imagine how the career fishermen (Andrew, Peter, James and John) must have felt when this loathed publican joined their band!

However, Jesus knew what He was doing when He chose Matthew. He was probably good with numbers and could read and write. He was well educated in the Scriptures, judging by how much of the Old Testament he had at his fingertips to quote in the Gospel of Matthew.

He also had a missionary bent, shown when he shared his new Rabbi with his friends. Though the book of Matthew doesn't name him as the host of the feast described in our reading, he is named that in Luke 5:29 (actually Luke calls him 'Levi'—another name he went by).

That desire to share Jesus eventually led to his writing of the history of the life of Christ we know as The Gospel According to Matthew. What a legacy!

• It contains the only account of the wise men visit.
• Its detailed account of the Jesus' teachings (called the Sermon on the Mount) is three chapters long (Matthew 5:1-7:29) versus Luke's twenty-nine verses (Luke 6:20-49).
• It contains parables of the Day of Judgment found in no other gospel (Matthew 24)
• It emphasizes Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.
• It stresses that Jesus was Messiah.
• It depicts Him as King.

What an amazing contribution from someone who came from the most despised category of people, "tax collectors and sinners," whom Jesus Himself characterized as sick: "'Those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick'" - Matthew 9:12.

The story of Matthew should give all of us hope. For when Jesus calls us, He sees right through our family and job categories. He is not influenced by the labels others put on us or we put on ourselves. When He says "Follow Me" and we jump up and follow Him, we set out on the road to discover a potential and a destiny we never dreamed possible.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Matthew (Levi), a tax collector who became the writer of a history that has influenced millions. Help me to trust You with my future like he trusted You with his. Amen.

MORE: The Feast of St. Matthew

Today the church celebrates the Feast of St. Matthew. The liturgy for the day begins with the following collect:

"We thank you, heavenly Father, for the witness of your apostle and evangelist Matthew to the Gospel of your Son our Savior; and we pray that, after his example, we may with ready wills and hearts obey the calling of our Lord to follow him; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen."

Sources:

• "The Gospel According to Matthew - Introduction," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, pp.1287-1289.

• Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible, J. I. Packer, M. C. Tenney, editors, pp. 529-531.

Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Reasoning's dangers

"(They) let him down with his bed 
through the tiling into the midst before Jesus"
 - Luke 5:19.

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 5:17-39

TO CHEW ON: "But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, 'Why are you reasoning in your hearts?'" Luke 5:22 NKJV

"But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, 'Why are you reasoning in your hearts?'" - Luke 5:22 NASB

Our culture puts a lot of stock in the ability to reason.

[Reason (verb): 1] To think out carefully and logically, to analyze. 2] To influence by means of reason, persuade, dissuade, argue, debate.]

The thought processes of the Pharisees and teachers illustrate one of reasoning's dangers: how a true conclusion depends on a right premise.

Their premise was that Jesus was an ordinary man. Their argument went something like this:

• Jesus is an ordinary man.
• He speaks forgiveness to the paralyzed man for his sins.
• But no one can forgive sins but God alone.
• Therefore Jesus is a blasphemer.

Had they started with a different premise, they could have come to a different conclusion. Suppose they had started with an open mind about Jesus and the premise "no one can forgive sins but God":

• No one can forgive sins but God.
• Jesus speaks forgiveness to the the man for his sin. 
• He reinforces His right to forgive the man's sins with a supernatural, instantaneous healing so the paralyzed man moves and walks right before their eyes (Luke 5:24).
• Therefore Jesus must be who He claims to be.

Reasoning still has the power to trip us up and put us on an anti-faith path. Joyce Meyer, in her book Battlefield of the Mind says:

"Satan frequently steals the will of God from us due to reasoning. The Lord may direct us to do a certain thing, but if it does not make sense—if it is not logical—we may be tempted to disregard it. What God leads a person to do does not always make logical sense to his mind. His spirit may affirm it and his mind reject it, especially if it would be out of the ordinary or unpleasant or if it would require personal sacrifice or discomfort" - Joyce Meyer, Battlefield of the Mind, p. 86.

Do you and I ever try to reason our way out of the things God has told us to do because they make no sense? At such times, let's let Jesus' question to the Pharisees probe us: "Why are you reasoning in your heart?"

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the ability to think and reason. But help me to overrule my reasoning ability with faith when I do not understand Your directions, assignments, and ways. Amen.

MORE: Feast of St. Matthew
Today the church celebrates Matthew, whose calling is recounted by Luke in Luke 5:27-32 of our reading. The liturgy for the day begins with this collect:

"We thank you, heavenly Father, for the witness of your apostle and evangelist Matthew to the Gospel of your Son our Savior; and we pray that, after his example, we may with ready wills and hearts obey the calling of our Lord to follow him; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen."

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New King James Version (NKJV) Used with permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible®,Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Old wine or new?

Jesus Calls Matthew - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 5:27-39

TO CHEW ON: "'And no one having drunk old wine immediately desires new; for he says the old is better.'" Luke 5:39

I love the story of Levi (also known as Matthew) and his quick response to Jesus' call. We can learn a lot about Levi from these few verses:

• He was conscientious. Jesus called him from his job.

• He was decisive. No dithering, making pro-and-con lists, or even consulting with his wife. Jesus called, "So he left all, rose up, and followed him."

• He was hospitable in putting on a banquet for Jesus and his friends.

• He was popular. His was a "great feast" with a "great number of tax collectors and others."

• He was a controversial choice for a disciple—at least with the religious critics.

The latter part of our reading recounts Jesus' parable about new and old wine and wineskins. These words of Jesus at the end catch my attention: "'And no one having drunk old wine immediately desires new; for he says, the old is better.'"

Those critical scribes and Pharisees were sticking with the old wine of rigid rules about who was in and who was out. The new grace wine of Jesus had no appeal for them.

I wonder how often I am in that Pharisee camp when it comes to accepting people as fellow Christians? If they come from a different faith stream, adhere to different rituals, or their broken lives still include habits of the old life, do I put up barriers to accepting of them (while I ignore their many excellent qualities)? Instead of seeing people as Jesus saw them, do I put up walls?

Jesus said it was understandable to prefer the old wine of rules and legalism, at least in the immediate. But I think He's also saying it's possible to develop a taste for the new wine of grace.

This "new wine' may also refer to the spiritual renewals that erupt from time to time. Leslyn Musch makes this observation about the passage:

"Avoid imposing past traditional structures on present renewals. Understand that yesterday's structures and forms are often incapable of handling today's dynamic of spiritual renewal" - Leslyn Musch, Truth-In-Action through the Synoptics, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1440.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please help me to recognize the old wine of life-sucking traditions, rules, and conditions. Help me to develop a taste for the new wine of grace. Amen.

MORE: Feast of St. Matthew

Today the church celebrates the disciple in our story. The liturgy for the Feast of St. Matthew, Evangelist begins with the following collect:

"We thank you, heavenly Father, for the witness of your apostle and evangelist Matthew to the Gospel of your Son our Savior; and we pray that, after his example, we may with ready wills and hearts obey the calling of our Lord to follow him; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen."

***********

New King James Version (NKJV) Used with permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Unlikely disciple

"St. Matthew" by Pompeo Batoni

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Mark 2:13-22


TO CHEW ON: "As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, 'Follow Me.' So he arose and followed Him." Mark 2:14

I love Levi's (Matthew's) uncomplicated faith, shown when he dropped everything and followed Jesus (here and in Luke, Matthew is called called Levi). Didn't he even have to give this career change some thought? Apparently not. Or maybe he had given it thought, had become increasingly discontented with his job, was aware of Jesus, secretly longed to get to know Him better, and here was his opportunity.

Matthew is an interesting choice as a disciple. The Bible tells us he was a tax collector—one of a class of people who worked for the hated Romans. Tax collectors made their living by charging slightly higher fees than the Romans for general, agricultural, census, and traveler taxes. Licensed tax collectors often hired publicans to do the actual collecting. Publicans, who tacked on additional fees, were usually Jews and doubly despised as tax collectors and traitors.

Matthew was one of these publicans whose booth was beside the road outside Capernaum. In addition to collecting the road tax, he may also have collected taxes from fishermen. Imagine how the career fishermen (Andrew, Peter, James and John) must have felt when this loathed publican joined their band!

However, Jesus knew what He was doing when He chose Matthew. He was probably good with numbers and could read and write. He was well educated in the Scriptures, judging by how much of the Old Testament he had at his fingertips to quote in the Gospel of  Matthew.

He also had a missionary bent, shown when he shared his new Rabbi with his friends. For shortly after accepting Jesus' call, he hosted a dinner for his "tax collector and sinner" friends.

That desire to share Jesus eventually led to his writing of the history of the life of Christ we know as The Gospel According to Matthew. What a legacy!

• It contains the only account of the wisemen visit.
• Its detailed account of the Jesus' teachings (called the Sermon on the Mount) is three chapters long (Matthew 5, 6 & 7) versus Luke's 29 verses (Luke 6:20-49).
• It contains parables of the Day of Judgement found in no other gospel (Matthew 24)
• It emphasizes Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.
• It stresses that Jesus was Messiah.
• It depicts Him as King.

What an amazing contribution from someone who came from the most despised category of people, "tax collectors and sinners," whom Jesus Himself characterized as sick: "Those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick" - Mark 2:17 (and Matthew 9:12).

The story of Matthew should give all of us hope. For when Jesus calls us, He sees right through our family and job categories. He is not influenced by the labels others put on us or we put on ourselves. When He says "Follow Me" and we jump up and follow Him, we set out on the road to discover a potential and a destiny we never dreamed possible.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Matthew (Levi), a tax collector who became the writer of a history that has influenced millions. Help me to trust You with my future like he trusted You with his. Amen.

MORE: The Feast of St. Matthew

Today the church celebrates the Feast of St. Matthew. The liturgy for the day begins with the following collect:

"We thank you, heavenly Father, for the witness of your apostle and evangelist Matthew to the Gospel of your Son our Savior; and we pray that, after his example, we may with ready wills and hearts obey the calling of our Lord to follow him; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen."

Sources:

• "The Gospel According to Matthew - Introduction," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, pp.1287-1289.

• Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible, J. I. Packer, M. C. Tenney, editors, pp. 529-531.

(From the archives)

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The secret of effectiveness

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 5:12-32

TO CHEW ON: "However the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed of their infirmities. So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed." Luke 5:15-16

If anyone had an excuse for not having the time and energy to pray, it was Jesus. Wherever He went, the crowds gathered. Even times he set aside for relaxation, or wanted stillness to grieve were hijacked by the multitudes. They followed this captivating teacher and compassionate healer wherever He went, around lakes, up mountainsides and into isolated places.

Jesus' deity did not trump His fatigue either. For we see Him after one long day fast asleep in a storm-tossed boat.

However, He never used the excuse that He was too busy or too tired to pray. Instead He made opportunities to commune with His father in a variety of times and ways. For He knew that His power for ministry was linked at the very artery/vein level, to prayer. Note the word "So" in our focus verse. The people were coming to Him to be taught and healed. So (thus) He needed to pray.

• Sometimes He climbed mountains to pray.

• At other times He went into the wilderness (our focus verse).

• If the day ahead promised to be busy, He rose early.

• If the burden was strong, He prayed all night.

• It was out of His prayer time that He gave vital instruction.

• But He didn't push the obligation to pray onto His disciples at this point. Though He acknowledged the need for prayer in accomplishing feats of supernatural power, and spoke of its importance in various places, He waited for the disciples to come to Him and ask for prayer teaching. It was after they watched Him during one time of prayer that they finally requested: "Teach us to pray."

In the light of Jesus' example, I ask myself:
- Do I make the time and opportunity to pray? Or do I make excuses about why I don't pray?
- Do I start my day and my projects with prayer?
- Do I deal with life's heavy times first in prayer?
- Do I let the insights I gain during times of prayer inform my living?
- Am I a continuing student of prayer?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I love the example You set in prayer. Please teach me to pray. Amen.

MORE: Feast of St. Matthew

Today is the church celebration of Matthew, a disciple Jesus called after one of His prayer sessions.

A set of videos/DVDs of Jesus' life is based on the Gospel of Matthew. When I think of Matthew, I see the gentle and wise elderly man who plays the part of Matthew in the movie, telling his memories to what look like his grandchildren, while a scribe writes his words.

Watch the movie trailer.

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.