Task of Love and Humility:  Ministering to Sinners

Shared January 5, 2024

Introduction

We have been called to serve all manner of people.  Yet, there are many believers who don’t fully embrace ministering to all.  No, we love to minister to those we are comfortable with being around. Yet, Jesus gave us the assignment of ministering the good news to all nations – all manner of people (Matt. 28:19-20).  Jesus has set the example for us to follow.

Matthew, the Tax Collector

Mark 2:14 introduces us to Levi, the son of Alphaeus.  You may know Levi by the name of Matthew as he was one Jesus’ twelve disciples.  The gospel of Matthew is credited to his authorship or his telling of the gospel.  

As this verse points out, Matthew was working in a tax office as a tax collector.  Matthew was likely very disliked in his community because he was a tax collector.  Tax collectors worked for the government, in this case, they worked for Rome.  So, in a way, you could say that Matthew was seen as “working for the man” as the Jews were living under Roman authority. 

Matthew was also likely disliked in his community because tax collectors were seen as greedy schemers.  In their greediness, some tax collectors stole from the poor it was implied that if some did it, all did it.  So, every tax collector was lumped into the pile of being sinners that nobody should have anything to do with.

Calling to follow Jesus

Jesus called on Matthew to follow Him.  The call of Matthew is also paralleled in Matthew 9:9-13 and Luke 5:27-32.

Now, Jesus calling Matthew to follow Him should be seen and understood from the perspective of how Matthew would have been viewed in his society (Mark 2:14).  Was Matthew greedy?  Was Matthew a schemer that stole from the poor?  Scripture doesn’t imply that he participated in such a manner but that would have been his reputation.  

What can we take away from Jesus calling Matthew to follow Him?  We should consider that Jesus doesn’t care about the reputation that we will give to others.  In other words, the Lord isn’t concerned with how we judge one another.  Oftentimes our judgement of one another is far from the actual truth anyway.

The Lord knows what’s in our heart.  People can think whatever they want to think about you and they can say whatever they want to say, but in the end God’s judgment is what matters.  The calling of Matthew shows us that God will love you no matter what others may think or so.

Feast at Matthew’s House

After his call, Matthew prepared a feast in his home for Jesus (Luke 5:29).  It was common practice during that day that when one would invite another to eat at their home that neighbors, guests, friends, and even strangers would also arrive.  This is also seen to happen when Jesus was invited to the home of Simon, the Pharisee (Luke 7:36-50).

Sitting with sinners

Matthew’s house filled up with many tax collectors and sinners along with Jesus and His disciples (Mark 2:15).  Who were the sinners?  Mark wrote this in the sense of how people thought – if you were a friend of a tax collector, you were also a sinner.  The truth of the matter is that everyone in Matthew’s home, except for Jesus, was a sinner!

Because the house was filled with sinners, should Jesus have gotten up and left?  The religious leaders seem to imply that Jesus shouldn’t have been in the house with tax collectors and sinners with the question they asked some of His disciples,

The religious leaders asked, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners (Mark 2:16)?”  It’s a simple task to sit down and to eat and to talk with someone, isn’t it?  At least it should be a simple task but our society certainly twists its nose.

Let’s admit some very hard truths that we’ve seen in our society.  While we think segregation is of the past, segregation is still very much alive today.  We segregate ourselves still by the color of our skin, but we also divide ourselves over politics, sexuality, and even by the societal class structure.  

The church – the local church that is – has also taken part in such division as well.  The church should be a welcome place to all people but those who have been demonized as sinners don’t feel welcome.  Not only that, but many of us believers do a very poor job of helping those who may not be like us feel welcome to enter into fellowship.  How many of us refuse to sit with someone because of the reputation they may have?

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day frowned upon the tax collectors and demonized them.  The religious leaders probably never spoke to someone like Matthew nonetheless entered their home and sat with them.  Were the tax collectors not worthy of receiving God’s law?  

Are today’s sinners not worthy of receiving the gospel of God?  Should the homosexual not receive the gospel?  Should the transexual not hear of the gospel?  Should fornicators, murderers, drug dealers, and sex workers not be ministered to?  Believers seem to have no problem speaking against them but ministering to them seems to come with great difficulty.

Minister with love and humility

In answering how he ate and drank with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus likened them to one who isn’t in good health and needs to see a doctor (Mark 2:17).  Was Jesus talking maliciously about the tax collectors and the others?  Absolutely not – He was being truthful.

To be clear, we are all sinners – every last one of us.  You see, a sinner is one that lives in disobedience to God’s instructions.  Man was created in holiness and righteousness but sin corrupts and tarnishes our soul.  In other words, sin makes the soul sick and unwell.

Every last one of us are in need of a doctor – the spiritual doctor who can and will restore health to the soul.  Some of us have visited Him and He has made our soul well.  Others haven’t gone to visit Him but His office is available to them.  

Of course, in this figure of speech, I am talking about one visiting Jesus so that He can restore their health to their soul.  Jesus desires to sit with them, but like with common trips to see our primary health provider, some of us need to be encouraged to visit Him.  

We who have visited Jesus should be encouraging others to give Him a visit.  When I say others, I don’t just mean those who we are closest to.  You see, when we choose not to minister Christ to others, we’re doing a disservice to them, to the Lord, and to what God has done for us.  

Jesus is a loving and a caring doctor.  As servants of His, we should also be loving, caring, and understanding.  As Jesus embraced every opportunity to heal whomever He came across or whomever came to Him, we should embrace every opportunity we have to minister.  Let’s not be like the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, let us be open to helping and ministering to whomever we can.