Who are the outcasts around you?
As humans, we draw lines in the sand of who belongs and who does not belong more than we would like to admit it. Even when it comes to the virtue of grace, we can rationalize who deserves our mercy. Certain people have related to us through their behaviors, statuses, and viewpoints that warrant our favor.
At Browncroft, the church I serve, we have begun a journey through the Gospel of Matthew. The first book of the New Testament has a highly organized structure of Jesus’ life, teaching, miracles, and ministry. The author takes careful consideration to connect Jesus to the Old Testament by quoting prophets like Isaiah, Deuteronomy, Leviticus, and more. You can tell early on engaging this book that the original readers piously devoted themselves to religion.
Matthew 1:1-17 starts conventionally with a genealogy of Jesus. This highly detailed record of Jesus’ lineage begins to questions assumptions. The writer of Matthew adds Rahab and Ruth. Two outcasts that could cloud the pristine picture of a coming Messiah. Two women not born Jewish, but born Gentile with checkered pasts.
The Church Fathers like Iraneaus and Papias have traditionally identified the writer as Matthew the tax collector (Click here to read more about the possible authors or Matthew). Matthew 9:9-13 shares of Jesus invitation of Matthew. Tax Collectors traded in their devotedness to their Jewish heritage to become profiting off their people for the Roman government. Surprisingly to the people who witnessed this scene and to the original readers of this passage, Jesus halts His course to call Matthew to follow Him. Not only that, but have a party at his house with other sinners (Matthew 9:10).
When Jesus first meets Matthew in chapter 9, most people consider him the last person to follow Jesus. Let alone this person one day would have a biography of Jesus attributed to his writing.
Why would this matter to us in the twenty-first century? When we encounter the extravagant grace and resurrection power of the Gospel of Jesus, it shatters our rulings of who belongs and those who do not. The Gospel at certain levels offends us because Jesus willingly leaves the 99 sheep for the one lost one. Usually, the one seems the most undeserving (Matthew 18:10-14).
At the end of the day, whether we consider ourselves religious or not, we’re all “Matthews.” We cannot experience the Gospel unless we realize our need for Jesus:
“…It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:12-13)
Consider for a moment the “Matthews” in your life — the outcasts or the people you consider least deserving of grace. What if Jesus has placed them in your life to remind you of the power of the Gospel? What would happen if You prayed to see these people as He sees them? When we see ourselves as “Matthew” we realize our need for Jesus and the hope for others to experience Him.
Photo by Mean Shadows