The worst of sinners? (1 Timothy 1:15)

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.

1 Timothy 1:15

How could the apostle Paul describe himself as the worst of sinners? Was he using exaggeration? Or was Paul being subjective - he just felt as if he was the worst person on the planet?

●     Paul himself recounts his past as “a blasphemer, persecutor and a violent man” (1 Timothy 1:13). In other words, calling himself “chief of sinners” was not hyperbole nor was it exaggeration. Paul had previously persecuted the church. He even had a hand in the death of Stephen, the first recorded martyr in the book of Acts (Acts 8:1).

●     Yet Paul says, he was “shown mercy because (he) acted in ignorance and unbelief.” Mercy is not receiving what we do deserve. Paul was guilty but God was merciful in withholding judgement and not punishing Paul as he rightly deserved. Yet Paul received something even greater than mercy: he received grace.

●     Grace is receiving what we do not deserve. Paul received abundant grace - overflowing grace - in the form of forgiveness, love and faith in Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 1:14)

●     This was true of Paul and this is true of us as well. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”. And he seems to begin verse 15 by saying, “You can trust this. You can bet your life on this!”

●     Still, what are we to make of his declaration as the “worst” of sinners. Notice how the same word occurs in the very next verse: “But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.” (1 Timothy 1:16)

●     The Greek “protos” literally means “first”, or as some translations have it, “foremost”. The English Standard Version reads, “That in me, as the foremost, (the word 'sinner' doesn’t occur in the original) Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience”.

●     Paul is therefore describing himself as a sinner on display. He is the foremost sinner. He is a sinner in the limelight. Notice that he doesn’t just say, in verse 15, “of whom I was the first” - referring to his past sins; but that Paul says quite emphatically, “of whom I am the first”. It is in the present tense. Meaning: Every single day he lives is given Paul to display the overflowing generosity of God through Jesus Christ, that others might recall his actions in the past, that many might behold his changed life in the present, and that all might marvel at his hope for the future, and know that all this has been poured out on Paul, a sinner purely by the grace of God.

●     Finally, this grace is given Paul for our benefit. He stands merely as “an example” (1 Timothy 1:16) that we might similarly trust in Jesus Christ and receive eternal life.

All I want for Christmas is... Compassion (Matthew 20:29-34)

The theme of our Christmas series can be summed up in one word: Expectation. What are we looking forward to? What are we hoping for?

For many, Christmas is a time of great expectation: the holidays, the presents, the shopping. For others it can equally be a time of great disappointment: the loneliness, the cold weather, the credit card bills.

The bible tells us that Jesus came to fulfil all of  God’s promises - every single expectation of God’s goodness, his salvation, even his judgement - laid out in the Old Testament. But he does so in such a way that surprises our greatest expectations and soothes our deepest disappointments. In the coming weeks we will be looking at our expectations of joy and happiness, of faith in God, of truth and of love.

But for today we are dealing with the expectation of God’s mercy. Twice we encounter these words, “Have mercy on us” in verses 30 and 31. It is a cry for help and it is met with a response of compassion. Verse 34: “Jesus had compassion on them.”

Out of all the expectations I mentioned earlier - happiness, faith, truth and love - this one is perhaps the hardest: the expectation of mercy. Especially in a Chinese culture like ours. Not that our culture says that we shouldn’t be merciful or charitable, that’s not what I mean. Rather, some of us feel embarrassed to admit that we need help. We are pai seh. Even when times are desperate we act as if everything is OK. When things go wrong we cover it up and maybe even, get angry.

That describes the crowd we see in verse 29.

The crowd

As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him.

Matthew 20:29

Jesus is at the most popular stage of his career. As a preacher and teacher of God’s word. As a miracle worker healing the sick and raising the dead. At this point in his ministry, Jesus was well-known and well-liked. And here we see that a large crowd follows Jesus as he and his friends leave the city of Jericho. Their destination was Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, and it is no coincidence that this was near the time of the Passover, the biggest festival of the entire Jewish calendar. Everyone was expecting Jesus to do something big. If ever there was a time and a place for Jesus to make his stamp in the history, it was here and it was now.

“Hey, it’s Jesus!” they would have said to one another as they say him walking by. “Let’s follow him to Jerusalem and see what he does next.” As the crowd grew around Jesus so did their expectations of Jesus.

What they did not expect were the two blind men of verse 30.

The cry

Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

Matthew 20:30-31

This week alone there will be two carol services at Great St Mary’s, two huge Christian parties organised by CICCU and the Christian Graduate Society, not to mention a special Christmas event for language students next Sunday evening with an International choir. God willing, these events will attract hundreds, if not, thousands of students around the city to hear the true message of Christmas - that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners.

But imagine that as you were walking up to Great St Mary’s tomorrow night - full of anticipation of an evening of carols, a powerful presentation of the gospel, the warm mince pies and mulled wine served at the end - and as you’re walking there joined by the hundreds of other undergraduates headed toward the same destination, you pass by the local Sainsburys where a homeless man stops you and says, “Big issue, sir?” How would you react? I doubt any of you would have reacted the way this crowd did in verse 30.

“Shaaadddup!”

“The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet”, verse 30 tells us. It is important to understand why. Maybe it was because the beggars were causing a scene. Maybe they were embarrassed. Yet there is something troubling still in their behaviour. You see, the crowd sincerely thought that they were doing Jesus a favour. In their minds, Jesus was someone too important to deal with the riffraff. “Can’t you see we’re on a really important mission of evangelism with Jesus? Stop being a nuisance and be quiet!” If they carried around one of those WWJD (“What would Jesus do?”) bracelets you sometimes see Christians wearing today, well, they thought Jesus would have told these two to sit in the corner and be quiet.

And yet the two blind men didn’t shut up. “They shouted all the louder,” verse 31 tells us. More importantly, do you notice what these two blind men were shouting? They addressed Jesus as “Lord”, and as the “Son of David”. That is they weren’t asking Jesus for money, “Spare any change, mate?” Rather they were addressing Jesus as who he really was - as Lord and as the Son of David.

“Son of David” was a name we find in the bible given to God’s chosen King. For hundreds of years, God promised that one day he would send a king - a King of Kings; and ultimate King - to establish the kingdom of Israel; to establish the kingdom of God. And what these two beggars were saying was that Jesus is that king. Or to use another bible word, Jesus is the Christ.

Furthermore, by pleading for mercy, the blind men were not so much asking for pity, but were in effect addressing Jesus as a judge. “Lord, have mercy”. It is what you say before a judge in a courtroom as a convicted criminal. And one more thing, they called Jesus, “Lord”, a name that is repeatedly used in the Old Testament to refer to God. Now some of you might say, “That’s a bit much! They didn’t know that Jesus was God.” And I agree with you. The two blind men were speaking better than they knew. But Matthew records their words for us here in the bible, twice, to make us think of who Jesus really was. Who did the crowd expect Jesus to be? How did his closest friends see Jesus?

Remarkably, these two blind man saw clearly what a whole crowd of followers (including Jesus’ own disciples in verse 29) could not see. He was the Christ. He was the Judge. While everyone else was admiring Jesus for his teaching and his amazing miracles, these beggars were humbling themselves before the Son of God. “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

And while everyone else was eager to just walk on by and ignore the ramblings of these two nobodies, Jesus stops, he calls them over and Jesus actually asks them how he could be of service to them.

The compassion

Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”

Matthew 20:32-33

I wonder if you have any friends who are blind. I do. I say that to be mindful of what I say next about these verses. The blind men ask to be healed and Jesus miraculously restores their sight. Not partially. Not over the next few months. Instantly and completely - hence the last sentence in verse 34 which reads, “Immediately, they received their sight and followed him.”

I believe this really happened. As I mentioned earlier, I am mindful of how this sounds to friends who have lost their sight, friends who have never been able to see in their entire lives, even of friends who have had serious health problems in the recent past. I remember and occasion many years ago of a sister who walked out of the room when a pastor referred to a miraculous healing from God. She was very angry with the speaker. “How could he say that? This just creates a false expectation in God,” she said. The truth is many Christians suffer from illnesses that are not healed instantly. Many live with their illness to their dying day.

The dilemma we face today is not simply “Can God heal me?” but “Will God heal me?” Meaning: the real question we need to ask this passage is not “Could Jesus heal these two men?” But “Why?” Why did Jesus heal these two blind men? Why does Matthew record this incident for us to read in the bible?

In verse 33, the English NIV has the two blind men saying, “Lord, we want our sight.” But the ESV is perhaps more helpful when reads, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” Throughout his three-year ministry, Jesus healed many, many sick people according to the gospel writers (see for instance Matthew 4:23-25 where large crowds come to him from Syria, Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem and Judea), and yet what is surprising is how selective the gospel writers are about which event of healing gets recorded in the gospels. In fact, so specific is their selection of this healing of hte blind men that it in all three of the synoptic gospels - here in Matthew 20, in Mark 10 and in Luke 18. The question is why? What is so special about this healing?

The reason is: the bible pointing to something bigger than physical healing. It is pointing us to faith and it teaches us that faith involves two things: it involves (1) seeing ourselves clearly and (2) seeing Jesus clearly. That is the significance of the request in verse 33, “Lord, open our eyes.” They are saying two things. Firstly, they are admitting their helpless condition. They are blind. “Our eyes are closed. We cannot see.” But secondly, they are recognising that only Jesus is able to open their eyes. Three times, they address Jesus as “Lord”. “Lord, let our eyes be opened.”

These two men saw themselves clearly and they saw Jesus clearly. Unlike the crowd. Unlike the rich man (Matthew 19:16-22) who was confident of being accepted because he had a good education from Cambridge and came to church every Sunday to play the keyboard for youth group. Unlike the disciples who were shooing away little kids because they weren’t important enough to hang around Jesus (Matthew 19:13). In effect, the crowd saw Jesus the way we see Santa Claus: someone who brings us nice toys for Christmas if we are good enough and behave when Grandma visits over the holidays.

That was not how the blind men saw themselves or Jesus. These blind men knew they didn’t deserve anything and they couldn’t do anything to help themselves. But they saw Jesus as someone powerful enough and merciful enough to help them out of their helpless estate. When Jesus said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” They didn’t say, “I need a new car. I need a new job. I need a holiday.” They said, “I’m blind. Help me.”

And the reason why this story is in the bible three times is to drive home the point - that’s what we are. Helpless. Pitiful. Blind. I wonder, how do you see yourself today? “Well, I’m doing all right. A few problems in the office, but nothing really serious, you know?” Or do you say, “I’m a wreck. I’m here because God’s the only one who can help me and I really need his grace and mercy”? How do you see yourself today?

Or what would it take for us to see ourselves this way? You know, I have yet to meet a rich, healthy, Cambridge graduate at the peak of his career, just back from a business trip to Asia flying first-class on BA, turning up in the church one day in his brand new Aston Martin just to me and say, “I’m hopeless! I am a sinner!” But go through a serious illness. Suffer through a tragedy. Lose a loved one. Sometimes, all it takes is just a tiny toothache and we cry out to God shaking our fists at him saying, “Why is this happening to me?”

What would it take for you to see your need for God today? CS Lewis writes:

God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.

I wonder if God is speaking to some of you here today who are going through a really difficult time in your life, saying, “These two blind men - this is your condition. The blindness. The helplessness. You need to see that you can’t work your way out of this mess.”

And I wonder if God is saying to you, “This is my Son, Jesus. Call out to him. See him as he truly is. Lord. Christ. The merciful Judge. The compassionate Saviour.”

A compassionate saviour

Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Matthew 20:34

Christmas is the time we remember the birth of Jesus Christ. God became a human being. And the bible tells us that Jesus was fully God and fully man. And by that it doesn’t just mean that he had arms, legs, hair and armpits like us. The reason why Jesus had to become a man was this: and here’s what the book of Hebrews says -

For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those are being tempted.

Hebrews 2:17-18

“Because he himself suffered,” that’s why he can help us. He became like us (“in every way” that bible tells us) in order to identify with our suffering and temptation, in order that he might be merciful and faithful to us as our high priest. Jesus is a God who has suffered. Isn’t that amazing? That’s what Christmas is saying. Jesus took on our humanity. He took on our suffering.

And that’s why it is such a silly thing to want to hide our suffering and pain from Jesus. Or to think that he will not understand. Because he does.

But notice as well that Hebrews as that Jesus made “atonement for the sins of the people”. What does that mean? It is helping to explain about what really happened on the cross. Jesus was paying the price of our sin by taking the punishment for our sins. That price was rejection from God.

You see, these two blind men - how did Jesus help them that day? “Well, he healed them, that’s obvious enough.” What was their condition before? “They were blind, duh!” Yes, yes. But weren’t they also rejected? The crowds saw them as trash. They talked to them like trash.

What happened when Jesus touched their eyes? Verse 34: “Immediately they received their sight and followed him”. They followed Jesus. To Jerusalem. To the passover. To the cross. They were able to see the whole thing. Previously, they were rejected by the crowd. Now, they are accepted by Jesus.

That’s what Jesus does for us at the cross. It changes us. By making us whole - giving us sight, faith, life. But it also changes us so that we now follow him. The cross enables us to see ourselves clearly and to see Jesus clearly. Jesus opened the eyes of these two blind men, so that they could follow him all the way to the cross.

What about you? Do you see? If you don’t, why not be honest about it. Ask God to open your eyes so that you can see clearly who you are and who Jesus is.

If you do see clearly, then follow him. Follow Jesus to the cross.

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord

Open the eyes of my heart

I want to see You

I want to see You

To see You high and lifted up

Shining in the light of Your glory

Pour out Your power and love

As we sing holy, holy, holy

(“Open the eyes of my heart”, Michael W. Smith)

The Call of the Kingdom (Matthew 9:9-13)

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples.When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

On hearing this, Jesus said, "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 9:9-13)

It is tempting to focus on the one individual Jesus approaches and enlists as his disciple here in this passage. My NIV bible heads the section as "The Calling of Matthew". The other two gospels have "The Calling of Levi" (Levi being Matthew's other Jewish name) in their parallel accounts of Mark 2:13-17 and Luke 5:27-32.

Yet, in all three accounts, the controversy surrounds Jesus calling not one "sinner", but gathering around him many "sinners". Here in Matthew's gospel, verse 10, it is when many tax collectors and sinners come and eat with Jesus, that the religious leaders start to kick up a fuss.

This is not to say that Matthew's invitation by Jesus to join him in life and ministry is not important. Rather the calling of Matthew as an individual, soon gives way to the calling of a community made up of many individuals like Matthew, which forms the basis of a Kingdom proclaimed to many sinners like us. This passage progresses from:

• The Call (Verse 9)
• The Community (Verses 10 to 11); to...
• The Kingdom (Verses 12 to 13)

1. The Call

Matthew is a tax collector. His profession is highlighted three times in the passage. In verse 9, he is sitting at the tax collector's booth. In verse 10, many of his tax collector friends join him at home. In verse 11, the religious leaders criticise the whole bunch of tax collectors as "sinners".

All his life, Matthew never forgot that. In the next chapter, Matthew's name is among the twelve chosen apostles of Jesus. Yet even there, he is called "Matthew the tax collector" (10:3). Being in the inner circle of Jesus, witnessing his miracles and listening to his teaching, even writing this gospel account Jesus' life, ministry and death - never changed the fact that Matthew would always be remembered for this one job he once worked. But what was so significant about being a tax collector?

It is often taught in Sunday School that tax collectors were greedy businessmen who imposed harsh taxes on the people of Israel, forcing them to pay more than they could afford to line their own pockets. But the hatred of tax collectors goes deeper than even that.

2000 years ago, Israel (and much of the Western world) was ruled by the mighty Roman empire who enforced their power and influence through a strong military presence. The only way to finance the large number of troops needed for such a massive operation was tax. Money was collected to pay for soldiers, arms and supplies. Jewish businessmen bid for contracts to collect tax on behalf of the Roman government from their own nation. In effect, these tax collectors were financially enabling the occupation of their own country.

Tax collectors were seen as political traitors. But the label of "sinners" goes one step further to say that theirs was a moral offence against the God of Israel. Working in close proximity with Gentiles made them "unclean" - they couldn't come into the presence of God. Colluding with a foreign nation was an affront to the Kingdom of God - they stood under the wrath of the Almighty.

For Jesus to call Matthew, a tax collector, to follow him as a disciple is surprising, if not offensive. Not least because Jesus could have had his pick. Huge crowds followed him wherever he went. Many came seeking miraculous healing. Large numbers gathered to hear him preach. Not a few approached him to be discipled. In the previous chapter, Jesus had a learned scholar coming up to him to offer his services. "Teacher," he said, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus rebuffed him, "The Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Or later in chapter 19, when a rich man claiming to have kept the commandments of the God's law sought after Jesus, only to end up leaving sorrowful, having been asked by Jesus to sell his possessions.

Jesus could have chosen the best, the brightest and the influential. Instead, he chooses Matthew - a traitor, an outcast and a sinner. Matthew: who was not there in the crowd that day but stayed in his office minding his own business. He doesn't even bother to get up when Jesus finds him "sitting at the ... booth". But Jesus sees Matthew, Jesus calls Matthew, and Matthew responds.

"Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

To be called of God, is to be invited by Jesus. Personally. Irresistibly. To get up from wherever you are in your life right now, and join Jesus by walking with him and living for him alone. This is what it means to follow Jesus. This is what it means to become a Christian.

And Jesus says the reason he came is to call people like Matthew. He came to call sinners.

2. The Community

The religious leaders did not understand this. When Jesus is in Matthew house with Matthew's friends, the Pharisees gather outside to condemn Jesus for the company he is keeping.

When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

But notice that the point of contention is not just Jesus' company, but also his activity. Jesus is eating with these sinners. The issue is defilement. A sinner is unclean, and eating with a sinner makes you unclean. It was bad enough for Jesus to enter Matthew's home. But to eat his food? Doesn't Jesus realise he is contaminating himself not just externally but internally now?

Later in Chapter 15, Jesus would say to them, "Listen and understand. What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' " In Chapter 23, Jesus would condemn them for their concern with outward appearances but ignorance of their inner hypocrisy: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence."

The Pharisees raise their objections to Jesus' disciples. Perhaps they are trying to be polite (yeah, right!) by passing the message along. More likely, the religious leaders are standing outside Matthew's house, unwilling to risk defiling themselves by entering in. Yet there they are, standing on the outside, refusing to join in the celebration, and looking down disapprovingly on all who do.

The scene reminds me of Jesus' parable of the wayward son and his older brother in Luke 15 which ends similarly with a big party. The youngest son who had insulted his father by demanding his share of the inheritance only to leave home and squander it all on "wild living", returns home sheepishly only to be welcomed with open arms by his loving father. The father throws a huge celebration in honour of his youngest, much to the displeasure of his oldest son, who comes home after working all day in the estate, and starts kicking up a fuss. The older brother refuses to even step into the house. "No! I won't!" Like a small brat he throws a tantrum, blaming his father, blaming his brother, all the while insisting on being in the right.

And here in Matthew's gospel, outside Matthew's house, the Pharisees act like the older brother - who complain against the wayward, sinful brother; who pour scorn on their joy; who criticise Jesus for associating with these outcasts; and who still see themselves as righteous, holy and acceptable. It is worth asking at this point: why were they so confident of their rightness and Jesus' wrongness? What was it about the Pharisees and religious leaders that made them think so lowly of the tax collectors, indeed, of Jesus for mixing with the tax collectors?

It was their goodness.

Sunday School kids are often taught, "Don't by like those Pharisees, those hypocrites! They are the bad guys!" We imagine Pharisees to be spoilsports, mean-spirited, grumpy old men. But actually, the Pharisees were the good guys. They read their bibles. They followed the rules outlined by God's law. They looked forward to God's kingdom. They were religious, respectable and biblical. They were the kind of people you wanted teaching your kids in schools. They were the kind of people you wanted to run your churches - serious about sin and fervent about God's word. Pharisees were the good guys.

And Jesus shocks them by saying he didn't come to look for the good guys. He's come for the bad.

"For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Ironically, it was not their badness that kept the Pharisees away from Jesus, it was their goodness. What about us? Are we tempted to think God will love us more because we have kept the rules? By maintaining a regular appearance on Sundays in church? Through our grades? What is our measure of goodness? A job? Cleanliness? What makes us look respectable, acceptable before other men? Our education? The number of friends on our Facebook page?

While we are at it: what is our modern equivalent of badness? Who are the sinners in our day and age? Who are the people we stay away from? The criminals? The hypocrites? The poor? The rich, maybe? The proud and arrogant? Are we tempted to think that they deserve God's judgement for what they have done, more than we do?

The issue at heart of it is prejudice. Everyone agrees it is bad. Yet, everyone has prejudices; everyone discriminates based on their subjective judgement of what is good or bad, what is beneficial or unprofitable, what is useful or harmful. We might try to legislate against the act of prejudice - by enacting laws against hate crimes, unfair hiring practices or discrimination in schools and workplaces. But how do you legislate against the heart? How do you imprison hate? How do curb envy?

You see, even the Sunday School teacher, summarising a passage like today's by saying, "Kids, don't by like the Pharisees!" is essentially doing the exact same thing the Pharisees were doing. "We are good, they are the ones who are bad!"

Which makes Jesus' reply to the situation all the more radical. He brings the matter back to God's judgement. But more pointedly, he brings the matter back to his own mission. Jesus' call would be the true measure of righteousness and acceptability in the Kingdom. For Jesus is the King who has come to bring in the Kingdom. Jesus is the Judge who determines God's judgement on who gets into the Kingdom.

3. The Kingdom

On hearing this, Jesus said, "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."

There was something very significant about Jesus sitting down and eating with these tax collectors, and the Pharisees could see that. It wasn't just the food, though it was a possible issue of defilement. And, it wasn't just his friends, as hated as these tax collectors were. It was what the food and the friends represented together - a fellowship. Jesus was giving a glimpse into the new community that he would establish as God's new kingdom.

Every week, Rock Fellowship meets to study the bible and a big part of our coming together regularly each week, is meal we share beforehand. It is such a blessing to be able to do this as a fellowship, as a church and as a family. It really isn't just about the convenience of not having to grab dinner at McDonald's after work, or saving money, or even savouring a good hearty Chinese meal (though that helps!). Eating together is something you do regular with people you share your lives with. You eat with your friends. You eat regularly with your family.

The early church did this. In Acts Chapter 2, three thousand people became Christians in one afternoon. And from that day on, Acts 2 says these three thousand believers did three things. Every day, the met to study from the bible, to pray, and to eat together. They ate together as a sign of their new life together in Jesus.

So we as the Chinese Church gather on the first week of every month to share the Lord's Supper. It is simply a meal, consisting the bread and the cup of wine (well, cups - plural... filled with of Ribena), representing the body and blood of Jesus. We do this to proclaim his death for us, as one body in him. Often, you will hear us refer to this as "Communion" - our coming together as a community, to share this symbolic meal, as a reminder of the cross.

The bible speaks of heaven as a huge banquet. It is a feast prepared by God and shared with God's people. We looked at one such parable of Jesus on Valentine's Day recently when we studied Matthew Chapter 22 - The Parable of the Wedding Banquet. Here in Matthew's gospel, Jesus points forward to that hope of God's presence, blessing and salvation; he foreshadows that new reality - when we gathers these "sinners" around him and eats with them.

The Pharisees could see this. Theirs was a loaded question. They were essentially saying, "Why is Jesus choosing them over us?" The following passage reinforces this, where in verse 14, John's disciples, aligning themselves with the Pharisees also question Jesus' allegiances. "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" Notice, how complaint still has to do with food? One party feasts while the other fasts? And notice, how the issue is essentially about taking sides? We and the Pharisees - as opposed to - you and your disciples (which may have also been a dig at the tax collectors - ohh, so these sinners are your disciples now are they, Jesus?).

Jesus' reply engages them at three levels.

Need

The first is need. "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." Jesus says the reason people don't come to him is because they don't see their need for him.

For all the objections I've heard for years about the claims of the bible, about who Jesus is, about what he did for us on the cross, about the existence of God and the so-called problem of evil (which is really more a problem for the atheist that the Christian who actually believes that there is such a thing as good and evil, and a God who determines what is good and evil) - for all the effort that rightly goes into explaining and defending the truth of the gospel; what Jesus says here really hits the nail on the head. The number reason people aren't Christians isn't because they don't think it is true. It's because they think they don't need this truth.

Healthy people don't need a doctor. Good people don't need Jesus.

Jesus uses a very powerful analogy, doesn't he? Sickness as picture of sin. Now understand here that Jesus is not equating how you sick you are with how sinful you are (we will look at this in more detail in the next study). What Jesus is showing us is how aware we are of our sickness, yet how blind we are to sin.

That's because we don't ignore pain. We don't delay in dealing with our suffering. I have a headache, I take a few pills. I have a tootache, I immediately make an appointment to see a dentist. But we don't see our sin. We don't realise how it is killing us. We don't see how it affects the people around us. We don't realise how God is angry with our sinfulness.

Not all pain is a curse. God ordains some pain and hardship to open our eyes to the fact that we live in a sinful world. God sometimes uses pain to open our eyes to the reason for pain - our sinfulness and God's judgement over our sinfulness. There will come a day when God release this world from the bondage to decay. But until then, we cannot forget that heaven is not yet here, and Jesus has not yet returned. Seeing our pain, and recognising the pain of others ought to drive us to pray. It should remind us that we need God's grace to survive in this broken world, and ask him daily for grace, and long for daily for his Kingdom.

At the same time, not all health is blessing. Our wellness, our wealth, our privilege in life might very well be God's judgement in condemning a rebellious world in its blindness to the true source of life, treasure and joy in Jesus. It is one of the real dangers of the prosperity gospel over-emphasising blessings in this life. It spoils our appetite for Jesus. We don't need him as much as we need stuff from him.

Jesus says the healthy don't see their need, and they would not seek him to fill their need.

Mercy

Secondly, Jesus emphasizes God's mercy. He says, "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' "

Here Jesus quotes from the Old Testament book of Hosea, and you find that it's such an important verse, Jesus quotes it twice in Matthew's gospel. Here as well as Chapter 12. Both times, he is speaking to the religious leaders. Both times, it is about condemnation that they bring against Jesus and his followers. Both times, it stems from a misunderstanding of God's will in his word, which is why Jesus points to Scripture to clarify the situation.

And Jesus mentions two good things, yet one is better.

Jesus talks about two godly things, but one one is desired.

What is the mark of a true community of God? Isn't it tempting to say "sacrifice"? "Wow, look at that guy - he is giving so much of his time, and money, and energy to serve in this church! He has sacrificed so much!" Isn't sacrifice a virtue we value in the Chinese culture? The kind of thing we look for in our leaders? The mark of a true Christian?

Friends, I suggest to you that maybe we lack one thing. Mercy. I mean, think with me for a moment. What would it even look like? When I think of the brothers and sisters in our fellowship, in our church, it is easy to recall how sacrificial we have been for one another. That is truly a blessing. That is truly commendable. But what would an instance of mercy look like in our group, I wonder?

You see, "mercy" means not one of us deserves to be here. Mercy means I deserve God's judgement, not his love. Mercy means I am a sinner; we are all sinners. When Jesus calls Matthew and hangs out with the tax collectors, he isn't denying that stand under God's anger. He identifies their sickness that needs healing. He acknowledges them as "sinners".

But Christians are a special subset of sinners. We are forgiven sinners. We are to be repentant sinners. In the other gospel accounts, we learn that Matthew leaves his job. He repays all he has cheated. He leaves his life of sin - of living his life for himself - and follows Jesus, living his life to serve Jesus.

God shows mercy by pouring out his mercy on undeserving sinners. That is what Jesus does with Matthew and his friends. He is showing them what it means to be loved by God. Not surprisingly, the original quotation in Hosea could be rightly translated as "I desire love, not sacrifice". The word in Hebrew is chesed - a rich description of God's covenantal, faithful, everlasting love.

A community of Jesus that displays mercy, is a community that displays God's love. It means constantly forgiving one another, having received forgiveness from God. It means loving one another with the love we have received from Jesus.

Jesus' Call

Finally, Jesus sums up by pointing to himself - his authority to call sinners to himself. "For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

To see the weight of Jesus' conclusion, we need to first notice a shift in pronouns. Previously, Jesus was quoting from Hosea where it was God who was speaking. "I desire mercy, not sacrifice," declares the God of the bible. In Hosea, it is God speaking to his people who have rejected him again and again. God desires that his people love him, with the love that has been shown them. A love that is constant, unchanging and steadfast.

And almost immediately, Jesus shifts to the first person. He says of God "I desire". Then Jesus says of himself, "I have come". One is the expression of God's will. The other is the fulfilment of God's love.

Jesus says the whole reason he came - into ministry; into this creation - was to call sinners. But more than that, he underlines the focus of his call by emphasizing the negative. He did not come for the righteous. There is a serious lesson here we need to take on board. Jesus did not take on flesh, to walk as man, to die on the cross, to be raised from the dead - just to give us a pat on the back for all the good things have done for God. He came to seek sinners who could not possibly help themselves. He came to save those who could not possibly save themselves. He came to die so that we would not have to face the final judgement of death ourselves.

This is in fulfilment of Hosea 6 - Jesus displays God's ultimate, merciful love to those who do not deserve it and could never earn it.

But it is also a display of Jesus' ultimate authority as God. For God the only righteous Judge can show such mercy in forgiving sinners. Only God has the ability and the authority to love the unlovable. The Pharisees for all their religion could not - their goodness could not save themselves, much less those around them - they lacked the ability and they lacked the will. But Jesus did. He had the authority to call sinners because he had the authority to lay down his life for sinners. That is the reason he came.

By quoting Hosea 6, Jesus offers a glimpse into the source of his divine authority - his sacrifice. Our sacrifices can never make us acceptable. Our goodness can never make up for our sinfulness. But Jesus can. On the cross, Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice for our sin, by taking God's judgement for our sin upon himself. He gave his life as a sacrifice for us, that we might receive mercy from him.

If you are a sinner, this means Jesus came for you. He died so that you could receive God's mercy, love and forgiveness. There nothing for you to do, nothing that you could do - because Jesus has done it all for you through his sacrifice on the cross. All you can do is respond. By obeying his call and by following him as your Lord and as your Saviour.

Hear the call of the kingdom
Lift your eyes to the King
Let His song rise within you
As a fragrant offering
Of how God rich in mercy
Came in Christ to redeem
All who trust in His unfailing grace

King of Heaven we will answer the call
We will follow bringing hope to the world
Filled with passion, filled with power to proclaim
Salvation in Jesus' name