1. What is so heart-warming and touching is that Matthew shares his own personal conversion in one simple verse, and then he moves on to share how Jesus came to save sinners like him. He does not talk about himself or about the details of his sin and shame, but he lifts up Jesus and the glorious salvation Jesus came to bring. He emphasizes not his own conversion, but the fact the Jesus came to save all tax collectors and sinners such as himself.
2. Matthew was a working man, a very industrious man. He was not a lazy or slothful person. Apparently he was dissatisfied with his profession, but he was working hard. Jesus has no room for the lazy and soft.
3. Matthew entertained Jesus and his sinful friends. The very first thing Matthew did was witness to his friends. He arranged a “great banquet” for Jesus to share with his sinful friends. The witnessing session was apparently very fruitful: “there were many who followed Him” (Mk 2: 15)
4. The self-disciplined and religious are some times the most judgmental and censorious. A judgmental and censorious spirit does more to hurt people than any other single thing. But note what God says: the person who judges and censors others shall be shut out of the Kingdom of God (Ro. 2: 1-3)
5. God’s call is to mercy, not to sacrifice. A person can make sacrifice after sacrifice and gift after gift and still not please God. What God wants first of all is a person’s life. God wants to cleanse the person, making him acceptable for heaven. Once God has the person’s life, He has all he is.
Jesus receives the sinners who are aware of their sinfulness and are ready to mend their lives. Today’s greatest woe is the steady loss of sense of sin among the people. If our conscience gets used to the sins, we actually risk our salvation. Without our cooperation even God cannot save us. Let us be open to God’s word and let us try to keep our conscience delicate by frequenting the sacrament of Reconciliation. This will enable us to rise from our chairs of sinfulness immediately and keep following our Lord till the end.
Courtesy
The Preacher’s Outline and the Sermon Bible
2. Matthew was a working man, a very industrious man. He was not a lazy or slothful person. Apparently he was dissatisfied with his profession, but he was working hard. Jesus has no room for the lazy and soft.
3. Matthew entertained Jesus and his sinful friends. The very first thing Matthew did was witness to his friends. He arranged a “great banquet” for Jesus to share with his sinful friends. The witnessing session was apparently very fruitful: “there were many who followed Him” (Mk 2: 15)
4. The self-disciplined and religious are some times the most judgmental and censorious. A judgmental and censorious spirit does more to hurt people than any other single thing. But note what God says: the person who judges and censors others shall be shut out of the Kingdom of God (Ro. 2: 1-3)
5. God’s call is to mercy, not to sacrifice. A person can make sacrifice after sacrifice and gift after gift and still not please God. What God wants first of all is a person’s life. God wants to cleanse the person, making him acceptable for heaven. Once God has the person’s life, He has all he is.
Jesus receives the sinners who are aware of their sinfulness and are ready to mend their lives. Today’s greatest woe is the steady loss of sense of sin among the people. If our conscience gets used to the sins, we actually risk our salvation. Without our cooperation even God cannot save us. Let us be open to God’s word and let us try to keep our conscience delicate by frequenting the sacrament of Reconciliation. This will enable us to rise from our chairs of sinfulness immediately and keep following our Lord till the end.
Courtesy
The Preacher’s Outline and the Sermon Bible
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