{"id":25449,"date":"2025-09-17T17:41:05","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T15:41:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/?p=25449"},"modified":"2025-09-17T17:21:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T15:21:11","slug":"matthew-99-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/matthew-99-13\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew 9,9-13"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pentecost Fifteen | 21.09.2025 | Matthew 9,9-13 | Beth A. Schlegel<\/strong> |<\/h3>\n

9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, \u201cFollow me.\u201d And he rose and followed him.\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>10\u00a0And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many\u00a0tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples.\u00a011\u00a0And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples,\u00a0\u201cWhy does your teacher eat with\u00a0tax collectors and sinners?\u201d\u00a012\u00a0But when he heard it, he said,\u00a0\u201cThose who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.\u00a013\u00a0Go and learn\u00a0what this means:\u00a0\u2018I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.\u2019 For\u00a0I came not to call the righteous,\u00a0but sinners.\u201d<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n

Matthew 9:9-13\u00a0 English Standard Version <\/strong>Copyright \u00a9\u00a02001 by Crossway Bibles<\/a> \u00a0(or other version)<\/p>\n

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JESUS \u2013 FRIEND OF SINNERS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.<\/p>\n

Today we remember St. Matthew — one of the 12 apostles and one of the 4 Gospel writers, or evangelists. Matthew\u2019s is the longest Gospel and, in some respects, the most detailed.\u00a0 So, it is curious that his own account of this call to Christian faith and discipleship reveals very little about himself — Jesus came and called him, and he followed. Here was a perfect opportunity for Matthew to narrate what he felt when Jesus came up to him — what his life had been like as a tax collector, and to praise himself as one who sacrificed livelihood and riches to become a student and preacher of God\u2019s Word.\u00a0 Here was Matthew\u2019s chance to pat himself on the back and pen a lasting legacy to his faith and good life. But there are no such details.\u00a0 The Gospel according to St. Matthew is not about Matthew, but about Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Matthew wants us to look not at him, Matthew, but at the Lord Jesus.<\/p>\n

The call of Matthew points our eyes to the God whose love for us is so great that instead of giving up on those who sin, who rebel against him, who are too busy getting rich and climbing the corporate ladder to turn to God, who cheat their neighbor and cheat on their spouse, who turn the other way when wrong is being done — instead of giving up on Matthew and all the Matthews of the world — God, in Jesus Christ, sought him out, called him by name from his old life of sin to a new life of discipleship and friendship with himself.<\/p>\n

Matthew directs our ears to God\u2019s Word and our hearts to the God whose greatest joy is to show mercy to those whose lives have merited condemnation — God, who in Jesus Christ says to the Matthews of the world — the frauds and deceivers, the selfish and greedy, the adulterers and murderers, the liars and thieves, the well-intentioned and lazy — to such as this God in Jesus Christ says, \u201cCome — leave your sin and follow me.\u00a0 I forgive you, I give you pardon instead of condemnation, life instead of death. I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.<\/em><\/p>\n

Matthew the evangelist shows us the God who in Jesus Christ comes looking for us — who doesn\u2019t wait for people to make the first move before acting to save us, but who himself takes the initiative. Matthew shows us the God who, in Jesus Christ walks the face of the earth in the dark and seedy places, in the places where poverty and famine, sickness and injury breed discouragement and despair, and entering the doorways of those for whom there is no hope, he calls out to them: \u201cCome, follow me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matthew\u2019s God — the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God in human flesh and blood named Jesus — this God calls out to us: \u201cFollow me.\u201d For those who hear Jesus\u2019 call to discipleship, there are only 2 possible responses:<\/p>\n