Today's Reading: Matthew 9:9-13
Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 5:1-16; 6:1-9,15-16; 1 Timothy 4:1-16
And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" (Matthew 9:11)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Surely a bad guy like a tax collector can't be saved! Surely God is not going to smile upon a man who makes his living by twisting the arms of people until they give more money than they can really afford! Tax collectors in Jesus' day were usually quite wealthy, collecting taxes to satisfy the Romans (making them looked down upon as traitors) and enough extra to live well.
What is it that makes Matthew a Christian? It's not that he gave up tax collecting. It's not that he saw the errors of his ways and wanted to pay people back (perhaps he did, like Zacchaeus). But it isn't some big change in Matthew that draws Jesus' attention to him. No, Matthew is a Christian because Jesus calls him and goes to him. Jesus calls Matthew and that Word stirs up faith in Matthew and he follows Jesus.
It's the same for you. The Lord calls you. He paid the price to take away your sins on the cross and in Baptism now He has called you and marked you with His Name. You were a sinner; He became your Savior by saving you from sin, death and the devil. You were sick; He became your physician by making you better through saving you from your sins, washing you, putting His Word in your ears and feeding you with Himself. It's all Jesus.
And that's the Gospel, the Good News, that Matthew preached and wrote down. Matthew learned that Jesus didn't come to save healthy people but, rather, sinners like him. He wrote down what Jesus said and did because he was an eyewitness. He preached what Jesus did, not only because it saved him, but also that that Word might save others. That's what Jesus called Matthew to do as an apostle.
Thanks be to God for Matthew who shows us that there's hope for all of us sinners. If a guy like Matthew is saved, so are we, by God's grace in Jesus Christ. And thanks be to God for Matthew's faithful service to Christ, preaching the Gospel and writing it down so that we, too, would have the eyewitness testimony that declares Jesus came for sinners like us. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Praise, Lord, for him whose Gospel Your human life declared, Who, worldly gain forsaking, Your path of suff'ring shared. From all unrighteous mammon, O raise our eyes anew That we in our vocation May rise and follow You. (LSB 518:25)