Light of the Nations' Foursquare Church in Denver Podcast
Religion & Spirituality:Christianity
Matthew had two names. A Jewish name and a Greek name. He was a tax collector and he worked for Rome. Jesus said “Follow me” and Levi/Matthew did. He left everything. Then Levi has a party for Jesus at his house. Lots of tax collectors and others. The Pharisees and teachers of the law were there too. They asked a question of the disciples. Why are you eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?
Levi/Matthew’s caste was tax collector. It was more than a job. Levi was defined by his caste, his vocation and his moral standing (sinner). The house was filled with sinners. They were religious but they were sinners. Non-believers don’t think about sin. Only religious people think about their sins and therefore only religious people are called sinners. He was outside his caste. Why was Jesus hanging out with these people?
It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick. This is a universal principle. This is the purpose of His ministry.
The call to follow Jesus does not discriminate and does not require cleaning up first. Jesus did not pray the sinner’s prayer with Matthew. Didn’t water baptize him or anything else. Matthew was not required to give any explanation for his previous life. He only had to do three things: hear Jesus, understand what Jesus was saying and then he had to say yes and obey. This was the beginning of following.
There are a lot of people who want to follow Jesus but don’t know where to begin. The church sometimes make religion the start of following. But there are people who want to start following Jesus before they start going to church or without thinking about religion. How do we cooperate or serve that?
The response to follow Jesus is a lot like going fishing. One new follower suggests that there are others nearby. Sinners hang out with sinners. Unfortunately, Christians avoid hanging out with sinners.
Doctors can’t heal from a distance. They have to get close. Doctors have chosen to spend their career with sick people. This applies to different castes, cultures, etc.
So we have to get close also. Sinners are everywhere. We need to reach out to them. Jesus was a friend of sinners. He was accused of being that! We can learn from that. We have to find ways of not losing connections with non-believers or new believers.
How might God use us in a world of sinning people? How might he use us in the sinners He has brought into our individual lives?
Presented in English and Swahili.
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