Matthew 9
9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth.
“Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him.
So Matthew got up and followed him.
10 Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. 11 But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?”
12 When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” 13 Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
This incident always highlight these things to me:
Jesus, the holy Son of God, clearly WANTED to be around people considered to be scum.
And there was something so compelling about Him that people who were social & religious pariahs WANTED to be around Jesus.
Which begs 2 questions:
As followers of Jesus, are you & I so filled with His love & compassion that we WANT to be around people that our culture & religious affiliations consider to be lower life forms?
And are we so genuinely filled with the personality of Jesus that the pariahs of our world WANT to be around us?
