NXR Podcast - THE SERMON - The Gospel & Evangelism | Matthew 9:9-13
Aired: 2025-04-27
Duration: 38:41


=== The Word of God (13:15) ===

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[00:00:29]  Amen.
[00:00:30]  Please join me in standing for the reading of God's word.
[00:00:32]  We are continuing once more.
[00:00:34]  Through our sermon series on the Gospel according to Matthew.
[00:00:39]  Our text for today is Matthew chapter 9, verses 9 through 13.
[00:00:43]  Matthew chapter 9, verses 9 through 13.
[00:00:45]  I'll read our text in its entirety when I finish reading the text.
[00:00:48]  I'm going to say, This is the word of the Lord, at which point I would appreciate very much if you would respond by saying, Thanks be to God.
[00:00:55]  One final time, our text for this morning is the Gospel according to Matthew chapter 9, verses 9 through 13.
[00:01:02]  The Bible says this As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew.
[00:01:08]  Sitting at the tax booth.
[00:01:10]  And he said to him, Follow me.
[00:01:13]  And he rose and followed him.
[00:01:15]  And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples.
[00:01:26]  And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?
[00:01:34]  But when he heard it, he said, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick, Go and learn what this means.
[00:01:44]  I desire mercy and not sacrifice, for I came not to call the righteous but sinners.
[00:01:51]  This is the word of the Lord.
[00:01:54]  All right, please be seated.
[00:01:56]  We'll go ahead and dive right in.
[00:01:58]  There are three main points that I hope, by the grace of God, to convey this morning.
[00:02:02]  The first is in regards to the gospel and doing the work of an evangelist, which is the first work that we see Matthew seeking to accomplish after being called by Jesus.
[00:02:15]  As a disciple, he immediately begins the work of an evangelist.
[00:02:19]  So, the gospel and evangelism that's the first point that arrives from the text.
[00:02:24]  The second is a note about the Pharisees and the nature of quarrelsomeness.
[00:02:30]  The Pharisees were quarrelsome, but there are many, I think, in our day, even within the church, that when they think of what it is to be quarrelsome, if they were consistent, And the way that they apply quarrelsomeness today, they would have to say that the Apostle Paul, for instance, or Christ himself, that these were those who were actually responsible for being quarrelsome,
[00:02:59]  and that the Pharisees were just great guys.
[00:03:03]  So we want to look at who the Pharisees really were and what it really means to be quarrelsome.
[00:03:08]  And then lastly, Christ came for the sick, not the healthy.
[00:03:13]  What does that mean?
[00:03:14]  That Christ came as the divine physician.
[00:03:18]  He came for those who were sick, not for those who were whole.
[00:03:23]  In your notes, I've written the following.
[00:03:24]  There is no sign that Matthew was searching for Jesus or intending to follow him.
[00:03:30]  Notice that.
[00:03:31]  It's implicit in our text, but there's no sign, there's no indication that Matthew was following Jesus in his public ministry, looking on from the outside, pursuing him.
[00:03:45]  For instance, like Zacchaeus climbing up into a tree and calling out to him.
[00:03:51]  Wanting to follow him and hoping to be noticed by him, hoping to be called by him.
[00:03:57]  There's no indication of that in the text.
[00:04:00]  No sign that Matthew was searching for Christ or intending to be his disciple.
[00:04:05]  Therefore, Jesus called Matthew first.
[00:04:10]  Only then did Matthew choose to follow Christ.
[00:04:14]  Notice the order, the sequence.
[00:04:17]  It is not that Matthew is following Jesus and then Jesus takes notice of him and says, You know what?
[00:04:25]  You can be one of my top guys.
[00:04:27]  But instead, Matthew is busy at his vocation.
[00:04:31]  A vocation, for that matter, that was notoriously known for being immoral.
[00:04:39]  And not only immoral, right?
[00:04:41]  Matthew's an IRS agent.
[00:04:42]  Not only is it immoral, but in the case of Matthew, who was an Israelite, he's actually a traitor and betraying his own people.
[00:04:53]  He's sold out and working for Rome and extorting and exploiting his own people financially.
[00:05:02]  So, Matthew is not hunting down Christ, hoping to be his disciple.
[00:05:07]  Instead, he's busy at his work, a particular vocation that was immoral at best and traitorous at worst.
[00:05:18]  And yet, in this place, it's in this context that Christ finds him.
[00:05:24]  Matthew doesn't find Jesus, but Jesus finds Matthew.
[00:05:28]  And it's upon Jesus calling Matthew to be his disciple that something is supernaturally.
[00:05:35]  Awakened in Matthew that changes him from a traitorous tax collector to all of a sudden becoming someone who's going to be an apostle of Christ.
[00:05:48]  No one chooses Christ, he chooses us.
[00:05:52]  When Jesus said, Follow me, his words carried the same divine power that healed the paralyzed man, which we've seen earlier in the gospel according to Matthew, when Jesus said to that individual, Get up and walk.
[00:06:07]  Christ is the author of our salvation.
[00:06:10]  According to Scripture, elsewhere, it testifies that He's not only the author but also the finisher of our salvation.
[00:06:17]  And what that means is that there is no salvation outside of Christ.
[00:06:21]  He's the one who begets it, He's the founder and the author.
[00:06:25]  He's the one who begins salvation, the one who initially works grace in our hearts, but He's also the one who finishes our salvation, meaning that the same grace that saves us is the same grace that ultimately keeps us.
[00:06:40]  Christ is the one who calls us to salvation, and he's the only one who can keep us in salvation.
[00:06:47]  Apart from Christ, no one will ever be converted, and apart from Christ, even those who have been converted, no one will remain in the faith.
[00:06:56]  Christ saves us, and he keeps us.
[00:06:59]  And this is what we see in the case of Matthew.
[00:07:02]  And he does this through his divine and effectual call.
[00:07:07]  We're tempted to read the text at this point and just think in human terms.
[00:07:11]  That Jesus, as a man, the God man, albeit, but still a man, he simply goes up to someone who's working in his vocation and says, Hey, I have an alternative job offer.
[00:07:25]  And I think it's compelling.
[00:07:26]  And you should physically come and follow me and be my apprentice for a while.
[00:07:33]  And somehow Matthew found this to be a compelling, persuasive offer.
[00:07:38]  And so he left his trade and followed Jesus.
[00:07:42]  Well, that's true as far as it goes, but there's a deeper truth at work.
[00:07:46]  When Jesus says, Follow me, this is the voice of God.
[00:07:52]  And it is the effectual call of God.
[00:07:56]  When Jesus says, Follow me, something in the soul of Matthew supernaturally transforms in that moment.
[00:08:06]  He goes from spiritual death to spiritual life.
[00:08:09]  All of a sudden, a man who was dead in his sins, all of a sudden, a new creature springs forth.
[00:08:17]  This is Matthew's conversion.
[00:08:19]  Matthew comes to spiritual life.
[00:08:23]  And you have to notice, I find this humorous, but it's also awe inspiring.
[00:08:29]  But all throughout the gospel narratives, when Jesus is giving divine, supernatural commands like this, he always has to be very specific.
[00:08:39]  Have you noticed that?
[00:08:40]  Like Lazarus, come forth.
[00:08:43]  And he has to specify, right?
[00:08:46]  Because if not, every dead person buried on the planet would all of a sudden spring to life.
[00:08:52]  And obey the voice of God.
[00:08:55]  This is God in the flesh.
[00:08:58]  This is no one less than Christ Jesus, the second member of the eternal Trinity.
[00:09:03]  This is God.
[00:09:05]  And when he speaks, winds and waves submit to his voice.
[00:09:11]  He's God.
[00:09:12]  When he calls Matthew to follow him, conversion spiritually.
[00:09:16]  When he tells a paralytic to stand and walk, conversion physically.
[00:09:21]  This is no one less.
[00:09:24]  Than the Son of God, the very Word of God, who by whom and through whom and for whom the entire created cosmos exists.
[00:09:36]  And this is the way salvation continues to work, even for you and I.
[00:09:42]  This has not changed.
[00:09:43]  No, you and I will not meet Jesus in this temporal life in his public earthly ministry.
[00:09:51]  But Jesus, who now sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, Is still the author and finisher of salvation, and he is still saving dead, lifeless creatures, dead and enslaved in their sin, by his word, by his divine word that brings the dead to life, by his effectual call that when it is given, it always produces fruit.
[00:10:21]  It will be obeyed.
[00:10:24]  This is how Jesus saves.
[00:10:26]  He's the author of salvation, and his word is the means of salvation.
[00:10:31]  For the gospel is the power of God for salvation.
[00:10:35]  Romans 1 16.
[00:10:37]  And in Matthew's case, the call of Christ was an effectual call.
[00:10:41]  He immediately got up and followed Jesus without hesitation or delay.
[00:10:47]  So whether it's Jesus in the flesh 2,000 years ago calling Matthew to follow him, or whether it's Jesus still to this day through his word, which is the means of salvation.
[00:11:02]  Christ, who is the author, the source, and the founder of salvation, in the same way.
[00:11:08]  In that sense, 2,000 years has changed nothing.
[00:11:13]  Jesus is still the author of salvation.
[00:11:15]  The Word of God is still the means of salvation.
[00:11:19]  And when the Holy Spirit works sovereignly, is pleased, and chooses to work in conjunction with the Word of God, which He inspired, which is sent forth from Christ, when that happens, dead people, just like Matthew, come to spiritual life.
[00:11:35]  And begin to follow Jesus.
[00:11:37]  And it is not because that person counted the cost, evaluated the offer, did some careful, objective analysis, and made the right, you know, superior decision to be a disciple of Christ.
[00:11:51]  No, it's because that person was dead, but a miracle took place and caused them to come to life.
[00:12:00]  That's how God saves.
[00:12:01]  It's always how God has saved.
[00:12:04]  He saved that way in the Old Testament, He saved that way in the gospel.
[00:12:08]  Narratives, he saved that way under the ministry of the apostles among the Jews, among the Gentiles, and he saves that way today.
[00:12:16]  That's how we are saved.
[00:12:18]  God sends his word, and the word of God never returns void.
[00:12:22]  And for those who die in unbelief and do perish in eternity under the white hot wrath of God, even in their case, the word of God never returns void.
[00:12:33]  The word of God accomplishes precisely that which it was sent out to do.
[00:12:40]  And in your case, it was sent forth in order to convert the soul, to adopt you as beloved sons of God, to magnify the glory of God by demonstrating his eternal grace.
[00:12:55]  And in the case of the reprobate, the word of God is sent forth and it doesn't return void, it doesn't fail, but it accomplishes what it's meant to accomplish in those cases, which is to magnify the justice of God by hardening the sinner's heart so that they might experience eternity in hell to show the justice of God.

=== Matthew's Ambitious Feast (04:44) ===

[00:13:15]  And in both cases, blessed be the name of the Lord.
[00:13:19]  In both cases, God is glorified.
[00:13:21]  And in both cases, he does no injustice.
[00:13:25]  In both cases, we can say, let God be true, though every man a liar.
[00:13:29]  But the word of God never returns void.
[00:13:34]  So Jesus saved Matthew.
[00:13:37]  Matthew Henry, a different Matthew, he puts it like this When Matthew invited Christ, so this is after Christ first in the spiritual and the truest and ultimate sense invited him.
[00:13:48]  So, Christ first spiritually invites him, come and follow me.
[00:13:51]  But immediately afterwards, what we're meant to assume implicitly in the text is that once Matthew begins to follow Jesus, one of the first things that takes place is Matthew says, I'd like to throw a party.
[00:14:04]  I'm honored that you've called me to be one of your disciples.
[00:14:08]  And before we begin the journey, I don't know what you have in mind, Jesus, but if it's not too much trouble, I'd love to have you in my home for a feast.
[00:14:19]  And not only you and the disciples at that point who were already following Jesus, but also we can tell implicitly in the text that Matthew intends to invite his friends.
[00:14:32]  Jesus, I would like for you and your disciples and myself, as your newest addition to the team, to all have a meal together at my expense in my home, a great party, a great feast, and I would like to invite all of my friends to join us.
[00:14:50]  When Matthew invited Christ, he invited many publicans, that is, tax collectors, and sinners to meet with him.
[00:14:57]  This was the chief thing that Matthew aimed at in his treat, that he might have an opportunity of bringing his old associates to be acquainted with Christ.
[00:15:08]  He knew by experience what the grace of Christ could do and would not despair concerning them.
[00:15:17]  Note, they who are effectually brought to Christ themselves cannot but be desirous.
[00:15:23]  That others also might be brought to him as well, and ambitious of contributing something toward that end.
[00:15:31]  True grace will not be content to eat its morsels alone, but will always invite others.
[00:15:40]  Those who have truly been saved by the grace of God, those who are truly, objectively, objects of God's mercy and salvation, will never be content to hoard God's mercy.
[00:15:53]  They will never be content to dine and feast on the morsels of the grace of God and the goodness of salvation alone.
[00:16:01]  But rather, they will be ambitious and desirous to share salvation with others.
[00:16:07]  And so, instinctively, the first thing that Matthew thinks to do, having now been called to be a disciple of Jesus and answer that call by the grace of God, causing him to become alive and to become a new creation, the first thing that he embarks on is to throw a feast and to have Christ as the center of this feast, but to do it in his home upon the measures.
[00:16:33]  And the expense of his own hospitality, and to invite all of his old associates to be present so that they too might look upon Christ, so that they too might have the opportunity.
[00:16:45]  Ultimately, Christ will make the sovereign decision whether he saves or whether he condemns.
[00:16:51]  But he wants as many of his friends to have as much opportunity as possible to be near Christ, to be brought to Christ, so that they might be saved by Christ.
[00:17:04]  When Christ saves a man, that man becomes ambitious about seeing Christ save others.
[00:17:11]  And if we have no desire at our own expense to produce the context where others might come to know the saving grace of Christ that we've experienced, then we have reason to doubt whether or not we've experienced that grace ourselves.
[00:17:31]  One of the indicators, one of the signs, one of the confirmations that you have, in fact, come to Christ.
[00:17:38]  In salvation, is that you are earnest and ambitious about seeing others come to Christ in salvation?
[00:17:46]  And if you're not, it does not mean objectively that you're unregenerate, but it is cause for evaluation and a cause for godly concern.

=== Jesus, Friend to Sinners (06:20) ===

[00:18:00]  Notice nobody had to teach Matthew this, right?
[00:18:03]  There are many things that we have to be taught.
[00:18:05]  We need to be discipled, we need to learn, we need to grow and be sanctified.
[00:18:08]  But this is Matthew five minutes into conversion.
[00:18:14]  Matthew doesn't have to be taught, and it's not, as far as we can tell, it's not Jesus' idea.
[00:18:19]  Although this is something that Jesus likes to do because it was his idea in the case of Zacchaeus.
[00:18:26]  Remember, Zacchaeus, he just wants to be near Christ, and then Christ says, Zacchaeus, dinner's on you.
[00:18:34]  We're going to your house, you're preparing a feast, I'm going to be there, bring your friends.
[00:18:40]  We're doing some evangelism.
[00:18:42]  I said, we're doing evangelism today.
[00:18:44]  That's how Jesus responds in the case of Zacchaeus.
[00:18:47]  But as far as we can tell from the text of Scripture in the case of Matthew, Matthew has the idea, but there's no signs of Jesus objecting.
[00:18:57]  It's Matthew's idea, but this is precisely what Jesus loves to do.
[00:19:02]  Jesus loves to dine with sinners, he does, and traitors.
[00:19:08]  Now, let's temper that principle, which is a good, perfectly biblical, true principle, but let's temper it with what's also biblical and what's just a little bit of common sense.
[00:19:19]  Some modern evangelicals will take a text like ours today and say Jesus loves being a friend of sinners.
[00:19:27]  He was called a friend of sinners.
[00:19:30]  And all of that is true.
[00:19:31]  But first, let's recognize that this label, friend of sinners, is not a title that Jesus bestows upon himself.
[00:19:40]  This is a title that's crafted and levied by his detractors.
[00:19:46]  This is the opposition that comes up with this label.
[00:19:49]  It is the Pharisees and those Jewish religious leaders who hated Christ and who ultimately produced the crucifixion of Christ.
[00:19:59]  It's their idea to call him a friend of sinners, it's not a compliment.
[00:20:04]  It's meant to smear him and to sully his public reputation.
[00:20:09]  But Christ is content to work with this label.
[00:20:13]  Some labels you can't work with, but some you can.
[00:20:16]  But Christ, in a sense, receives the label friend of sinners, but he operates as a friend of sinners on his own very specific terms.
[00:20:27]  What are those terms?
[00:20:29]  Well, Jesus will meet with sinners, but he meets with sinners to call them to repentance.
[00:20:37]  And then very quickly he continues on his way in obedience to his father.
[00:20:43]  And all those sinners are given an offer to come.
[00:20:48]  But Jesus will not stay with them if they refuse.
[00:20:52]  Jesus is going toward the father, he's following the father in obedience.
[00:20:58]  And any sinner who chooses to accompany him is invited along the way.
[00:21:04]  But Jesus will not compromise obedience to his father in order to stay back.
[00:21:10]  In a perpetual, indefinite state of compromise, just so that he can be friends with sinners.
[00:21:17]  In other words, to state it plainly, Jesus is the friend of sinners, but he is the friend of those who quickly become repentant sinners.
[00:21:28]  And there's a difference.
[00:21:31]  Jesus doesn't have a three year long, regular friendship meeting with someone on a daily basis who is unrepentant and has no desire to follow him, except.
[00:21:44]  Judas.
[00:21:46]  That's pretty much it.
[00:21:48]  And that's a pretty particular case, right?
[00:21:51]  So if you feel like, hey, well, I understand this isn't the principle, but there are some exceptions.
[00:21:58]  In this case, we have a Judas, and I think that I'm the Son of Man, and I'm ultimately going to be betrayed, and I'm ultimately the Son of God.
[00:22:05]  I'm Jesus Christ, reincarnated.
[00:22:07]  I come back a second.
[00:22:09]  Well, then, okay, that would be an exception, but also you're a heretic, and we should probably burn you at the stake.
[00:22:14]  Right, so in other words, it's a funny way of saying there are no exceptions, you're not Jesus.
[00:22:20]  Jesus did this with Judas, and even in the case of Jesus, he did it with one guy so that the scriptures might be fulfilled the son of perdition.
[00:22:29]  In every other case, Jesus has friends, the other 11 disciples, and even beyond that, he has friends, he's friends with Mary and Martha and Lazarus.
[00:22:40]  These are friends, but Mary, Martha, and Lazarus are not living in blatant, unrepentant sin, saying, Jesus.
[00:22:48]  We've heard your commands.
[00:22:49]  We absolutely refuse to obey them, but also we'd still like to be friends.
[00:22:53]  And then Jesus says, Okay, I guess I'll take it.
[00:22:57]  Said the Bible never.
[00:22:59]  That's not a category.
[00:23:01]  So, you having a regular, close friendship with an unbeliever who is in blatant, unrepentant rebellion against God and continuing that relationship long term is compromise.
[00:23:14]  Because this is what should happen.
[00:23:17]  You don't have to leave them.
[00:23:18]  I'm not telling you go and reject all of your non Christian friends.
[00:23:21]  What I'm saying is, look.
[00:23:22]  Like Jesus.
[00:23:24]  That's it.
[00:23:24]  Do you know what happens when you look like Jesus consistently and unapologetically without cowardice over a long period of time with unregenerate friendships?
[00:23:35]  Do you know what happens?
[00:23:36]  They leave you.
[00:23:38]  You don't have to leave them.
[00:23:40]  They'll leave you.
[00:23:41]  Or they'll convert to Christ.
[00:23:47]  They'll either reject you because they reject Christ and you actually look like him, or they'll accept Christ and now your friendship is.
[00:23:56]  Is far more deep and profound and genuine than it ever was before.
[00:24:02]  The only bad option, this third way option, there's your sign, it's not a great option.
[00:24:07]  The third way option is that you actually compromise fidelity and obedience to Christ, and they actually hate the Jesus of the Bible, but somehow love you.

=== Thinking You're Better Than Jesus (03:12) ===

[00:24:21]  Why?
[00:24:22]  Because you look nothing like the Jesus of the Bible.
[00:24:26]  But again, this is a common practice.
[00:24:29]  Especially for Protestants.
[00:24:32]  Protestants, somewhere along the way, especially here in America, through the secret sensitive movement, the church growth movement, and all these different avenues, decided over the last few decades, it's been a while now, that somehow we're better than Jesus.
[00:24:47]  And it does need to be said that way.
[00:24:49]  Why do you say things the way that you do?
[00:24:52]  Because it's offensive?
[00:24:54]  No, because it's clear.
[00:24:56]  That's what it really comes down to.
[00:24:58]  I want to cut through all the distractions and all the fluff.
[00:25:02]  Let's get down to what's true.
[00:25:04]  What's real?
[00:25:05]  If you think that you can be evangelistic and lead people to Christ, but somehow do it in a way that you're not rejected by people, then what you're essentially saying is, I see what Jesus did, and I think I can do better.
[00:25:20]  So the only proper word for that is arrogance.
[00:25:25]  You're prideful.
[00:25:27]  Jesus literally said, If they hate me, they'll hate you.
[00:25:31]  The student is not above the teacher.
[00:25:33]  The slave is not above the master.
[00:25:34]  If the world hated me, they'll hate you.
[00:25:36]  The only way that you can be an evangelist but not experience any measure of opposition is ultimately to be so delusional and arrogant that you think you're going to be able to accomplish something that Jesus himself could not do.
[00:25:54]  To put it plainly, you literally think you're better than Jesus.
[00:25:59]  And so, in love, I'd like to tell you, you're not.
[00:26:02]  I mean, that's a pretty basic thing.
[00:26:04]  You would expect a Christian pastor, like today, what we learned is that we are not superior to the Son of God.
[00:26:12]  Radical controversial sermon.
[00:26:16]  No, you're not better than Jesus.
[00:26:18]  You are not going to find a way to be just as potent in your evangelism, but somehow more likable and not experience any opposition.
[00:26:27]  That's what you're shooting for.
[00:26:28]  It may be subconscious.
[00:26:29]  You may be just coming to terms with it right now as I'm preaching, but that's ultimately what you're aiming for.
[00:26:35]  That's ultimately what you've deceived yourself into thinking is actually possible.
[00:26:40]  That I can be.
[00:26:41]  Just as effective and just as faithful to the truth without any ounce of compromise in terms of my strategies and attempts of evangelism, yet somehow mitigate all the opposition and the controversy.
[00:26:57]  In other words, I can achieve something that Christ Himself could not achieve.
[00:27:02]  And the answer is let me save you the heartache, let me save you some time.
[00:27:06]  You can't, you won't.
[00:27:10]  Now, what you can do is you actually can experience a lot less opposition than Jesus.
[00:27:16]  But you need to be honest with yourself and realize that the reason you're not experiencing the opposition that Jesus did is because over here, you're actually not as faithful to the truth as Jesus was.
[00:27:27]  It's like, well, I'm actually telling people about Jesus and I'm not experiencing a bunch of people that hate me.

=== Not My Fake Version (08:54) ===

[00:27:33]  Uh huh.
[00:27:35]  Which Jesus are you telling them about?
[00:27:38]  Which one?
[00:27:40]  Because I can tell you right now, it's not the biblical Jesus, it's not the Jesus who actually exists.
[00:27:47]  Because that Jesus offends people.
[00:27:52]  By God's grace, many will come to saving faith in Him.
[00:27:58]  But there will also be many others who don't and who are greatly offended.
[00:28:06]  This is the nature of evangelism, this is the nature of being a disciple of Christ.
[00:28:13]  If Christ calls us to follow Him, instinctively we desire that others might follow Him as well.
[00:28:20]  But what we do as evangelists is we're bringing people to Jesus.
[00:28:25]  Notice what Matthew does he immediately takes opportunity at his own expense.
[00:28:31]  He's paying for all the drinks, he's paying for all the food, opens up his home, and he brings as many of his associates, as many of his friends as he possibly can.
[00:28:41]  But to do what?
[00:28:42]  To be near Jesus.
[00:28:45]  And you might say, well, that doesn't sound really particularly insightful, but here's what I mean by that.
[00:28:51]  He doesn't invite everybody to come meet with him as he then tells them about who he thinks Jesus is, his version of Jesus.
[00:28:59]  No, he actually brings people to be in close quarters and experience the real Jesus.
[00:29:07]  So when Matthew does this, Matthew's probably heard the rumors by this point.
[00:29:13]  Matthew is probably aware of what people say about this guy, Jesus.
[00:29:20]  Matthew knows.
[00:29:21]  That he's going to be having all of his friends, all the well to do elites in society, the guys his business partners that he used to associate with, and they're all going to come under his roof, and he's going to put them in close quarters with Jesus.
[00:29:39]  And he knows that Jesus is kind of radical.
[00:29:44]  Jesus has a bit of a reputation by this point.
[00:29:49]  But Matthew's not embarrassed.
[00:29:52]  I don't think that Matthew's in his home with all these people and Jesus begins to speak, begins to teach, begins to interact with these people.
[00:30:02]  I don't think that Matthew's sitting there apologizing for Jesus.
[00:30:06]  Oh, Jesus, don't say that at dinner.
[00:30:10]  Right?
[00:30:11]  It's like the little meme where it's like, hey, babe, we're going to my parents' house for dinner.
[00:30:14]  Could you please not talk about politics?
[00:30:17]  And then you see below, it's like five seconds in, and I could feel the demons rising.
[00:30:23]  It's like, oh, my goodness.
[00:30:25]  My husband, he just can't keep it together.
[00:30:27]  But that's what it's like when you invite Jesus to dinner.
[00:30:32]  He's not a jerk, but he's also not fake.
[00:30:37]  Jesus offends people's sensibilities.
[00:30:41]  Jesus talks about things that are true.
[00:30:44]  Jesus has a way of very quickly getting to the heart of a matter.
[00:30:50]  Right?
[00:30:50]  The rich young ruler comes up to Jesus.
[00:30:52]  This is not a three hour conversation.
[00:30:55]  What must I do to inherit eternal life?
[00:30:59]  Be perfectly righteous, attaining a position of sinless perfection, obeying all the law of God.
[00:31:06]  I've done that.
[00:31:07]  You're a liar.
[00:31:08]  No, you haven't.
[00:31:09]  Here's just one thing to do.
[00:31:10]  You can't do it?
[00:31:11]  See you later.
[00:31:13]  Conversation over.
[00:31:15]  And the guy walks away sad.
[00:31:17]  He doesn't walk away saying, You know, that Jesus, I met him today.
[00:31:21]  Really great guy.
[00:31:23]  No, he's walking away, and Jesus just wrecked his world.
[00:31:28]  He just took his entire worldview, his entire self perception, and crushed it in about a 15 second conversation.
[00:31:37]  That's how Jesus talks to people.
[00:31:39]  That's what it's like to have dinner with Jesus.
[00:31:43]  And Matthew is able to take all of his associates and say, I want you to have dinner with Jesus.
[00:31:52]  Matthew, think about that.
[00:31:53]  For ourselves, think about that.
[00:31:55]  For many of us, we would be tempted to say, well, Pastor, you know, my parents are going to be in town this weekend.
[00:32:06]  And I don't want them to have dinner with Jesus.
[00:32:09]  They think they're Christians.
[00:32:10]  They think they like Jesus, but they don't really.
[00:32:13]  Could you actually could you actually tone it down a little bit this week?
[00:32:20]  Could you just be a little more subtle?
[00:32:22]  Like, I know winsomeness is maybe not the most biblical approach, but hey, maybe a little winsomeness won't hurt.
[00:32:32]  But that's not how Matthew thinks.
[00:32:36]  And you know what?
[00:32:37]  I think part of this, it's not like, well, Matthew was truly converted and you guys aren't.
[00:32:41]  That's not my point.
[00:32:43]  What I am saying is there's something about returning to your first love.
[00:32:48]  It's not that he's truly converted.
[00:32:50]  It's that he's newly converted.
[00:32:53]  It rhymes and therefore it's true, right?
[00:32:54]  I think that's how it works with preaching.
[00:32:56]  That one just came to me.
[00:32:57]  But it's not that he's truly converted.
[00:33:00]  He is.
[00:33:01]  But I don't mean that to imply that you're not, but that he's newly converted.
[00:33:08]  And there's something about coming to Christ for the first time and your entire life being transformed and being overwhelmed by the riches and the mercy and the grace of God.
[00:33:20]  To where all of a sudden, when you're thinking about the collateral damage, you just don't really care.
[00:33:26]  Like, I'll take Jesus.
[00:33:28]  I'll lose my friends.
[00:33:30]  I'll lose my job.
[00:33:31]  I'll take Jesus.
[00:33:33]  I love Jesus.
[00:33:34]  He just saved me.
[00:33:35]  He just saved me.
[00:33:37]  I was a wretch.
[00:33:37]  I was a traitor, betraying my own people and selling them out.
[00:33:41]  I was extorting.
[00:33:42]  I was exploiting.
[00:33:44]  And He called me.
[00:33:45]  He chose me.
[00:33:47]  He picked me.
[00:33:48]  So I don't care what people think.
[00:33:50]  I don't care what friends I lose.
[00:33:52]  I'm going to bring them.
[00:33:53]  To Jesus, not my own fake version of Jesus that's palatable, that's tolerable.
[00:33:59]  No, Jesus, the real Jesus.
[00:34:01]  I'm inviting my friends, I'm inviting the in laws and the outlaws.
[00:34:05]  They're all coming to my home to sit with Jesus.
[00:34:09]  And I know He's going to say some hardcore things.
[00:34:12]  I've heard the rumors, I know they're true, but it doesn't matter.
[00:34:16]  He has the words of life.
[00:34:19]  And if my family and if my friends reject Him and by virtue of rejecting Him reject me, so be it.
[00:34:26]  But he's the guy who just called me and chose me and saved me.
[00:34:33]  And all of it is a small cost in comparison to what he's given me.
[00:34:41]  I don't think that's just true conversion, I think that's new conversion.
[00:34:44]  And some of us this morning, you need to return to your first love.
[00:34:47]  You need to be reminded of what it was like to be wrought by the truth of the gospel, the weight of your sin.
[00:34:56]  And the mercy of Christ that bridges the gap.
[00:34:58]  And remember what it felt like when you first came to Christ.
[00:35:03]  That you'd be willing to pay any price.
[00:35:07]  You'd be willing to count any cost.
[00:35:10]  You'd be willing to endure a little shame, a little personal embarrassment, because Jesus was worth it because he saved a wretch like you.
[00:35:20]  Do you remember that, church?
[00:35:22]  Or has it been too long?
[00:35:25]  Do you remember when the gospel, the power of God for salvation, first saved you?
[00:35:32]  You guys know I like politics.
[00:35:35]  I like applying all of Christ to all of life.
[00:35:38]  I like the culture war.
[00:35:39]  I want to win.
[00:35:40]  I think we do win.
[00:35:43]  But remember your first love.
[00:35:46]  Do you remember the gospel?
[00:35:49]  Do you remember your Savior hanging on a tree?
[00:35:53]  Do you remember who you were?
[00:35:56]  How messed up you were?
[00:35:58]  How deceived you were?
[00:36:00]  How arrogant you were?
[00:36:02]  How sinful you were?
[00:36:04]  And He saved you.
[00:36:08]  And you can't invite some friends to meet with him because it might turn them off and they might think a little bit more negatively of you.
[00:36:23]  Time for repentance.
[00:36:27]  You know what?

=== Let the Sermon Sit (02:13) ===

[00:36:28]  Sometimes you just make a point, and it's not about me, but the Spirit of God, just by His mercy and sovereignty, you make a point, and we have more time, but sometimes you just.
[00:36:38]  It's good to just have a one point sermon and let that just sit.
[00:36:43]  So, we're just going to let that sit, and we'll have to pick this up another Sunday, believe it or not.
[00:36:49]  Because the other points are good, and there's more to the text.
[00:36:54]  But I want us just to remember this Christ saved us, and if we're truly saved, then we're not content to feast on the morsels of his grace alone.
[00:37:07]  But instead, we want to feast on.
[00:37:09]  With others, inviting others to meet with Jesus.
[00:37:15]  Pretty simple, pretty basic, but good.
[00:37:18]  Connor, now you're scheduled to preach next Sunday, right?
[00:37:21]  So I'm not going to, it wouldn't be fair to him to say, like, your text has changed overnight because Connor is bivocational and has a day job.
[00:37:30]  So I say we just move on to the next text.
[00:37:32]  You preach what you're prepared to preach next Lord's Day, and then we'll just come back.
[00:37:37]  You're allowed to do that, it turns out.
[00:37:39]  With expository preaching, few know this, but.
[00:37:44]  There's a lot of license there, right?
[00:37:47]  You can do it.
[00:37:48]  Puritans, sometimes they would preach like two words.
[00:37:52]  They'd be like, a sower went out to sow.
[00:37:55]  14 part sermon series.
[00:37:58]  It's not even a whole verse.
[00:38:01]  And if I do that today, people are like, he's isogeating and he's just coming up with.
[00:38:05]  It's like Charles Spurgeon, the guy you claim to like, that's literally how he preached all the time.
[00:38:11]  Spurgeon would be like, two words, and here is a five part sermon.
[00:38:17]  Sermon series on those two words.
[00:38:18]  You're like, where's that in the text?
[00:38:20]  And if Spurgeon was honest, you know, he'd be like, I made it up.
[00:38:26]  But all the reformers love Spurgeon.
[00:38:28]  So, right?
[00:38:29]  So it's like he's Ice Agene.
[00:38:30]  Nope, I'm just a true Puritan.
[00:38:32]  Thank you very much.
[00:38:33]  All right, let's pray.
[00:38:34]  Father, thank you for your word.
[00:38:35]  Bless it to your people.
[00:38:36]  And most importantly, bring yourself great glory.
[00:38:38]  We pray this in Jesus' name.
[00:38:40]  Amen.
[00:38:40]  All right.