WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:08.880 Lo and behold, in God's kindness we find ourselves in Matthew 9, which is surprisingly a story about Jesus. 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:13.599 So I hope it encourages your heart. 00:00:13.839 --> 00:00:19.440 Let me read our verses this morning, one paragraph, verses 10 through 13. 00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:35.039 As Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:45.039 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? 00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:51.359 But when he heard it, he said, Those who are well have no need of a physician. 00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:55.679 But those who are sick, go and learn what this means. 00:00:56.000 --> 00:00:59.200 I desire mercy and not sacrifice. 00:00:59.679 --> 00:01:05.040 For I came to call the righteous, not to call the righteous, but sinners. 00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:18.159 Have you wondered how Americans would respond if Jesus came back to the world today? 00:01:19.760 --> 00:01:32.959 Now I know that the Bible teaches that his second coming will be in the clouds with great glory and with angels, and there's not going to be any doubt or mistaking who he is. 00:01:33.439 --> 00:01:35.200 So I'm not talking about that. 00:01:35.359 --> 00:01:40.640 I'm talking about what if even his first coming would have been to the United States? 00:01:40.879 --> 00:01:49.680 What if he would have come as a baby and been raised here and then preached his message and did his miracles in our country today? 00:01:50.640 --> 00:01:53.040 How would people respond to him? 00:01:54.079 --> 00:01:58.959 And the truth is that there is no uniform concept of Americans. 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:06.239 Different Americans would respond in many different ways, but I just think of the kind of people that I grew up with. 00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:13.039 I feel like Jesus would have been rejected for being too self-righteous. 00:02:20.479 --> 00:02:23.199 He hung out with sinners and tax collectors. 00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:35.199 But the more common refrain that I am accustomed to hearing is that Christians are too self-righteous, that Christians are too holy, that who do you think you are? 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:39.439 I mean, you live a life different from the sins that are celebrated from the world. 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:45.599 The world celebrates certain sins and Christians refrain from those sins and go away from those sins. 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:53.120 And so who exactly does Jesus think he is to tell us about the sin that our culture embraces? 00:02:54.080 --> 00:03:01.680 In this sense, the American culture is very much different than the Israeli culture, at least in the New Testament. 00:03:01.840 --> 00:03:10.000 The Jewish culture in the New Testament was not one that celebrated sin, but one that celebrated in their mind righteousness. 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:20.879 The problem with the Jewish people, as described in the New Testament, was not one of rampant immorality like we would think of immorality. 00:03:21.199 --> 00:03:32.800 It was not one of sexual promiscuity or the language and the covetousness and the greed and materialism that so marks our culture and marks our society. 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:35.039 The celebration of the indulgences of the flesh. 00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:36.000 You could say it that way. 00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:43.039 I mean, so much of American culture is built on the celebration of the indulgences of the flesh, and the Bible condemns. 00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:54.879 And so it seems likely when if Christ were to come to our culture that we would reject him for being too much like those people that like holiness. 00:03:56.479 --> 00:04:02.080 In contrast, the Jewish world didn't celebrate the indulgence of the flesh like we think of. 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:15.599 The Jewish world celebrated the sanctification of the flesh, the holiness of the flesh, the keeping of the law, the fastidious devotion to the sacrifices and the tithes and all of the rituals that are around the Old Testament. 00:04:15.759 --> 00:04:21.759 That's what they celebrated, and so they rejected Jesus because he didn't embrace their concept of holiness. 00:04:23.279 --> 00:04:26.879 So in that sense, I see a huge difference between our world and their world. 00:04:27.040 --> 00:04:29.680 Both result with the death of Christ, of course. 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:34.639 Both result with his rejection, although for somewhat different reasons. 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:54.480 And yet you see a change even, I perceive a change even now, where a common accusation against Christians now is not so much that they are too self-righteous and too holy, but rather, it's almost reverting back to this kind of story, rather, that there's too many sinners around Christians today. 00:04:55.199 --> 00:04:56.879 You know, what's wrong with you Christians? 00:04:57.040 --> 00:04:58.560 You're you're spending time with sinners. 00:04:58.720 --> 00:05:00.800 Don't you know any better? 00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:05.519 And of course, it's probably the same truth. 00:05:05.839 --> 00:05:07.439 It was in the Jewish world too. 00:05:07.680 --> 00:05:12.399 My mind always goes back to Luke 7, where John the Baptist sent messengers to Jesus. 00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:18.000 This is one of my favorite New Testament passages, that John the Baptist sent messengers to Jesus to ask him, Are you really the Savior? 00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:21.439 And you remember Jesus' response, he healed everybody. 00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:25.680 And the messengers went back to tell John the Baptist, looks like the Savior to me. 00:05:27.120 --> 00:05:33.279 And then Jesus turned to the Pharisees and gave them one of the most interesting rebukes. 00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:38.560 He tells them, John the Baptist came. 00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:50.240 And he didn't touch alcohol, he didn't spend time with sinners, he ate locusts and stood in the water and shouted at everybody to repent. 00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:54.240 I mean, you want to talk about the street preacher with the bullhorn and the sign with flames on it. 00:05:54.399 --> 00:05:57.759 That's John the Baptist is the new the New Testament picture of that. 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:01.519 And Jesus tells the Pharisees, but you do it, you wouldn't listen to him. 00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:10.079 He said, Who is this guy who's so fastidious who won't eat anything except his own approved food? 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:10.800 Who is this guy? 00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:11.600 Who does he think he is? 00:06:11.680 --> 00:06:13.360 How self-righteous is that kind of guy? 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:15.040 And Jesus rebukes them for that. 00:06:15.120 --> 00:06:18.399 And then he says, I come right after John the Baptist. 00:06:18.720 --> 00:06:20.720 And why did they reject Jesus? 00:06:20.959 --> 00:06:23.600 Because he's with sinners and tax collectors. 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:27.600 Which way do you want to argue this? 00:06:28.319 --> 00:06:29.759 Is Jesus' response. 00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:38.160 In fact, he tells them what one translation even describes in the uninspired headings over the section as the parable of the brats, which I love. 00:06:39.759 --> 00:06:44.800 Jesus tells them, you're like the kids in the marketplace. 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:48.240 They played a happy song and you wouldn't dance. 00:06:48.480 --> 00:06:51.759 And you played a sad song and you wouldn't cry. 00:06:52.079 --> 00:06:53.519 What do you conclude? 00:06:53.839 --> 00:06:56.480 That you just don't want to play with me. 00:06:56.720 --> 00:06:58.399 That's what you conclude. 00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:03.680 And that's what Jesus is encountering here in Matthew 9. 00:07:04.240 --> 00:07:07.439 The Pharisees don't want to be around Jesus because they hate him. 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:08.800 That's the problem. 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:13.600 But they mask that hatred with different excuses. 00:07:14.639 --> 00:07:19.600 Sometimes the excuse is why they rejected John the Baptist. 00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:21.199 You're so self-righteous. 00:07:21.360 --> 00:07:22.959 Who exactly do you think you are? 00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:27.279 But in this encounter, they're rejecting him because he's around sinners. 00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:31.439 I mean, do you understand that is the objection to Jesus, the Pharisees' level right here? 00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:35.680 You are spending too much time around sinners. 00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:40.560 The people society says should have no place in it. 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:42.879 That's who you're going to. 00:07:43.839 --> 00:07:45.279 How dare you? 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:53.439 This story begins in verse 9, which we looked at last week, was Jesus calling Matthew to follow him. 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:59.040 And this whole story is underscoring the power of Jesus Christ. 00:07:59.199 --> 00:08:02.560 And the power of Jesus Christ is on display through all of chapter 8. 00:08:02.639 --> 00:08:04.639 It's remember flowing out of the Sermon on the Mount. 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:09.680 The Sermon on the Mount is where Jesus tells the Jews everything you've heard about God and religion is wrong. 00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:11.279 Reject what the Pharisees say. 00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:13.279 I have something better and true. 00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:17.839 The result of the sermon was people saying, Who has this kind of authority? 00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:22.560 And then Matthew 8 is all these miracles designed to show that Jesus has this kind of authority. 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:32.399 Matthew 9 is all these miracles designed to show that Jesus uses that authority to do one thing, and that thing is to forgive people of their sins. 00:08:32.720 --> 00:08:35.919 It starts in Matthew 9 with him healing the paralytic. 00:08:36.080 --> 00:08:39.360 And he says, Your sins are forgiven to demonstrate I can do that. 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:40.960 Take up your mat and walk. 00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:42.720 And he leaves the room. 00:08:43.679 --> 00:08:51.120 And then Jesus puts that new authority on display by healing a tax collector. 00:08:52.399 --> 00:08:59.440 We looked at this last week, but there is no worse person in the Jewish society than a tax collector. 00:08:59.600 --> 00:09:06.639 There are Gentiles that are in their mind horrible people, but as far as the Jews go, the tax collector is as bad as it gets. 00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:19.440 And it might be helpful for you to just have a little intellectual exercise this morning, and you ask yourself, who are the really bad people in our society that we should say we have, should have no part of anything? 00:09:19.759 --> 00:09:25.759 And I've asked a couple people that question this week, and I got the same answer from everybody, and it was a fascinating answer. 00:09:26.879 --> 00:09:27.600 ISIS. 00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:31.279 Terrorists, like they're the they're the wicked people. 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:40.080 Like they're if you if we're going to identify one group of society that is wicked and should have no place in civilized society, it's those those terrorists. 00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:47.600 And I mean I get the point of that, but I just can't help but notice that that answer implies other people from other places. 00:09:48.639 --> 00:09:52.320 There's not really a hard look in the mirror with that kind of answer. 00:09:53.360 --> 00:10:08.399 You might, in your own heart, ask yourself, who are the kind of people in our own society that are so contagious, so defiled, that you would say there's no room for them in the inn, so to speak. 00:10:08.720 --> 00:10:11.279 We would never be at a reputable place with that kind of person. 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:13.919 That kind of person shows up, I'm walking out. 00:10:16.080 --> 00:10:19.279 That's in the Jewish world the tax collector. 00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:21.600 And that's where Jesus goes. 00:10:21.840 --> 00:10:23.200 Straight to him. 00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:30.639 And you can picture the exasperation of the disciples as couldn't you wait to save a tax collector next week? 00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:35.279 Like, first save, I don't know, a scribe. 00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:36.320 That would be neat. 00:10:37.440 --> 00:10:40.000 Save one of the priests. 00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:42.720 Get somebody with some kind of Jewish street cred. 00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:48.240 Not a tax collector. 00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:51.120 But that's where Jesus goes. 00:10:51.919 --> 00:10:57.279 And just appreciate in your heart, before we even read the next verse, what's happening here. 00:10:57.519 --> 00:11:05.759 Jesus has gone to the exact kind of person in their society that they would say should have no place at all. 00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:10.559 You can't be a Christian if there's those kind of people in the church. 00:11:10.720 --> 00:11:12.000 That's where Jesus goes. 00:11:12.159 --> 00:11:15.360 And he's going to build a church with those kind of people, by the way. 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:17.840 So he goes to them and says, follow me. 00:11:17.919 --> 00:11:24.000 We looked at it last week, but what's remarkable is where Jesus says, follow me to. 00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:28.720 Where's the first stop with this newfound parade of sinners? 00:11:29.039 --> 00:11:30.720 Matthew's house. 00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:34.080 And this is not so clear for Matthew's gospel. 00:11:34.159 --> 00:11:38.799 The other parallel accounts make that obvious, but they go to Matthew's house. 00:11:38.960 --> 00:11:40.799 That's where they are follow to. 00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:45.039 And Matthew throws a feast for Jesus. 00:11:45.279 --> 00:11:47.759 Again, this is the other parallel gospels describe this. 00:11:47.919 --> 00:11:52.799 Matthew throws a feast to celebrate his new conversion, to celebrate his new life. 00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:56.799 He was a tax collector hated by everybody, and now he's throwing a feast. 00:11:56.879 --> 00:11:59.440 This is like a party after a baptism. 00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:03.519 You invite everybody, and you've been baptized, and it's this form of celebration. 00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:07.519 You want everybody to see that you're now a Christian and you're following Christ with your life. 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:08.960 That's this kind of party right here. 00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:12.879 And Jesus goes to it, of course, and he doesn't go to it reluctantly. 00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:18.960 He doesn't pop in and grab some club soda and dodge out the back door after a few minutes of shaking hands. 00:12:19.120 --> 00:12:20.159 Do you see what he does here? 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:28.159 He goes in and he reclines at the table, it says, with many sinners and tax collectors. 00:12:29.120 --> 00:12:32.799 Reclining at the table, this is the, we've talked about this phrase before. 00:12:33.120 --> 00:12:42.639 It's after a meal in the Jewish culture, you don't get up from the table and, you know, you would you would lay down and you would put your head on the person's chest who's next to you. 00:12:42.879 --> 00:12:52.960 And this is why seating arrangements were so strategic in the Jewish world, because after dinner, you know, in the American world, after dinner, you'd stand up and you'd maybe go to the living room after Thanksgiving. 00:12:53.039 --> 00:13:00.720 You might go for a walk and then you go and you watch football on the TV or something like that, and the seating changes, and people are moving couch to couch throughout the afternoon. 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:02.799 It's not the way the Jewish world was. 00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:10.879 After the meal, you would lay down, you'd put your head on the chest or even on the lap of the person next to you, because they weren't sitting often sitting on chairs even. 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:15.600 And they recline, they're laying on each other all around the table. 00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:23.519 Now that's what Jesus is doing, and he's not doing it with the high priest or the scribes or the Pharisees or even Joseph Israelite. 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:27.919 He's doing it with a table filled with tax collectors. 00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:32.799 These are people that the Jews would not even eat with. 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:37.039 The presence of a tax collector in the Jewish mind would defile the house. 00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:42.000 If you were showing up at a house and there was a tax collector in there, you would see later. 00:13:42.159 --> 00:13:43.279 I can't go in there. 00:13:43.440 --> 00:13:44.639 I'd be defiled. 00:13:44.799 --> 00:13:50.480 And then he looked through the window, and there's Jesus with his head on one of their chests. 00:13:52.960 --> 00:13:54.399 It's an insane scene. 00:13:54.480 --> 00:14:03.679 That phrase, tax collectors and sinners, Russia just sounds redundant, but Matthew is underscoring here, these are the worst of the worst. 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:07.279 These are the people that you would not be caught dead with. 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:16.320 And there Jesus is hanging out, lying down on them. 00:14:17.919 --> 00:14:19.840 The Pharisees see this. 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:24.480 By the way, why would Matthew throw a party with those people? 00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:28.000 Who else would he invite? 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:30.399 Does Matthew have any other friends? 00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:32.320 Does he have any respectable friends? 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:34.159 This is all he knows. 00:14:34.559 --> 00:14:37.600 So Matthew wants to throw a party to tell people about Jesus. 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:40.399 These are the kind of people that are going to show up. 00:14:41.679 --> 00:14:46.799 And I just love this scene so much because it shows you again that Jesus doesn't get defiled. 00:14:46.879 --> 00:14:49.600 He hugs the leper, and Jesus doesn't catch leprosy. 00:14:51.039 --> 00:14:58.879 He hugs the tax collectors, and Jesus doesn't become a Roman, sympathizing, greedy extortionist. 00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:03.840 The leper catches holiness. 00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:08.080 These sinners catch holiness from Jesus. 00:15:09.360 --> 00:15:13.519 It really is a powerful picture of the sanctifying power of Jesus Christ. 00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:18.799 This is why the New Testament in the book of Hebrews calls Jesus holy, innocent, and undefiled. 00:15:19.279 --> 00:15:22.879 It means it uses those words, which are all described of Old Testament sacrifices. 00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:24.879 They're supposed to be holy, innocent, and undefiled. 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:27.519 You couldn't offer a blemished lamb for a sacrifice. 00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:29.919 If your lamb had a broken leg, he couldn't be a sacrifice. 00:15:30.159 --> 00:15:32.000 Jesus is the perfect sacrifice. 00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:36.639 And in the Jewish mind, you would be defiled if you touched something that was unclean. 00:15:36.799 --> 00:15:39.600 If you would hang out with a tax collector, you would no longer be holy. 00:15:39.759 --> 00:15:41.360 You would no longer be undefiled. 00:15:41.519 --> 00:15:50.320 Well, Jesus, the power of Christ, is that he can hang out with those people and he doesn't become undefiled. 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:52.799 He's not defilable. 00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:59.919 It's not possible for him to be defiled because he, God in human flesh, defines holiness. 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:01.440 He is holiness. 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:06.720 I mean, that's just the power of this scene. 00:16:07.039 --> 00:16:11.600 The book of Acts, one of the most common phrases for Jesus in the book of Acts, is God's holy servant. 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:13.360 A phrase that we just let our eyes roll over. 00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:14.399 God's holy servant. 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:16.960 That means that Jesus was never defiled. 00:16:17.120 --> 00:16:20.320 Even though he put his head on Matthew's chest. 00:16:21.360 --> 00:16:24.320 Even though he was around the worst of the worst. 00:16:25.840 --> 00:16:27.360 He never once sinned. 00:16:29.519 --> 00:16:33.679 Now what a contrast with the Pharisees. 00:16:34.159 --> 00:16:36.159 And let this contrast hit you. 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:42.080 The Pharisees, they thought they were holy, not because of what was on the inside of them. 00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:47.120 They thought they were holy because they knew you don't go to lunch with Matthew. 00:16:48.399 --> 00:16:53.279 They knew they were holy because they would never be with the kinds of people that Jesus is. 00:16:53.440 --> 00:16:53.840 Ever. 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:55.679 How holy is a Pharisee? 00:16:55.919 --> 00:16:59.679 Holy enough to know that you don't hang out with those kind of sinners. 00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:04.319 And there's Jesus with those kind of sinners. 00:17:06.240 --> 00:17:09.759 This just breaks every circuit in their minds. 00:17:11.599 --> 00:17:13.359 It's just not possible. 00:17:14.400 --> 00:17:15.920 It's not possible. 00:17:16.799 --> 00:17:20.720 And so they sneak up on the place. 00:17:22.720 --> 00:17:25.279 And they have a question, verse 11. 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:33.599 When the Pharisees saw this, now they saw this is the Jesus reclining at the table with the sinners and the tax collectors. 00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:36.480 And I don't know how they saw this. 00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:38.880 Clearly they weren't in the house. 00:17:39.200 --> 00:17:40.880 They're peering through the window. 00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:45.759 Part of I think their beef is that they've moved from one house they were locked out of to another. 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:53.680 You know, they couldn't get in the house, many of them couldn't get in the house where Jesus healed the paralytic, and now Jesus goes outside and they're following him somewhere in there, of course, in the front row. 00:17:53.759 --> 00:17:56.640 But I mean they were locked out of one house and now they're locked out of another. 00:17:56.799 --> 00:17:58.799 Matthew didn't invite the Pharisees. 00:17:59.519 --> 00:18:04.319 Their names were not on the invitation list, and nevertheless, they see what's happening. 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:09.279 And they asked the disciples, and you do got to wonder about the disciples' silence. 00:18:09.599 --> 00:18:12.640 If you notice when we read this, the disciples didn't answer the question. 00:18:12.880 --> 00:18:18.799 The Pharisees are really haranguing the disciples, saying, You can't really be following Jesus. 00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:21.440 Do you see the kind of people he's with? 00:18:21.839 --> 00:18:28.880 How can you be so dumb to believe Jesus is from God when he's hanging out with those kind of people? 00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:33.839 You can't really believe that a godly person would be with those kind of people. 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:36.400 And how are the Pharisees going to answer that? 00:18:36.960 --> 00:18:38.880 I mean, how are the disciples going to answer that? 00:18:39.680 --> 00:18:41.440 They don't have an answer yet. 00:18:42.160 --> 00:18:44.640 This is early on in the ministry of Christ. 00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:47.279 The disciples don't know how to answer this question. 00:18:47.440 --> 00:18:49.200 They're at a bit of a loss. 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:52.000 And you could ask yourself that question. 00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:57.920 Someone, it's one of the worst things people in our culture today would say to a Christian is, I can't be a Christian because you have those kind of sinners at your church. 00:18:58.079 --> 00:18:59.279 Look at who you're going to church with. 00:18:59.920 --> 00:19:01.119 Look at who else reads the Bible. 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:02.960 I saw so-and-so quoting a Bible verse. 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:04.640 I mean, how hypocritical is that? 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:06.799 There's no way I could believe in Jesus. 00:19:08.559 --> 00:19:09.359 How do you answer that? 00:19:09.519 --> 00:19:13.119 I mean, you say something like, oh, we're all hypocrites, you all have shortcomings or whatever. 00:19:13.359 --> 00:19:15.519 That answer doesn't work for Jesus. 00:19:16.880 --> 00:19:20.400 Jesus can't say, oh, I can hang out with them because we're all hypocrites. 00:19:22.079 --> 00:19:24.720 The disciples don't know how to answer the question. 00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:27.599 And you know that because they don't answer the question. 00:19:27.680 --> 00:19:30.960 Or if they did, their answer wasn't good enough to make it into the Bible. 00:19:35.599 --> 00:19:36.559 Well, it's true. 00:19:36.640 --> 00:19:38.240 I mean, their answer's not there. 00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:42.880 But when Jesus heard the question, and again, I think Jesus was inside, they were outside. 00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:44.079 How did Jesus hear the question? 00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:48.799 Well, the same way he heard the Pharisees' thoughts in their hearts earlier in chapter 9. 00:19:48.880 --> 00:19:51.359 I mean, Jesus knows what's going on in their hearts. 00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:53.519 He knows what they're saying. 00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:56.319 So he gets up and he has an answer for them. 00:19:56.480 --> 00:19:58.400 And what an answer this is. 00:19:59.279 --> 00:20:10.079 He said, those who are well have no need of a physician, but only those who are sick. 00:20:12.559 --> 00:20:16.319 This is what is the great reversal in the Gospels. 00:20:16.960 --> 00:20:20.799 That everything the Jews thought about holiness was backwards. 00:20:21.119 --> 00:20:23.440 And Jesus begins to tell them this. 00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:25.200 You're all wrong, he's telling them. 00:20:25.279 --> 00:20:26.640 You're all wrong. 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:30.880 What you think is holiness is actually nothing. 00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:36.319 And what you think is sin is actually opportunity for righteousness. 00:20:36.559 --> 00:20:39.039 Do you see how he's reversing their whole paradigm? 00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:43.119 He's basically telling them that they have their religious robes on inside out. 00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:45.519 Nice shirt. 00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:47.440 I see the tag sticking out the back. 00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:49.440 Maybe that's happened to you, maybe not. 00:20:49.599 --> 00:20:52.240 Hopefully your spouse lets you know it before you walk out the door. 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:53.839 I see you're wearing your favorite shirt. 00:20:53.920 --> 00:20:55.599 Did you notice it's on inside out? 00:20:56.400 --> 00:20:58.720 That's Jesus' response to the Pharisees. 00:20:58.880 --> 00:21:00.559 Oh, you're so proud of your holiness. 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:02.640 You've got it backwards, my friend. 00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:04.480 Backwards. 00:21:05.839 --> 00:21:09.519 Those who are well, don't go to see the doctor. 00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:13.599 Those who are well, don't go see the doctor. 00:21:13.839 --> 00:21:15.920 I know there's like well checks in our culture. 00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:16.640 Well checks. 00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:18.720 You go to the doctor every year just to make sure. 00:21:19.039 --> 00:21:20.559 I reject that because of this verse. 00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:23.039 I don't go see the doctor because of this verse. 00:21:24.640 --> 00:21:26.480 My doctors don't buy it. 00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:28.720 My wife tells on me. 00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:35.839 Imagine that you don't like sick people. 00:21:37.920 --> 00:21:39.680 Should you go to medical school? 00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:41.839 Probably not. 00:21:42.319 --> 00:21:44.079 What if you don't like animals? 00:21:44.480 --> 00:21:45.680 Should you be a vet? 00:21:47.039 --> 00:21:50.079 What if you really don't like being around crime? 00:21:50.400 --> 00:21:51.519 Don't be a cop. 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:55.200 What if you hate working on cars and getting your hands dirty? 00:21:55.599 --> 00:21:57.279 Don't be a mechanic. 00:21:58.960 --> 00:22:06.720 What if you don't Like being around sinners, Christianity is probably not going to be the religion for you. 00:22:08.480 --> 00:22:12.799 Because the people that are drawn to Christ are the sinners. 00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:19.440 If you only want to be around good people, I suggest you find a religion that's focused on works righteousness. 00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:21.599 You might find some good people there. 00:22:23.279 --> 00:22:28.079 If you don't want to be around, I mean again, you don't want to be around a sick animal. 00:22:28.319 --> 00:22:29.359 Don't be a vet. 00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:30.559 Genius. 00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:34.160 There's a lot of things you can do that don't involve that. 00:22:35.039 --> 00:22:38.480 And to take the analogy even further, pretend you are a doctor. 00:22:40.160 --> 00:22:42.079 And your your wife says, Are you going to work today? 00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:43.680 And you say, No, I'm not going to work today. 00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:44.079 Why not? 00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:45.680 Because I don't feel sick. 00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:48.319 You're the doctor. 00:22:48.640 --> 00:22:50.400 Yeah, I'm feeling totally healthy. 00:22:50.480 --> 00:22:54.319 If I went to work, I might catch something from one of my patients. 00:22:54.559 --> 00:22:58.400 Do you know last time I was in my office, everybody there was sick? 00:22:59.200 --> 00:23:00.799 I'm not going back there. 00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:09.279 That's the nature of Jesus' response. 00:23:10.160 --> 00:23:12.400 It's such a rebuke to the Pharisees. 00:23:12.559 --> 00:23:13.680 Hey, geniuses. 00:23:14.960 --> 00:23:17.440 They're sick people, and I'm the doctor. 00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:19.359 That's how this analogy works. 00:23:19.599 --> 00:23:23.440 They are wounded, they are broken, they're defiled. 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:26.160 They are the sinners in society. 00:23:26.319 --> 00:23:28.319 They're the ones that people don't have time for. 00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:30.720 They're the ones that are rejected by the world. 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:36.160 And it's it's and there Jesus is not painting them as the victims here, by the way, in any stretch of the imagination. 00:23:36.240 --> 00:23:38.640 This is not a victim-based culture, the Jewish world. 00:23:38.720 --> 00:23:42.799 He's not saying they're the real victims because they're neglected and their parents didn't have time for them or whatever. 00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:45.039 No, Jesus is pinning the blame right on them. 00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:46.559 They are the sinners. 00:23:46.720 --> 00:23:49.200 They are rejected because of their sin. 00:23:49.440 --> 00:23:51.599 They're the evil people, they're the wicked ones. 00:23:51.759 --> 00:23:53.039 They are defiled. 00:23:54.559 --> 00:23:56.720 It's nobody's fault but their fault. 00:23:56.880 --> 00:23:59.839 But man, they're wicked, and they can't blame anybody for it. 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:02.079 Man, those people are so sinful. 00:24:02.240 --> 00:24:05.039 That's why he goes to lunch with them. 00:24:06.960 --> 00:24:10.319 Because they need forgiveness. 00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:13.039 Particularly, what do they need? 00:24:14.160 --> 00:24:15.759 They need righteousness. 00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:17.279 That's what they need. 00:24:21.039 --> 00:24:24.079 I want to keep sticking with the doctor sick person analogy. 00:24:24.640 --> 00:24:32.960 Because I have heard this verse used to justify Christians hanging out with sinners without giving them the gospel. 00:24:33.279 --> 00:24:42.240 Like hanging out with sinners, like, of course I can go to this party, and of course I can do that, and of course I can be friends with these people because Jesus was friends with sinners and tax collectors, okay? 00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:44.319 I'm sure it's not just me. 00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:46.960 I'm sure you've heard that argument used before too. 00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:49.920 Probably by somebody between the ages of 18 and 22. 00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:52.720 It's like the favorite Bible passage for college students. 00:24:56.960 --> 00:25:00.000 Okay, so how's your evangelism going in that context? 00:25:00.160 --> 00:25:02.079 So let's go back to the doctor analogy. 00:25:02.240 --> 00:25:07.200 You go to the doctor's office and you're sick, and the doctor comes out and hangs out in the waiting room with you. 00:25:08.319 --> 00:25:12.559 You're watching the movie on the screen, you're reading Sports Illustrated. 00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:14.000 Doctor says, How's it going? 00:25:14.079 --> 00:25:14.640 You know? 00:25:15.759 --> 00:25:17.519 Redskins made the playoffs. 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:19.519 I just, of course. 00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:22.160 And and you have a conversation about sports. 00:25:22.240 --> 00:25:26.000 And at some point you say, So you gonna help? 00:25:26.480 --> 00:25:27.279 Got any medicine? 00:25:27.359 --> 00:25:29.039 You want to take my blood pressure or something? 00:25:29.119 --> 00:25:29.759 I don't know. 00:25:30.160 --> 00:25:31.359 Doctor's like, no. 00:25:32.319 --> 00:25:33.839 No, you're sick. 00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:34.880 You're sick. 00:25:34.960 --> 00:25:36.400 I just I hang out with sick people. 00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:37.599 That's what we're doing. 00:25:38.400 --> 00:25:43.440 Hanging out, having fun, being friends. 00:25:44.160 --> 00:25:45.359 That's absurd. 00:25:46.319 --> 00:25:50.559 Jesus is not hanging out, reclining with Matthew, being friends. 00:25:52.079 --> 00:25:52.880 Period. 00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:55.119 He's there. 00:25:55.200 --> 00:25:58.400 The doctor-patient analogy is the analogy that Jesus uses. 00:25:58.640 --> 00:26:03.519 He's there because they need righteousness. 00:26:04.400 --> 00:26:06.160 And that's what he has. 00:26:06.880 --> 00:26:10.079 They need holiness, and that's what he has. 00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:18.880 This is why John writes, 1 John 3, verse 3, everyone who hopes in Christ purifies himself as he is pure. 00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:25.039 When you spend time with Jesus and you trust him and you hope in him, you become sanctified. 00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:27.279 You grow in holiness. 00:26:28.079 --> 00:26:32.720 You're not perfect and you still sin, of course, but you're growing in godliness. 00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:43.039 And so the whole chart here, the whole patient chart, begins with a person realizing that they are sick, that they are the unrighteous ones, that they are the wicked person in the story. 00:26:43.119 --> 00:26:55.519 In whatever culture, you have to look in the mirror and realize you are the man, you are the woman, you are the one that is, has the kind of sin in your heart that makes you defiled and that you don't belong in civilized society. 00:26:55.599 --> 00:26:56.880 That's the sin that's in your heart. 00:26:57.039 --> 00:26:59.279 You got to get there with your own self first. 00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:03.519 Those kind of people are not the others, they're the you's. 00:27:04.400 --> 00:27:13.119 And once you get there, then you're able to go to Christ for help because you recognize that if the world knew what was in your heart, they would keep you at arm's distance. 00:27:13.200 --> 00:27:18.640 If the world knew what was going on in your sinful mind and your perverted heart, they would say, stay away from me. 00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:25.680 But Jesus knows, and he doesn't, because he can, you know, read your heart, he knows what's in there, and he doesn't say, stay away from me. 00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:29.920 He says, Come to me if you realize who you really are. 00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:42.880 Then you come to Christ, and by an encounter with Christ, you learn about him and you grow more like him as your sins are forgiven and you begin growing in sanctification. 00:27:43.119 --> 00:27:44.799 That's the encounter here. 00:27:45.119 --> 00:27:47.440 The sick people begin to get well. 00:27:49.119 --> 00:27:54.559 It doesn't mean that Matthew is going to be as godly as a really godly Pharisee, nod, nod, wink, wink. 00:27:55.839 --> 00:27:57.519 He got saved five minutes ago. 00:27:57.680 --> 00:27:58.960 Give him some time. 00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:02.079 That's the image here. 00:28:02.319 --> 00:28:10.640 And this is so offensive to people who think that Christians shouldn't have anything to do with the sinners in society. 00:28:13.759 --> 00:28:16.079 Jesus doesn't end here, by the way. 00:28:17.279 --> 00:28:21.279 He goes on, verse 13, with what can only be described as a rebuke. 00:28:21.359 --> 00:28:22.640 In verse 12, you had the reversal. 00:28:22.720 --> 00:28:24.480 Verse 13 is the rebuke. 00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:26.720 Go learn what this means. 00:28:27.200 --> 00:28:28.640 That's an imperative. 00:28:28.880 --> 00:28:30.720 Jesus says, get out of here. 00:28:30.960 --> 00:28:31.680 Go study. 00:28:31.839 --> 00:28:33.200