Jesus saw a man named Matthew sitting at a tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Matthew 9:9-13
Jesus Came for Sinners
One of the latest internet trends is to provide a website on which people are encouraged to anonymously confess the worst things about themselves. Many studies indicate that holding onto secrets about yourself, especially the bad ones, dramatically increases your stress and can transform your mood and emotions into a pretty big mess.
There are millions of anonymous confessions on these websites. Not everyone takes the confession seriously. But many do. There are countless confessions of drug use, alcohol abuse, and unfaithfulness in a relationship. But no matter the confession, the people making them all have one thing in common. They're anonymous. They're fine with the whole internet world knowing the most intimate details of their secret—as long as no one can ever connect that secret with their name. They're afraid of what might happen if someone discovered the worst things about them.
But with Jesus, we don't need to be afraid.
Matthew was a tax collector. People in this position often took advantage of others by collecting much more money than required and keeping it for themselves. Their sins were well-known. One day, after Jesus called Matthew to follow him, Jesus came to Matthew's house and ate dinner with him and others who were considered unwholesome company. And when some asked why Jesus would associate with "sinners" like Matthew, Jesus explained why: "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick … I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
In other words, if you are healthy—if you feel that you have no sins to confess—then Jesus cannot help you. But if you are a "sinner"—if you really do have sins to confess—then Jesus is for you.
If your hands are dirty with sin, then look at the cross stained with the blood of Jesus, and see the sacrifice Jesus made to wash you completely clean. If your heart is weighed down by guilt, then Jesus invites you to give that burden to him. If you have a past filled with shame, then Jesus has a future planned for you; one in which he brings you to the heavenly feast where there is no more death, crying, sin, or pain.
As he did with Matthew, Jesus knows your sin. He came to set you free from it.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, we are ashamed of our sins. Yet you assure us that all our sins are fully forgiven. Thank you for your sacrifice on the cross. As you showed mercy to us, help us to show mercy to one another. Amen.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
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