Matthew

Party Host For Sinners

READ Luke 5:27–32

Many Christians live with a nagging sense of guilt or apprehension about the New Testament’s call to tell the world about Jesus. Yes, we know we should be spreading the gospel—but how? It’s daunting to invite people to church, and perhaps we suspect that our coworkers and neighbors wouldn’t feel like they fit in well at our churches. Not sure what to do, we might be tempted to give up and leave the evangelism to people who have that “gift.” While evangelism is certainly a gift (Ephesians 4:11), spreading the good news about Jesus is the task of every believer. So, how do we do it? The disciple Matthew offered us a helpful method.

Matthew, also called Levi, was a tax collector. The Jewish people in Jesus’ day hated tax collectors for taking their money and giving it to the Roman government. Tax collectors were regarded as traitors to their own people. They also had a reputation for gouging people with higher tax bills than necessary to skim off a bit for themselves. Suffice it to say, no one would have considered a tax collector to be worthy disciple material for a Jewish rabbi. No one, that is, except Jesus.

Seeing Matthew in his tax booth one day, Jesus issued the same invitation he had given to the fishermen who became his disciples: “Follow me” (Luke 5:27). Though others looked at Matthew as an outcast, Jesus saw in him someone who could become a faithful follower. Matthew left everything and followed.

Then Matthew did a wonderful thing. He threw a banquet, inviting all his old acquaintances and accomplices, people considered “sinners.” This was a big party for Jesus. The Bible says there was a “large crowd” of these tax collectors and sinners; it was not a small gathering (v. 29). The religious leaders complained to Jesus’ disciples about his participation at this gathering. They would never deign to eat with such despicable types! They asked, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” (v. 30). Jesus told them it was not the healthy who needed a doctor but the sick. He had come to call sinners to repentance, and that meant spending time with them.

Bringing your nonbelieving neighbor to a church service might be a lot to start with (though we should never underestimate how God’s Spirit can move!). Maybe God is calling you to offer an easier on-ramp for the people in your life who don’t yet know the Lord. Why not host a “Matthew party”? Just as Matthew invited all his friends to a party with Jesus, we can invite people we know to spend time with us and others who already know Christ. Who knows what seeds might be planted in such gatherings?

Some of us were blessed to grow up in homes where our Christian faith was nourished. Perhaps you professed your faith in church early in your life by walking up front and giving your life to Jesus. Others of us came to faith as adults through friends who cared for us, supported us, and who were also unapologetic about their love for Jesus. Like Jesus with tax collectors and sinners, those friends became part of our journey, investing time and energy into building meaningful relationships with us.

We are called to follow in the ministry of Jesus. If we are going to look and live like Jesus, this means we also need to be intentional about reaching beyond the walls of our churches. We need to go out and meet people, building relationships with them, and gathering with them as Jesus did.

Of course, we must always conduct ourselves in a way that reflects positively on Christ, whom we represent. But we cannot simply build churches and hope people will show up. God’s people need to go out and practice following Jesus with real people who don’t know him yet. Though it is Christ who does the saving, by his grace and Spirit he uses his people to reach out and spread the gospel. Isaiah 40:4 proclaims a time when “the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.” God’s followers can make the rough journey from unbelief to faith a little smoother for those around us by showing our Christian faith through our love (John 13:35).