Matt
"...It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick." - Matthew 9:12
One of the things I love most about Jesus is His love for all people, even those people many religious folks don't want to be around. One of those people was His disciple Matthew. He later became one of Jesus' biographers.
Matt was one of the last guys you'd want on your team if you were trying to impress good religious folks. He was a crook. He ran with a bad crowd. He was a party animal. But after Jesus reached out to him and asked him to join His team, Matt was so excited he threw a party for all his wild and notorious friends, just to meet Jesus. And they all had a great time.
But the religious crowd was appalled. They thought, "If Jesus is supposed to be a man of God, why would He run with such a rough crowd?"
Jesus responded, "It's not the healthy who need a doctor. I came for those who know they're sinners and need help--not for those who think they're righteous."
Don't you love it? You may be one of those folks like Matt, and I hope you'll remember that Jesus loves you.
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12 Comments
This scripture in Matthew is one of my favorites because it reveals the compassion of Jesus. Jesus often ministered to people others felt were undesirable. Why is it that many times people with struggles feel rejected by the church? Is the church a true reflection of the compassion of Jesus. - April
I was one of those who nobody wanted to be around but thank God Christ loved me. He didnt care who I was but he knew who I could be, a servant of his. It is just like an old song says "He looked beyond my faults and saw my need". I wish everyone could understand that Jesus loves us and that he wants to be a part of our lives. - Jerry
It's a good story but there is no evidence for it. The gospel called "Matthew" is anonymous and there is no reason to think it was written by Matthew other than Catholic legends. - Erik
Erik, you seem to be getting desperate with your critisim lately. Call the book Joe, or Mike, or Tony - what does it matter? Call it Erik if you want. Either way, it is an eyewitness account of a portion of Jesus's life. The Bible itself states that it isn't known for certain that the book was written by Matthew. - Austin
Eric,
That was an interesting comment you have written. Tell me where did you get your imformation to make the statement? If we are reading the Bible correctly this was the words of Christ written in red, I believe that men a whole smarter than you and I have accepted it to be correct so maybe we should accept it to be true and some of us quit trying to prove it to be wrong. After all there is an old saying "Tis better to be quite and let others think we are ignorant than to open our mouths and give away all doubt". - Quitely submitted
Thank you for your comments everyone and I agree that I would much rather keep my mouth shut and just let everyone wonder. The one thing I know for sure is that the Bible is our guide for life. - Sandi Whitten
I am desperate, Your bible makes too much sense for me. I can't take it anymore - Erik the desperate
Austin- my last post went MIA but what I said was that you and I may know that Matthew isn't Matthew but apparently RFTH is confused on this issue, since that was the pretext for this devotion. - the one and only Erik
Erik, I asked God for a word from His Word for you in regards to your comments about Matthew. I opened up the Bible to Matthew and the passage my eyes first settled upon was this: Matthew 13:37-43
"He (Jesus) answered, 'The one who sowed the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear." Erik, I was reluctant to post this because I know you have a very scientific mind and the random way I went about seeking God's help probably does not meet your requirements. But just in case there is anything in the passage for you I decided to post it. People only attain righteousness because they accept Jesus and He is righteousness for us when God looks at us. - Janice
Thanks for thinking of me, Janice. I don't know if there was anything there specifically for me, but I have to say I am glad your Bible didn't fall open to Deuteronomy 2:33-34. - Erik
Eric that didn,t make any sense to write that scripture. What did it have to do with what Janice wrote? You could have came up with any scripture to refute what she wrote to you but I just didn't get it. It seemed like you was on the same type of thought that Pee Wee Herman was on when he used to say "Iknow I am but what are you". You didn't have a good thought to come back at her with so it seemed like you just pulled a scripture out of the Bible. Please tell me what did that have to do with the great harvest as she wrote? - Wondering
Wondering, I think Erik just didn't want to get smited by the "oh mighty smiter"
and c'mon... "Erik the desperate" was funny - DM