January 31 | Matthew 9:9-13

David Thompson
Jan 31
3 min read

DAILY READING

REFLECTION

Jesus Came for the Sick

by Dave Thompson

"As Jesus went from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth."

From this verse and the one that follows that I will discuss later, I understand how "be saved" happens. It says in Ephesians 1:4, "He chose us before the foundation of the world..." This is a very important verse and one that has caused some concern because of the word "chose." I like it better for this devotional to lean toward the words "knowing us..." In support of that I offer Jeremiah 1:5 that states that "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you..."

Jesus tells us that, "every hair on our heads is numbered" (Luke 12:7). Suffice it to say that Jesus knew us for a long time before we ultimately got saved." He loved us as a little child and as an adult, hurt for us when we made bad choices, guarded us when we stumbled and ultimately, in His perfect timing, saved us. He continued to do the same after we were saved. But, we aren't done yet. Like Matthew, He says "Come with Me." and we need to follow. To other disciples he said He would make them "fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19 and Mark 1:17). We too are asked to be fishers of men as we walk our Walk, day by day. Remember how Jesus knew us from the beginning of the world, he also knew of our exact date of salvation and he knows us as we walk alongside our brothers and sisters.

Matthew finishes this passage with some words to live by, "Who needs a doctor, the healthy or the sick?," "I'm after mercy not religion." and "I am here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders" Jesus said these words out of frustration with the Pharisees as they continued to harass Him over eating and hanging out with "sinners."

I have spoken before about my Uncle Dave Mainse. He was an on fire, born-again Christian that lived his commitment to Christ every day. In one of his books, he tells a story about being asked to speak at a revival service at a rather small-sized church. When he got there and visited with the people, he got the urging from God that all of the petitioners in the church were longtime members and were saved. He felt that he should be somewhere else serving the unsaved. He got up to speak to the meager crowd at the church and decided to say, "You all are Christians and I need to be with those that need Christ." He then walked off the platform and went across the street to a tavern that had a number of patrons out front and he began speaking to them about God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. I don't know the results of his interaction with those at the tavern, but it reiterates Christ's final words of today's passage, "Who needs a doctor, the healthy or the sick" and "I am here to invite outsiders..."

May we have the same boldness as we interact with "outsiders" today.

PRAYER

Dear Lord, help us not judge anyone. Remind us that You know everything and he knows if and when a person is being "fished by a man." If the time is right, there will be results, perhaps not that day, but someday. Please give us the strength and the words if we need it to show our fellow men and women the light that shines in each of us. Thank you for loving us and always being there to support us. Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DAVE THOMPSON

I am the administrator of the Daily Worship Blog. My wife, Carla, and I have been attending UALC for seven years at the 9 o'clock service at Mill Run. We have two children, Catherine and Aaron. I have been a Christian for 53 years and am thankful that my Savior has given me two spiritual gifts that have carried me both spiritually and vocationally all my life: they are teaching and administration. I look forward to spending many years here at UALC to serve my Lord and Savior.