Today's Reading:O.T. - Psalm 120 - 124
N.T. - Matthew 9
Focus Verses:
Matthew 9:10-13 10While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" 12On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Psalm 123 1I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven. 2As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his mercy. 3Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy on us, for we have endured much contempt. 4We have endured much ridicule from the proud, much contempt from the arrogant.
Insight:
The question: "Why does Jesus eat with sinners?" The answer: "Mercy." Religion that has lost sight of redemption is very far from what God desires. God desires mercy! Having a zeal for rules is not the same thing as having a heart for God. The whole point of identifying sin is to help sinners find redemption and forgiveness. Even the mosaic laws regarding sacrifice were intended to accomplish mercy. We’re all spiritually sick and in need of a doctor. Only the arrogant, blind to their own sinfulness and need for forgiveness, can look at the sins of others with contempt.
Response and Action:
I will lift up my eyes to God and look to his hand for mercy and redemption. I will follow Jesus' example of merciful fellowship and redemptive friendship. I will eat with sinners. I will not love religion at the expense of loving people. I will stay humble by always remembering that I am a sinner saved by the mercy and grace of God.
Have mercy on me, O God, a sinner. Thank you for the hope and healing that you offer to me through Jesus. Thank you that he emptied himself and lived among us, touching us and sharing our humanity. Help me, through the presence of your Holy Spirit, to live out the mercy of Jesus in my daily life. Help me share hope, healing, and redemption with everyone around me. Amen.
Proverbs: 27:19
"As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man."
Resources:
Living Faith: A Guide to the Christian Life
by John Schwarz
