Message Notes

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the 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

In this section of Matthew chapter nine, Matthew is writing about himself in the third person.

Your neighbors, your co-workers, your clients are there on purpose because God put them there.  And they are a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ.

Matthew was a tax collector. Tax collectors were known as dishonest traitors.

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.