Sinners or the Righteous?

This morning I have been reading from Matthew's Ninth chapter, and there is so much to think about, just in that one chapter, its hard to know where to start.  That being said, I have read through it and the allow the Lord to highlight in my mind and/or heart the verses He wants me to focus upon.  This morning there is just the lightest of indicators, but I believe these are the verses that I should spend time on.

Matthew 9:9-17 NIV:

[9] "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.

[10] While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. [11] When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

[12] On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. [13] But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

[14] Then John's disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”

[15] Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

[16] “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. [17] Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

In just these eight verses, there is much to look at, however the two statements that caught my eye this morning were found in verses 13 and 17, and I think they are related.  It is clear from reading the Gospels that Jesus' ministry, while powerful and enjoyed by many people, caused much confusion, consternation and even arguments.  He wasn't doing what people, especially the leaders (Pharisees and Sadducees) thought the messiah should be doing.  He was spending time with the "sinners" and poor and common people.  He wasn't acting like a "leader", and didn't seem to care that much about the other leaders and what they thought of Him.

As I was reading through these verses again, I was thinking about how unpopular they would be if they were spoken to our church congregations on a Sunday morning, if they were directed at those sitting in leadership and even in the congregation, not as "sinners" but as those who saw themselves as "righteous".

Now I am not making any wide generalizations here, just imagining if we were the objects of Jesus' comments.  I wonder if we would respond in humility and repentance, or if we would become incensed?  Its not like we aren't trying to do the right thing, trying hard to reach the lost and care for those who need help.

The question that keeps popping into my mind, is what about this young generation that seems to be leaving the church in greater numbers all the time.  I keep wondering about all the good people I know that have stopped going to church for a variety of reasons, and I wonder if continuing to do church as usual is a bit like verse 17?

Has the church become unable to change, unable to flex enough to hold this new generation?

Have we become so used to preaching to "righteous" believers that we have lost touch with the "sinners"?

Do we want to be around "sinners" for there sake or are we only comfortable with the "righteous"?

As we look at this recent time of craziness and forced change, are we just wanting to go back to the way things were before?

Are we struggling to find our identity outside of our activity or responsibility in the church?  In other words, now that we can't do what we always have done, are we unsure if our calling or value to the Body of Christ?

Those could be some deep questions to consider, and that is what the Lord seems to be high-lighting to me today.  Jesus' statements in these verses should cause us to stop and think about what we are doing, about who we are focused on, and about our call in the Body!  These verses should challenge us, for they represent some of the core features of Jesus' ministry on earth!  He came to seek and save the lost.  He came representing the Father, and yet He came as a servant leader, one who didn't pursue glory for Himself, nor pursue positions of power or authority.  He was different that most everyone expected, and His primary motivation was love.

In summary, I believe the Lord continues to provide us an opportunity to reassess our situation, our thinking, our heart attitudes, and the need for change and flexibility.  His heart for the lost hasn't changed, and Jesus, in perfect obedience to the Father, showed us what that heart looked like! The question is whether looking at us and at the Church, if people would see the same heart of the Father?

Oh Lord help us to faithfully represent You to this world around us.  You love each and every man, woman and child, and desire Your ministry to continue through the church, Your Body on earth. Help us to be more like You!

Amen!