CRITICAL NOTES
Matthew 9:9. Receipt of custom.—Place of toll (R. V.). See Introduction.
Matthew 9:10. Jesus.—He (R. V.), probably Matthew. Sat at meat in the house.—The modesty of our Evangelist signally appears here. Luke says (Luke 5:29) that “Levi made Him a great feast,” or “reception,” while, Matthew merely says, “He sat at meat,” and Mark and Luke say that it was in Levi’s “own house,” while Matthew merely says, “He sat at meat in the house.” Whether this feast was made now, or not till afterwards, is a point of some importance in the order of events, and not agreed among harmonists. The probability is that it did not take place till a considerable time afterwards (Brown).
Matthew 9:11. When the Pharisees saw it.—Rev. A. Carr thinks that though not guests, they came into the house—a custom still prevalent in the East.
Matthew 9:12. They that be whole.—A touch of irony.
Matthew 9:13. I will have mercy and not sacrifice.—I.e. the one rather than the other. Quoted from Hosea 6:6. “Sacrifice,” the chief part of the ceremonial law, is here put for a religion of literal adherence to mere rules; while “mercy” expresses such compassion for the fallen as seeks to lift them up (Brown). To repentance.—Omitted by leading MSS. and R.V.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Matthew 9:9-13
The treatment of sinners.—The calling of “Matthew the publican” appears to have excited a great deal of attention. The mingled wealth and infamy of his avocation; the fact that he was actually engaged in it when called away from it by the Saviour; and the readiness and completeness with which he responded—“rising” up, and, as it were, leaving the “violence” which was then “in his hands” (Jonah 3:8)—would all have this effect. All men of all sorts would hear of it with wonder. Nor is it surprising, that being the case, that it soon led, as described to us here:
1. To a great movement.
2. To a strong remonstrance.
3. To a most instructive reply.
I. A great movement.—A great movement, on the one hand, in the way of desire. It is characteristic of the true disciple that he wishes other men like himself (Acts 26:29). Having learned the truth—and that happy truth—and that truth, moreover, which, amongst its first teachings, teaches both the duty and privilege of “loving one another”—such a man cannot help desiring that others should be as he is. And he will desire this first, also, as a matter of course, for those nearest to himself (John 1:41). And he will desire this most, when, as in the present instance he has given up much for its sake. What can I do for my brother outcasts in regard to this matter? How can I show them that there is something better than all their idolised gains? How have I learned this myself? I will bring them, if I can, under the same influence which has taught it to me. They shall meet in my house with my Master Himself. The thought was as new—but as natural under the circumstances—as his conversion itself. In the way of effort. The thing desired was soon brought about. Soon after there was a new sight—a very new sight—in the city of Capernaum. In the tax-gatherer’s house there is a vast assemblage of such men as himself, or rather, we should say, of such men as he had previously been. “Many publicans and sinners” are “sitting down” in his company. They are sitting down as his guests. In order to bring them together he has made a “great feast” (Luke 5:29); of which, however, it may be noted by the way, he does not tell us himself. To this feast he has invited also both the Saviour and His disciples. All that can be done, therefore, Matthew has done to bring about his desire. It is a very notable fact. The previous gain-lover is now a soul-lover instead. The man who was always for making money is now spending it freely. He who sat formerly in the “receipt of custom” is now at the feet of the Saviour; and is doing all he can to bring others under the sound of His voice. All Capernaum, we cannot doubt, would look on with surprise.
II. A strong remonstrance.—Some would look on, we are reminded next, with much more than surprise. They would look on, we may almost say, with indignation and hate; with a degree of indignation that very soon found expression in words. The persons so speaking, would, very naturally, be amongst the Pharisees of the place. Their very name signified that they held themselves aloof from all others. It would shock them, therefore, especially to see an assembly where the very opposite idea was in force. They might almost be excused, indeed, if they looked upon it as a kind of reproach to themselves. The ground of their remonstrance would, therefore, be connected with this self-same idea. Are we not as Israelites, a people separated from the rest of the world? (Deuteronomy 16:2, etc.). Are we not as Pharisees, a body of Israelites pledged to see that this separation be carried out to the full? But what is it we see here? We see this new Teacher, though a teacher of holiness, sanctioning confusion instead; sitting down at the same table at a common feast with men notorious for their sins. “This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them” (Luke 15:2). That is the point—that is the sting—of their cry. A remonstrance, finally, which is all the more remarkable because of the persons to whom it is made. “When the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples,” Why doth your Master do thus? Apparently there was a holy majesty about Him which prevented them from saying this to Himself. Apparently, on that very account, they felt the supposed scandal the more. That such a man should eat with such! This, to them, was the unendurable wrong.
III. A complete reply.—This was given by going further into the nature of things. What seems so objectionable was not at all so when further examined. So far from this, the thing objected to was what ought to be done. Whether we consider the needs of men on the one hand, or what is pleasing to God on the other, it is what ought to be done. If mercy is to be shown it should be shown to those who need it the most (Matthew 9:12, end of 13). Also, that mercy is to be shown is abundantly manifested from what God Himself has said on the point. Of the two ways, in fact, of worshipping God this is the way He prefers. “I will have mercy and not sacrifice.” If you can give both, give “mercy” the first. If you cannot give both, give “mercy” alone. Nothing, therefore, is more pleasing to God than what is being done at this time. Also, it is just that which ought to be done by Myself. Here, as we saw, was the crowning grievance in this Pharisaic remonstrance. Herein, on the contrary, the Saviour shows them, was His crowning justification. He had come into the world—He had been sent into the world—to carry out in practice the very spirit described in that text. “Mercy, and not sacrifice,” was to be in all things the rule of His life. Why should He be blamed, therefore, for acting upon it in “calling sinners” to Himself? Especially when it was remembered that in doing so He was calling them to “repentance” as well?
Here, therefore, in conclusion, we see the special glory of the mercy of Christ. It is mercy to the sinner, but not to his sins (cf. Psalms 130:4). It is mercy to the man who needs mercy the most—to the greatest, the most notorious, the most generally despised. But mercy to him, at the same time, with still more mercy in view, viz., that kind of mercy which shall help to make him the greatest of saints. See how conspicuously this change was effected in the person of Matthew himself! How much more he had learned of the mind of Christ than those Pharisees who despised him! How holy he had become both in his desires and efforts through coming to Christ! And how well he discerned (and acted on) both the kind of “separation” that is desirable, and where it should come in. Separation rather unto Christ than away from our fellows. Separation as a consequence, and not as a means! Separation in love, and not in contempt!
HOMILIES ON THE VERSES
Matthew 9:9. The call of St. Matthew.—It may be that this was their first meeting, and that a magnetic attraction was exerted upon the publican by that countenance which owed its majesty not to external comeliness so much as to the dignity and goodness of soul reflected in its features. It is, however, much more likely that Jesus had become previously acquainted with Matthew in Capernaum, had secured his affection and permitted him to return for a while to his tax-collecting, as the sons of Jonas to their fishing, so that now there needed but the recognition and. repeated claim. That claim was peremptory. Not less prompt was the obedience rendered.
I. It was a good indication of energy that he rose up. The man who rouses himself to receive a message, who starts to his feet and reflects in the attitude of activity and readiness, like the children of Israel in their early observance of the Passover, is more likely to obey his conscientious conviction than he who remains seated and will scarcely shake off habitual lethargy sufficiently to give fair attention.
II. It was a noble thoroughness of surrender.—He “left all.” And yet to leave all is often easier than to leave half, to evacuate an untenable position at once than to retreat by a few yards at a time and be beaten back blow by blow. Hesitation petrifies resolution now as it did in Lot’s wife.
III. Thus he “followed,” esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. He was to find the preciousness of a clear conscience and of investments made, not in material securities but in the gratitude and happiness of men whose welfare he advanced; he was to learn the value of his Lord’s teaching, to enjoy the golden smile of His friendship and the heavenly rewards of His service.—C. E. B. Reed, M.A.
Matthew 9:10. Matthew’s feast.—The scene now shifts. Hitherto Christ had been the inviter, Matthew the invited; the order is inverted and the Master becomes His disciple’s guest. Levi made Him a great feast, expressive of gratitude; for he could look even upon commands as mercies and on self-denying service as a privilege. Jesus came to the feast thus prepared for Him; and so it ever is. He calls us to Himself and then accepts our invitation, not disdaining to enter the poor chamber of our heart; for unlike the petty lords of earth who stand on ceremony as a stool to give them height, His native glory fears no eclipse but freely condescends to men of low estate. It is interesting to remark the character of Levi’s feast. “There was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them.” One can see that Matthew had already studied to good purpose his Lord’s character.
I. First of all he perceived that he could best serve Him, not by eating and drinking alone in His presence, but by inviting the outcasts of society and befriending them for the sake of Him who made their cause His own.
II. He invited to the feast his old associates.—Many men would have forsworn the class from which they had been called and sought some new field of benevolence; whereas he does not disown his publican comrades, but selects them as earliest recipients of his bounty.
III. He recognised that the best thing he could do for them was to bring them into contact with Jesus.—Instead of going among them and talking about his new Master, he wisely brought them face to face with Him whose teaching he could not match either for breadth or power.
IV. This intercourse between Christ and the publicans Matthew contrived to bring about by means of an entertainment.—He knew well that most of them would never come to hear a formal discourse from the Lord, but that meat and drink would open their hearts to receive the scattered seeds of His teaching. Upon the same principle may be defended many acts of the modern church to which exception is often taken.—Ibid.
Matthew 9:11-12. The words that came of Matthew’s promotion. (For children).—Do you children know what is meant by promotion? It means going up. From a tax-gatherer for the Roman Emperor, Matthew became an Apostle, that is, a messenger of our Lord and Saviour. Was not that a promotion for Matthew? Yes, and he felt it to be so, and he was very glad, and to show his gladness he made a feast, and he invited Christ and His disciples, and a number of his old friends who were publicans as he had been. But some other people came to the feast besides the Saviour and the disciples, and the publicans and sinners. Some Pharisees were there, and they began to find fault and to say, “Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?” And what I want to speak to you most about is the answer which Jesus made to the Pharisees, “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
I. Jesus is a Physician for all, because all are sinful.—Some years ago I used to visit a large hospital every week. In the first room I used to find men very thin, with very bad coughs, and hardly able to breathe. They were in consumption. The next room was the accident ward, where men were lying with broken legs, or walking about with bandages on their heads or arms. Then, in another room, there were men with fever, tossing from side to side, and finding no rest anywhere. And last of all there was a room strongly bolted, where men were put who were prisoners and were sick. This was a very sad case to be in—not only to be sick but to be in prison. Now, did all these people need a doctor? Yes. Were they all equally sick? No; some were much worse than others, but they all wanted a doctor or they would not have been in a hospital. Now, my dear children, this world is like a hospital—everybody in it needs to be cured of sin.
II. But Jesus does not cure everybody’s sin.—How is this? It is not because He is not able, nor yet because He is not willing, but because some people do not want to be cured. In a sad railway accident which happened some time ago a young lady was taken out of one of the carriages, and she said she was not hurt at all, she felt no pain. She stood up and tried to walk, and then fell back dead. She had received a very serious injury, and yet she did not feel it at the moment. So it was with these Pharisees. Now you will say, “How do we come to feel that we need Jesus to heal us?” It is by trying to do right by ourselves that we find out how weak we are.
1. Jesus is a physician who can see what is the matter with us as soon as He looks at us.
2. Jesus is always at home.
3. Jesus can attend to all who come to Him at the same moment.
4. Jesus never fails to cure. There is an old saying I am sure you will remember if I tell it to you. It is, “The three best doctors that a man can have in this world are, Dr. Diet, Dr. Quiet, and Dr. Merryman.” Now let the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour be these three doctors to you.—W. Harris.
Matthew 9:11. Jesus with the sinners.—
I. He sympathised with them as His brother-men.
II. He knew that they had in them the making of better men.—S. Pendred.
Matthew 9:12. The soul’s malady and cure.—The charge brought against Christ (Matthew 9:11) was groundless.
1. He did nothing but what was according to His commission (1 Timothy 1:15).
2. He went with sinners, not to join in their sins, but to heal them of them. To accuse Christ was, as Austin saith, as if the physician should be accused because he goes among them that are sick of the plague.
I. The dying patients.
1. Sin is a soul-disease.—Sin may be compared to sickness.
(1) For the manner of catching: (a) Often through carelessness. So Adam. (b) Sometimes through superfluity and intemperance. So our first parents.
(2) For the nature of it. (a) Sickness is of a spreading nature (Isaiah 1:5-6). The understanding, memory, will, affections, conscience, are diseased. Conscience is either erroneous, dumb, or dead. (b) Sickness debilitates and weakens the body. So the soul (Romans 5:6). (c) Sickness eclipses the beauty of the body. Sin has turned beauty into deformity. (d) Sickness takes away the taste. So the sinner has lost his taste for spiritual things. (e) Sickness takes away the comfort of life. So the sin-sick soul is void of all true comfort. (f) Sickness ushers in death (James 1:15).
2. Sin is the worst disease.—
(1) The body may be diseased and the conscience quiet. But see Isaiah 57:21.
(2) The body may be diseased and the favour of God enjoyed. But soul-diseases are symptoms of God’s anger.
(3) Sickness, at worst, doth but separate from the society of friends; but this disease, if not cured, separates from the society of God and angels.
II. The healing Physician.
1. Christ is a soul-physician.
2. Why Christ is a physician.—
(1) In regard of His call (Luke 4:18).
(2) Because of our need. Not because we desired Him, but because we needed Him.
(3) Because of the sweetness of His nature. Like the Good Samaritan.
3. Christ is the only physician (Acts 4:12).
4. How Christ heals.—
(1) By His word.
(2) By His wounds (Isaiah 53:5).
(3) By His Spirit.
(4) By His rod. Why are not all healed? (a) Because all do not know that they are sick. (b) Because they love their sickness. (c) Because they do not look out after a physician. (d) Because they would be self-healers. (e) Because they do not take the physic which Christ prescribes them. (f) Because they have not confidence in their physician.
5. Christ is the best physician.—
(1) The most skilful.
(2) He cures the better part, the soul.
(3) He causeth us to feel our disease.
(4) He shows more love to His patients than any other physician. (a) In that long journey He took from heaven to earth. (b) He comes to His patients without sending for (Isaiah 65:1). (c) He Himself lets blood to cure His patients. (d) Our repulses and unkindnesses do not drive Him from us. (e) He Himself drank that bitter cup which we should have drunk.
(5) The most cheap physician (Isaiah 55:1).
(6) Christ heals with more ease than any other.
(7) He is the most tender-hearted physician.
(8) He always prescribes the physic which is suitable, and withal blesseth it.
(9) He never fails of success.—Thos. Watson.