WEBVTT 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:02.960 We are reading this passage this morning. 00:00:03.060 --> 00:00:05.860 We're gonna be looking at Matthew chapter nine 00:00:05.860 --> 00:00:09.980 and then the reading from Hosea that Evan read a moment ago. 00:00:10.620 --> 00:00:14.839 And we do have our elementary age kids in here, 00:00:14.980 --> 00:00:16.359 so I'd like to welcome you. 00:00:16.740 --> 00:00:18.920 And hopefully as you came in, 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:21.019 you received one of these packets. 00:00:21.660 --> 00:00:24.560 And I invite you to use this to kind of follow along. 00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:27.740 The reading that you just heard from Matthew nine 00:00:27.740 --> 00:00:28.920 is actually in here. 00:00:28.920 --> 00:00:31.860 Along with some questions and activities, 00:00:31.980 --> 00:00:32.760 you can use this. 00:00:33.020 --> 00:00:34.140 If you're anything like me, 00:00:34.460 --> 00:00:36.219 whenever I sit and listen to a sermon, 00:00:36.620 --> 00:00:38.960 I need something to do with my hands. 00:00:39.040 --> 00:00:40.160 I fidget a lot. 00:00:40.620 --> 00:00:43.840 And so I need to be scribbling or drawing 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:46.480 or taking notes or something in order to focus. 00:00:46.660 --> 00:00:48.520 And so if you're like me, use this. 00:00:48.600 --> 00:00:50.079 And so this is not only for kids, 00:00:50.160 --> 00:00:54.719 but also for grownups if you need help in focusing. 00:00:55.480 --> 00:00:58.680 We're gonna be looking at Matthew chapter nine primarily. 00:00:58.920 --> 00:01:01.260 At this point in Matthew's gospel, 00:01:01.560 --> 00:01:03.380 we're beginning to see that Jesus 00:01:03.380 --> 00:01:05.320 is not just another religious leader. 00:01:05.980 --> 00:01:09.219 We're beginning to get a sense in Matthew's gospel 00:01:09.219 --> 00:01:11.859 that Jesus is not just a social reformer. 00:01:13.359 --> 00:01:15.680 Jesus is, it's beginning to be clear 00:01:15.680 --> 00:01:16.980 at this point in Matthew's gospel 00:01:16.980 --> 00:01:19.200 that Jesus is doing something entirely new. 00:01:20.340 --> 00:01:22.340 He's not just starting a new religion. 00:01:22.520 --> 00:01:24.760 He's not just amending an existing religion. 00:01:24.760 --> 00:01:27.840 But it's starting to become clear 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:30.060 that Jesus is subverting all religion. 00:01:30.760 --> 00:01:32.660 He's subverting the mechanisms 00:01:32.660 --> 00:01:34.700 that drive religion itself. 00:01:35.560 --> 00:01:37.660 And we see this in his encounter 00:01:37.660 --> 00:01:39.320 with a man named Matthew 00:01:39.320 --> 00:01:41.480 and then a meal that they share 00:01:41.480 --> 00:01:42.719 at the home of Matthew. 00:01:43.080 --> 00:01:45.880 And if we understand what this passage tells us, 00:01:46.500 --> 00:01:49.180 what we see here is that Jesus is establishing 00:01:49.180 --> 00:01:51.640 a new kind of spiritual community 00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:54.400 that blows apart all existing categories. 00:01:56.239 --> 00:01:59.420 And what this shows us is the reason 00:01:59.420 --> 00:02:02.019 why the gospel alone has the power 00:02:02.019 --> 00:02:03.359 not only to heal individuals, 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:05.700 but it actually has the power 00:02:05.700 --> 00:02:09.120 to heal the social fabric of society, 00:02:09.120 --> 00:02:11.420 which is something that we all desperately need. 00:02:12.120 --> 00:02:14.300 Those of us in here, we desperately want that. 00:02:14.420 --> 00:02:16.180 Those of us, all of the people out 00:02:16.180 --> 00:02:18.039 around this building all want that. 00:02:18.039 --> 00:02:19.859 We all want that kind of world. 00:02:20.459 --> 00:02:22.120 This shows us why the gospel alone 00:02:22.120 --> 00:02:23.979 has the power to give us that kind of world. 00:02:24.599 --> 00:02:25.819 So what we're gonna see is this, 00:02:26.579 --> 00:02:29.879 a new social order that is made possible 00:02:29.879 --> 00:02:31.859 by a new spiritual foundation. 00:02:32.180 --> 00:02:33.060 So we'll look at it in that order, 00:02:33.159 --> 00:02:34.459 a new social order, 00:02:34.659 --> 00:02:36.000 and then what makes it possible, 00:02:36.340 --> 00:02:37.639 a new spiritual foundation. 00:02:38.259 --> 00:02:38.879 Let's pray. 00:02:40.399 --> 00:02:42.099 Lord, we thank you for your word, 00:02:42.259 --> 00:02:44.120 and we thank you for your presence with us. 00:02:44.120 --> 00:02:46.759 And we know that apart from your grace, 00:02:47.460 --> 00:02:50.480 your word falls on rock, 00:02:50.879 --> 00:02:52.860 and that what we need is for your Holy Spirit 00:02:52.860 --> 00:02:55.340 to till up the soil of our hearts 00:02:55.340 --> 00:02:57.280 to make it receptive to your word. 00:02:57.960 --> 00:03:00.140 And that we pray that you would plant your word in us, 00:03:00.379 --> 00:03:02.080 and that it would take root and grow, 00:03:02.280 --> 00:03:05.659 and that that new life would grow up into our lives. 00:03:06.219 --> 00:03:07.780 Lord, that you would pour your life 00:03:07.780 --> 00:03:09.500 into our lives through your word. 00:03:09.659 --> 00:03:11.240 We pray this in your son's holy name. 00:03:11.800 --> 00:03:12.120 Amen. 00:03:12.120 --> 00:03:12.259 Amen. 00:03:12.259 --> 00:03:16.139 So first of all, a new social order. 00:03:16.919 --> 00:03:18.659 Let's ask this question just to get started. 00:03:19.259 --> 00:03:23.019 What does a meal have to do with the social order? 00:03:23.979 --> 00:03:26.060 What could this possibly have to do with the social order? 00:03:26.319 --> 00:03:27.560 We need a little context here. 00:03:27.620 --> 00:03:28.560 In the ancient world, 00:03:29.479 --> 00:03:31.139 table fellowship was a very big deal. 00:03:31.759 --> 00:03:34.500 Because table fellowship had a symbolic power. 00:03:34.699 --> 00:03:37.819 It reinforced the lines of inclusion 00:03:37.819 --> 00:03:40.639 and exclusion in society. 00:03:40.639 --> 00:03:43.379 And all of those lines were running through society. 00:03:43.899 --> 00:03:48.099 And meals were a big way that people in the ancient world symbolized 00:03:48.099 --> 00:03:49.319 where those lines were drawn. 00:03:49.739 --> 00:03:51.819 So there were strong social boundaries in place 00:03:51.819 --> 00:03:56.019 that determined which kinds of people it was acceptable to eat with. 00:03:56.679 --> 00:03:58.419 Eating with the right kinds of people 00:03:58.419 --> 00:04:01.000 could raise your status in the social hierarchy. 00:04:01.419 --> 00:04:02.839 Eating with the wrong kinds of people 00:04:02.839 --> 00:04:05.759 could lower your status in the social hierarchy. 00:04:05.759 --> 00:04:09.500 Now, in our culture, for a lot of us, 00:04:09.560 --> 00:04:12.299 meals don't have that same level of significance. 00:04:12.299 --> 00:04:16.279 We have become accustomed to eating meals in our car 00:04:16.279 --> 00:04:17.480 while we're driving somewhere. 00:04:17.560 --> 00:04:19.079 They're just not as significant. 00:04:19.079 --> 00:04:21.859 But the lines of inclusion and exclusion 00:04:21.859 --> 00:04:24.719 are still very much in place 00:04:24.719 --> 00:04:27.000 and arguably stronger than ever. 00:04:28.219 --> 00:04:30.620 We have an innate tendency as human beings 00:04:30.620 --> 00:04:33.879 to divide the world into two basic groups of people. 00:04:34.159 --> 00:04:35.159 People like me, 00:04:36.519 --> 00:04:38.959 the kind of good, acceptable, reasonable people, 00:04:39.159 --> 00:04:40.879 and then the other people. 00:04:41.560 --> 00:04:42.659 People not like me. 00:04:42.779 --> 00:04:44.680 People who I'm suspicious of 00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:46.379 and don't regard as highly 00:04:46.379 --> 00:04:47.879 and don't prefer to spend my time with 00:04:47.879 --> 00:04:53.300 and in some senses find to be offensive and unlikable. 00:04:54.160 --> 00:04:55.040 So two groups of people, 00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:56.340 people like me and everyone else. 00:04:56.500 --> 00:04:59.019 And this really has to do with how our brains are wired. 00:04:59.860 --> 00:05:02.540 Remember in Harry Potter, there's the sorting hat, right? 00:05:02.579 --> 00:05:04.079 Where kids come to Hogwarts 00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:05.480 and the first thing that happens is 00:05:05.480 --> 00:05:06.340 they're brought up front 00:05:06.340 --> 00:05:07.560 and they put the sorting hat on them. 00:05:07.860 --> 00:05:10.519 And the sorting hat just takes a minute or two. 00:05:10.939 --> 00:05:12.259 And just after a minute or two, 00:05:12.259 --> 00:05:15.839 it can tell which group that child belongs in. 00:05:16.219 --> 00:05:17.399 And then the child is sent off 00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:19.099 to spend the rest of their formative years 00:05:19.099 --> 00:05:20.659 with this group they've been assigned to. 00:05:21.980 --> 00:05:23.860 Human beings all sort of have 00:05:23.860 --> 00:05:26.199 a kind of internal sorting hat. 00:05:26.879 --> 00:05:30.180 Our brains are actually wired to operate that way. 00:05:30.319 --> 00:05:31.740 We have an internal sorting hat. 00:05:32.039 --> 00:05:35.980 And so our brains tend to do these activities all the time. 00:05:36.099 --> 00:05:38.659 We tend, for instance, to see people not as individuals, 00:05:39.399 --> 00:05:41.159 but we're actually wired to see people 00:05:41.160 --> 00:05:42.520 as part of a group. 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:45.780 We see people as members of a group. 00:05:45.780 --> 00:05:49.220 And our brains have evolved to sort people 00:05:49.220 --> 00:05:52.840 into those two basic groups, us and them. 00:05:53.660 --> 00:05:56.220 And our brains are also wired to do this 00:05:56.220 --> 00:05:58.280 using the least amount of energy possible. 00:05:58.980 --> 00:06:00.900 So you have an internal sorting hat 00:06:00.900 --> 00:06:04.980 that has as its sole job 00:06:04.980 --> 00:06:08.220 to sort people into groups 00:06:08.220 --> 00:06:11.220 using the least amount of time and energy possible. 00:06:12.140 --> 00:06:15.660 And this actually increases when we feel stress, 00:06:15.920 --> 00:06:16.879 when we feel fear, 00:06:17.640 --> 00:06:18.620 when we feel anxiety. 00:06:19.340 --> 00:06:22.220 The sorting hat kind of goes into overdrive 00:06:22.220 --> 00:06:24.319 because it's essentially a survival mechanism. 00:06:25.439 --> 00:06:27.340 If you can determine very quickly 00:06:27.340 --> 00:06:29.360 whether someone is a friend or an enemy, 00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:32.240 your chances of survival are going to go up, right? 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:34.980 And your sorting hat is dramatically influenced 00:06:34.980 --> 00:06:36.160 by all kinds of things. 00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:37.980 Your upbringing, your education, 00:06:38.199 --> 00:06:39.220 your life experiences, 00:06:39.420 --> 00:06:41.360 all manner of social and cultural factors. 00:06:41.960 --> 00:06:42.699 But the point is, 00:06:42.860 --> 00:06:44.840 when you meet somebody for the first time, 00:06:45.379 --> 00:06:48.220 you automatically put on your sorting hat 00:06:48.220 --> 00:06:50.759 and you automatically begin to categorize them. 00:06:50.780 --> 00:06:51.300 And most of the time, 00:06:51.340 --> 00:06:52.560 we're not even aware that we're doing it. 00:06:52.579 --> 00:06:54.199 It's not a conscious thing that's happening. 00:06:54.860 --> 00:06:56.579 But your brain goes to work 00:06:56.579 --> 00:06:57.879 looking for signals 00:06:57.879 --> 00:07:02.040 to help it determine what group that person belongs to. 00:07:02.680 --> 00:07:04.199 So we look at their appearance. 00:07:04.600 --> 00:07:06.120 We look at their clothing, 00:07:06.459 --> 00:07:08.560 things like their shoes, their watch. 00:07:09.100 --> 00:07:10.319 Are they put together? 00:07:10.439 --> 00:07:11.379 Do they look disheveled? 00:07:11.860 --> 00:07:13.620 We listen to their accent. 00:07:14.480 --> 00:07:15.740 We look at their posture, 00:07:16.459 --> 00:07:17.839 their eye contact, 00:07:18.819 --> 00:07:20.100 their behavior, 00:07:20.279 --> 00:07:21.000 their word choice, 00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:22.139 their cultural references. 00:07:22.379 --> 00:07:24.480 And all of those things are cues 00:07:24.480 --> 00:07:26.100 that our sorting hat is using 00:07:26.100 --> 00:07:27.520 to categorize that person. 00:07:29.140 --> 00:07:29.240 Right? 00:07:29.320 --> 00:07:30.520 So in the ancient world, 00:07:30.820 --> 00:07:33.000 table fellowship was a clear indicator 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:33.900 of group identity. 00:07:33.900 --> 00:07:36.020 That helped you sort somebody really quickly. 00:07:36.540 --> 00:07:37.879 Oh, that's that person's group. 00:07:38.960 --> 00:07:39.160 Right? 00:07:39.220 --> 00:07:40.860 But we rely on other symbols. 00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:41.200 Right? 00:07:41.280 --> 00:07:43.460 So we rely on looking at 00:07:43.460 --> 00:07:45.180 what people post online, for instance. 00:07:45.780 --> 00:07:47.020 You read a couple of tweets 00:07:47.020 --> 00:07:47.900 from somebody's account 00:07:47.900 --> 00:07:50.340 and you can probably categorize them. 00:07:50.340 --> 00:07:51.680 Or at least you try to. 00:07:52.340 --> 00:07:53.760 We look at their word choices. 00:07:53.920 --> 00:07:55.100 We look at their cultural references. 00:07:55.100 --> 00:07:59.360 A lot of people wear symbols 00:07:59.360 --> 00:08:00.980 that act as indicators 00:08:00.980 --> 00:08:03.240 to self-identify as part of a group. 00:08:03.340 --> 00:08:04.920 So a MAGA hat or a pride flag 00:08:04.920 --> 00:08:07.620 or a BLM t-shirt or something like that. 00:08:07.760 --> 00:08:09.000 You're wearing a kind of symbol 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:10.379 that is self-identifying. 00:08:10.740 --> 00:08:12.100 I want you to see me 00:08:12.100 --> 00:08:13.020 as a part of this group. 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:13.780 Right? 00:08:14.520 --> 00:08:16.300 And so there are all these kinds of ways 00:08:16.300 --> 00:08:16.920 that we do it. 00:08:17.420 --> 00:08:19.160 And based off these cues, 00:08:19.280 --> 00:08:21.000 we immediately start making assumptions 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:22.879 about these people 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:24.480 that we encounter for the first time. 00:08:24.480 --> 00:08:25.480 We're trying to determine 00:08:25.480 --> 00:08:27.120 what are their values? 00:08:27.240 --> 00:08:27.960 What are their beliefs? 00:08:28.520 --> 00:08:29.379 But ultimately, 00:08:29.580 --> 00:08:30.900 there's the only question 00:08:30.900 --> 00:08:31.759 that really matters 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:33.800 for our sorting hat is this. 00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:35.680 Is this person like me? 00:08:36.920 --> 00:08:38.259 Are they one of the good people? 00:08:38.779 --> 00:08:40.220 Or are they not like me? 00:08:40.320 --> 00:08:42.539 Or are they an other kind of person? 00:08:43.300 --> 00:08:44.379 And here's the thing. 00:08:44.600 --> 00:08:46.500 Usually within a few seconds, 00:08:46.759 --> 00:08:47.940 your brain delivers the verdict 00:08:47.940 --> 00:08:48.560 and it moves on. 00:08:48.600 --> 00:08:49.480 Because as we said, 00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:50.240 it's trying to do this 00:08:50.240 --> 00:08:52.100 as efficiently as possible. 00:08:52.100 --> 00:08:54.360 And our natural tendency 00:08:54.360 --> 00:08:56.019 is to move away from people 00:08:56.019 --> 00:08:57.420 who we identify as the other 00:08:57.420 --> 00:09:00.159 and to gravitate toward people 00:09:00.159 --> 00:09:02.680 we identify as being like me. 00:09:03.820 --> 00:09:05.899 And this impulse, I would argue, 00:09:06.019 --> 00:09:09.360 this impulse sits behind religions 00:09:09.360 --> 00:09:13.240 that sort people into good people 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:13.899 and bad people. 00:09:14.740 --> 00:09:17.379 It sits behind political polarization. 00:09:17.379 --> 00:09:19.960 It sits behind race and class divisions 00:09:19.960 --> 00:09:20.860 in our society. 00:09:21.500 --> 00:09:23.019 Behind all of those things, 00:09:23.419 --> 00:09:26.399 you will find this in-group, out-group, 00:09:26.559 --> 00:09:27.779 like me, not like me, 00:09:28.039 --> 00:09:30.279 sorting hat activity driving things. 00:09:30.939 --> 00:09:31.980 So let's ask this. 00:09:32.039 --> 00:09:34.419 That's a little bit of a context here. 00:09:34.960 --> 00:09:37.179 What would the sorting hat 00:09:37.179 --> 00:09:39.080 say about someone like Matthew? 00:09:40.659 --> 00:09:43.039 Matthew was a tax collector. 00:09:43.519 --> 00:09:44.340 What does that mean? 00:09:44.340 --> 00:09:46.700 Well, Rome had conquered 00:09:46.700 --> 00:09:47.780 much of the known world. 00:09:48.139 --> 00:09:48.780 By this point, 00:09:49.300 --> 00:09:51.300 they were the occupying force in Palestine 00:09:51.300 --> 00:09:52.580 and they required 00:09:52.580 --> 00:09:54.320 all of their subjects to pay taxes. 00:09:54.460 --> 00:09:55.379 So they required the Jews 00:09:55.379 --> 00:09:56.820 in Palestine to pay taxes. 00:09:57.580 --> 00:09:59.019 And in order to collect taxes, 00:09:59.500 --> 00:10:02.200 they would hire the locals. 00:10:02.759 --> 00:10:04.379 They would hire local Jews 00:10:04.379 --> 00:10:06.740 to collect taxes from other Jews. 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:09.180 And in order to collect the taxes, 00:10:09.320 --> 00:10:10.519 these Jews would have to go around 00:10:10.519 --> 00:10:11.580 to their fellow neighbors 00:10:11.580 --> 00:10:15.139 and demand that they pay what they owed. 00:10:16.020 --> 00:10:17.360 But here's the real nasty part 00:10:17.360 --> 00:10:18.120 of the business. 00:10:19.120 --> 00:10:21.139 The incentive for the tax collectors 00:10:21.139 --> 00:10:21.620 was this. 00:10:21.720 --> 00:10:22.080 They would say, 00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:23.740 the Roman officials would say, 00:10:24.020 --> 00:10:27.139 after you've collected what we need, 00:10:27.660 --> 00:10:29.560 anything extra that you're able to collect, 00:10:29.620 --> 00:10:30.160 you can keep, 00:10:30.200 --> 00:10:30.940 and that's your commission. 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:31.879 So, of course, 00:10:31.960 --> 00:10:33.980 what does this incentivize them to do? 00:10:34.060 --> 00:10:34.980 Well, it incentivizes them 00:10:34.980 --> 00:10:36.100 to collect a lot more money 00:10:36.100 --> 00:10:37.400 than was actually required. 00:10:37.399 --> 00:10:40.319 So they're incentivizing Jews 00:10:40.319 --> 00:10:41.740 to extort their own people. 00:10:42.480 --> 00:10:45.039 And so tax collectors got rich, 00:10:45.259 --> 00:10:45.659 literally, 00:10:46.720 --> 00:10:48.819 from the oppression and injustice 00:10:48.819 --> 00:10:50.639 perpetrated against their own people. 00:10:51.679 --> 00:10:54.120 Matthew is someone who makes a living 00:10:54.120 --> 00:10:55.980 by working for the oppressors 00:10:55.980 --> 00:10:59.819 and extorting money from his fellow Jews. 00:10:59.820 --> 00:11:02.000 So he's, 00:11:02.200 --> 00:11:03.280 not only is there a kind of 00:11:03.280 --> 00:11:04.760 systemic injustice happening, 00:11:04.860 --> 00:11:07.700 but he's knowingly getting rich 00:11:07.700 --> 00:11:08.360 because of it. 00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:11.440 So most Jews would have seen Matthew 00:11:11.440 --> 00:11:13.440 and immediately the sorting hat 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:14.220 would kick in 00:11:14.220 --> 00:11:15.560 and start sounding the alarm. 00:11:15.820 --> 00:11:16.879 This man is a traitor 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:18.379 against God's people. 00:11:18.740 --> 00:11:20.420 He's a traitor against God. 00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:21.920 He is unclean 00:11:21.920 --> 00:11:23.000 because he spends all of his time 00:11:23.000 --> 00:11:23.720 with Gentiles. 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:25.600 He's worse than the Romans. 00:11:27.020 --> 00:11:27.980 He's evil. 00:11:27.980 --> 00:11:31.580 Matthew likely did not have many friends. 00:11:32.759 --> 00:11:33.180 But, 00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:35.480 Jesus comes along 00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:37.580 and Jesus sees Matthew. 00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:41.180 And a respectable Jewish rabbi 00:11:41.180 --> 00:11:42.200 seeing somebody like Matthew 00:11:42.200 --> 00:11:43.080 with the sorting hat would say, 00:11:43.180 --> 00:11:44.159 you need to head 00:11:44.159 --> 00:11:45.139 to the other side of the street. 00:11:45.920 --> 00:11:48.039 But Jesus moves directly toward him. 00:11:49.180 --> 00:11:50.519 He goes right up to Matthew 00:11:50.519 --> 00:11:51.620 and looks at him 00:11:51.620 --> 00:11:52.500 and he says, 00:11:52.800 --> 00:11:54.259 I want you to follow me. 00:11:55.220 --> 00:11:55.639 And it says, 00:11:55.720 --> 00:11:56.980 Matthew immediately gets up 00:11:56.980 --> 00:11:58.940 and goes and follows Jesus. 00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:02.399 And that evening, 00:12:02.759 --> 00:12:05.019 Jesus has dinner at Matthew's house. 00:12:05.139 --> 00:12:06.500 We know that from the other Gospels. 00:12:06.600 --> 00:12:09.200 And Matthew invites the only friends he has 00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:10.820 who are Matthew's friends. 00:12:10.920 --> 00:12:12.080 Well, other tax collectors. 00:12:12.700 --> 00:12:12.820 Right? 00:12:12.860 --> 00:12:13.759 The only kind of people 00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:14.399 who are going to hang out 00:12:14.399 --> 00:12:15.840 with somebody like Matthew 00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:16.740 are other people 00:12:16.740 --> 00:12:17.680 who do the same job. 00:12:17.740 --> 00:12:18.740 So they all hang out with each other 00:12:18.740 --> 00:12:19.740 because they don't have any other friends. 00:12:20.560 --> 00:12:22.259 And an assortment of other people 00:12:22.259 --> 00:12:24.039 that are just identified as sinners. 00:12:24.039 --> 00:12:24.480 Now that, 00:12:24.620 --> 00:12:25.179 in this context, 00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:27.919 that means just notoriously sinful people. 00:12:28.039 --> 00:12:28.399 People who, 00:12:28.679 --> 00:12:29.219 everybody knows, 00:12:29.319 --> 00:12:30.459 that's just a dirty, 00:12:30.579 --> 00:12:31.419 rotten, awful person. 00:12:31.860 --> 00:12:33.419 And so all of these people come 00:12:33.419 --> 00:12:35.159 and they're having dinner with Jesus. 00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:36.919 And the religious leaders are horrified. 00:12:37.259 --> 00:12:37.939 Why on earth 00:12:37.939 --> 00:12:40.120 would a respectable Jewish rabbi like Jesus 00:12:40.120 --> 00:12:43.139 eat with unclean people like that? 00:12:44.079 --> 00:12:45.159 Because as we said earlier, 00:12:45.240 --> 00:12:45.980 in their world, 00:12:46.099 --> 00:12:48.000 there were good people, 00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:50.240 the morally faithful people, 00:12:50.339 --> 00:12:51.419 the clean people. 00:12:51.419 --> 00:12:53.319 And then there were 00:12:53.319 --> 00:12:53.979 the unclean, 00:12:54.079 --> 00:12:54.279 dirty, 00:12:54.399 --> 00:12:54.979 evil people. 00:12:55.259 --> 00:12:57.279 And associating with unclean people 00:12:57.279 --> 00:12:58.759 would make you unclean. 00:12:59.959 --> 00:13:01.839 So if you're a clean 00:13:01.839 --> 00:13:03.439 and respectable member of society, 00:13:03.639 --> 00:13:06.179 just standing with an unclean person 00:13:06.179 --> 00:13:07.740 and having a conversation, 00:13:08.099 --> 00:13:09.399 that would taint you 00:13:09.399 --> 00:13:11.299 and make you unclean. 00:13:12.559 --> 00:13:13.620 So they're horrified. 00:13:14.279 --> 00:13:15.679 But what we see here 00:13:15.679 --> 00:13:18.219 is that Jesus is very clearly 00:13:18.219 --> 00:13:20.500 establishing a new social order. 00:13:20.500 --> 00:13:25.500 This table is a microcosm. 00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:27.240 It's the slightest glimmer 00:13:27.240 --> 00:13:29.419 of the kind of world 00:13:29.419 --> 00:13:30.740 that God is building. 00:13:32.620 --> 00:13:33.779 With Jesus, 00:13:34.679 --> 00:13:36.080 people who would otherwise 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:38.519 not even speak with one another 00:13:38.519 --> 00:13:40.139 are coming together 00:13:40.139 --> 00:13:41.840 around the same table. 00:13:42.799 --> 00:13:43.740 And this, my friends, 00:13:43.799 --> 00:13:46.299 is exactly the kind of world 00:13:46.299 --> 00:13:48.379 that we need. 00:13:48.939 --> 00:13:50.359 A new kind of community 00:13:50.359 --> 00:13:51.799 where all of the old lines 00:13:51.799 --> 00:13:52.399 of division 00:13:52.399 --> 00:13:54.000 between insider and outsider 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:55.539 are broken down. 00:13:56.059 --> 00:13:57.120 This is the kind of world 00:13:57.120 --> 00:13:59.099 that many people long for, 00:13:59.199 --> 00:13:59.579 religious, 00:14:00.519 --> 00:14:01.240 non-religious. 00:14:01.620 --> 00:14:02.419 This is the kind of world 00:14:02.419 --> 00:14:03.899 that many people devote their lives 00:14:03.899 --> 00:14:04.759 to trying to build. 00:14:04.899 --> 00:14:06.740 So what makes this kind of thing possible? 00:14:07.379 --> 00:14:08.279 That's the question 00:14:08.279 --> 00:14:09.799 this passage really wants to answer. 00:14:10.299 --> 00:14:12.179 So we see a new social order, 00:14:12.179 --> 00:14:13.559 but what makes it possible? 00:14:15.339 --> 00:14:17.179 It's this new spiritual foundation 00:14:17.179 --> 00:14:18.219 that Jesus brings. 00:14:19.459 --> 00:14:20.779 What do I mean by foundation? 00:14:20.959 --> 00:14:22.659 Well, everybody has a foundation. 00:14:23.659 --> 00:14:25.219 Everybody has a place 00:14:25.219 --> 00:14:26.079 that we look to 00:14:26.079 --> 00:14:27.359 to get our sense of worth 00:14:27.359 --> 00:14:28.979 and value and identity. 00:14:29.079 --> 00:14:29.799 How do I know 00:14:29.799 --> 00:14:30.979 that I'm okay in the world? 00:14:31.639 --> 00:14:32.819 Whatever I look to for that, 00:14:32.820 --> 00:14:33.680 that's my foundation. 00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:35.660 And there are really 00:14:35.660 --> 00:14:37.940 only two options down deep, 00:14:38.040 --> 00:14:39.460 two kinds of foundations. 00:14:39.720 --> 00:14:41.620 And the first type of foundation 00:14:41.620 --> 00:14:43.140 that people build their lives on 00:14:43.140 --> 00:14:44.540 is the foundation 00:14:44.540 --> 00:14:45.820 that's sort of the default 00:14:45.820 --> 00:14:47.080 for most of humanity. 00:14:47.820 --> 00:14:48.379 This is the one 00:14:48.379 --> 00:14:50.140 that we're naturally wired to go to, 00:14:50.740 --> 00:14:51.820 which is the foundation 00:14:51.820 --> 00:14:53.040 of what we might call 00:14:53.040 --> 00:14:54.060 moral performance. 00:14:54.580 --> 00:14:55.160 In other words, 00:14:55.320 --> 00:14:57.480 the moral performance foundation says, 00:14:57.960 --> 00:14:59.540 the foundation of my identity 00:14:59.540 --> 00:15:00.380 or the way that I know 00:15:00.380 --> 00:15:01.180 I'm a good person 00:15:01.180 --> 00:15:02.700 is because of what I do. 00:15:02.820 --> 00:15:05.300 It's because of the things 00:15:05.300 --> 00:15:06.879 that I do in the world, 00:15:06.940 --> 00:15:07.760 the way I live. 00:15:08.860 --> 00:15:10.280 So if you're a traditional 00:15:10.280 --> 00:15:12.000 religious kind of person 00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:13.240 like the Pharisees, 00:15:13.660 --> 00:15:14.600 you might say, 00:15:14.840 --> 00:15:15.879 well, what's my foundation? 00:15:16.060 --> 00:15:17.200 Well, I know that 00:15:17.200 --> 00:15:18.400 I'm a righteous person 00:15:18.400 --> 00:15:19.160 because I read 00:15:19.160 --> 00:15:20.260 the scriptures faithfully. 00:15:20.460 --> 00:15:21.660 I pray every day. 00:15:21.879 --> 00:15:24.040 I go to worship services regularly. 00:15:24.200 --> 00:15:25.480 I obey God's law. 00:15:25.720 --> 00:15:26.900 I keep myself clean. 00:15:28.440 --> 00:15:29.660 Good people go to heaven 00:15:29.660 --> 00:15:30.680 when they die. 00:15:30.679 --> 00:15:33.379 I'm a good person. 00:15:34.799 --> 00:15:36.419 So with the moral performance narrative, 00:15:36.519 --> 00:15:37.779 your sense of righteousness 00:15:37.779 --> 00:15:38.739 or rightness 00:15:38.739 --> 00:15:39.779 comes from the fact 00:15:39.779 --> 00:15:40.639 that you're a devoted, 00:15:40.819 --> 00:15:41.779 morally upright person. 00:15:41.899 --> 00:15:43.219 But that's not the only kind 00:15:43.219 --> 00:15:44.939 of moral performance foundation 00:15:44.939 --> 00:15:45.859 you can have. 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:47.099 This is going to change 00:15:47.099 --> 00:15:48.500 based on your beliefs, right? 00:15:48.559 --> 00:15:50.739 So you can have a non-religious, 00:15:50.919 --> 00:15:52.319 secular, progressive person, 00:15:52.319 --> 00:15:53.579 and they might have 00:15:53.579 --> 00:15:55.279 a moral performance foundation, 00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:57.259 but it's defined very differently. 00:15:57.259 --> 00:15:58.059 They might say, 00:15:58.419 --> 00:15:59.779 well, I know I'm a good person 00:15:59.779 --> 00:16:01.399 because I believe in things 00:16:01.399 --> 00:16:02.759 like tolerance and inclusion. 00:16:02.980 --> 00:16:04.080 I'm very open-minded 00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:05.019 and I think that everybody 00:16:05.019 --> 00:16:06.799 should live their own truth. 00:16:07.100 --> 00:16:07.860 And in that case, 00:16:08.120 --> 00:16:09.120 you still have a sense 00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:09.779 of righteousness, 00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:11.399 but that righteousness 00:16:11.399 --> 00:16:12.360 comes from a different 00:16:12.360 --> 00:16:13.519 set of variables, right? 00:16:13.620 --> 00:16:14.519 It comes from the fact 00:16:14.519 --> 00:16:15.519 that you believe in tolerance 00:16:15.519 --> 00:16:16.080 and inclusion 00:16:16.080 --> 00:16:17.179 and you think of yourself 00:16:17.179 --> 00:16:17.939 as open-minded. 00:16:18.819 --> 00:16:20.120 The point I want to make 00:16:20.120 --> 00:16:21.879 is that even though 00:16:21.879 --> 00:16:23.639 these groups look completely 00:16:23.639 --> 00:16:25.159 different on the surface, 00:16:26.699 --> 00:16:28.019 underneath they're actually 00:16:28.019 --> 00:16:29.559 all operating according 00:16:29.559 --> 00:16:30.899 to the same principle, 00:16:31.080 --> 00:16:32.460 which is a foundation 00:16:32.460 --> 00:16:33.620 of moral performance. 00:16:33.860 --> 00:16:34.799 I'm the traditional 00:16:34.799 --> 00:16:35.720 religious framework 00:16:35.720 --> 00:16:36.819 and the secular 00:16:36.819 --> 00:16:37.679 progressive framework. 00:16:37.939 --> 00:16:39.399 He's subverting the mechanism 00:16:39.399 --> 00:16:40.539 that drives both 00:16:40.539 --> 00:16:41.919 of those foundations. 00:16:42.419 --> 00:16:44.259 He's turning the entire thing 00:16:44.259 --> 00:16:45.519 upside down. 00:16:46.600 --> 00:16:47.960 And we recognize that 00:16:47.960 --> 00:16:49.220 because of this exchange 00:16:49.220 --> 00:16:49.980 with the Pharisees. 00:16:50.039 --> 00:16:50.960 When the Pharisees ask, 00:16:51.860 --> 00:16:53.100 why would Jesus associate 00:16:53.100 --> 00:16:54.580 with sinners and tax collectors? 00:16:55.060 --> 00:16:56.360 Look at what Jesus says. 00:16:57.159 --> 00:16:59.019 He says, like a rabbi would say, 00:16:59.379 --> 00:17:01.240 go and learn what this means. 00:17:02.620 --> 00:17:03.779 And then he quotes Hosea. 00:17:03.879 --> 00:17:05.140 I desire mercy 00:17:05.140 --> 00:17:06.539 and not sacrifice. 00:17:08.819 --> 00:17:09.740 Now, is he saying 00:17:09.740 --> 00:17:11.740 that sacrifice is no good? 00:17:11.819 --> 00:17:12.259 No, no, no, no. 00:17:13.860 --> 00:17:15.059 The main concern 00:17:15.059 --> 00:17:16.259 in the book of Hosea 00:17:16.259 --> 00:17:18.180 is that God's people 00:17:18.180 --> 00:17:19.779 have become totally focused 00:17:19.779 --> 00:17:21.319 on moral performance. 00:17:22.279 --> 00:17:22.900 In other words, 00:17:22.900 --> 00:17:24.720 they've become totally focused 00:17:24.720 --> 00:17:27.420 on external religious rituals. 00:17:27.540 --> 00:17:28.740 As long as they observe 00:17:28.740 --> 00:17:29.380 the rituals 00:17:29.380 --> 00:17:31.100 and do the sacrifices 00:17:31.100 --> 00:17:32.440 like the Bible tells them, 00:17:32.680 --> 00:17:33.440 then they're going to be 00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:34.120 right with God. 00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:36.060 And Hosea is basically saying 00:17:36.060 --> 00:17:37.000 they've forgotten 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:37.920 what it's all about. 00:17:38.080 --> 00:17:38.720 They've forgotten 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:39.680 the heart of God. 00:17:40.860 --> 00:17:43.220 So we might rephrase it this way. 00:17:45.220 --> 00:17:46.120 God is saying, 00:17:46.280 --> 00:17:47.320 I desire mercy, 00:17:47.580 --> 00:17:49.040 not moral performance. 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:51.279 I desire mercy, 00:17:51.420 --> 00:17:52.519 not moral performance. 00:17:53.599 --> 00:17:54.359 We say, okay, 00:17:54.420 --> 00:17:55.039 well, what does that mean? 00:17:55.139 --> 00:17:57.039 What do we mean by God's mercy? 00:17:58.639 --> 00:17:59.579 God's mercy, 00:17:59.579 --> 00:18:00.700 put another way, 00:18:01.460 --> 00:18:03.339 is God's eternal desire, 00:18:04.440 --> 00:18:05.220 because it comes out 00:18:05.220 --> 00:18:05.940 of his very nature, 00:18:06.779 --> 00:18:08.099 his eternal desire 00:18:08.099 --> 00:18:09.659 to give people 00:18:09.659 --> 00:18:10.700 what they didn't earn, 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:13.000 what they don't deserve, 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:15.339 what they could never repay. 00:18:15.339 --> 00:18:18.079 It is God's eternal nature 00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:19.799 to give people 00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:20.839 what they didn't earn, 00:18:20.939 --> 00:18:21.519 don't deserve, 00:18:21.619 --> 00:18:22.539 and could never repay. 00:18:23.539 --> 00:18:24.819 See, the moral performance 00:18:24.819 --> 00:18:25.579 narrative says, 00:18:26.119 --> 00:18:27.599 I'm a good, upright person, 00:18:27.740 --> 00:18:29.319 and God surely considers me 00:18:29.319 --> 00:18:30.119 one of the good guys 00:18:30.119 --> 00:18:30.839 because of that. 00:18:31.439 --> 00:18:31.559 Right? 00:18:31.659 --> 00:18:32.619 On a curve, 00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:34.480 I'm probably in at least 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:35.339 the upper third 00:18:35.339 --> 00:18:36.759 of good people. 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:37.199 Right? 00:18:37.919 --> 00:18:38.879 But Jesus says, 00:18:38.959 --> 00:18:39.399 deep down, 00:18:39.519 --> 00:18:40.359 no one is okay. 00:18:41.259 --> 00:18:42.379 All human beings, 00:18:42.539 --> 00:18:43.240 as he says here, 00:18:43.279 --> 00:18:43.819 are sick 00:18:43.819 --> 00:18:45.279 because of sin. 00:18:46.339 --> 00:18:47.819 And he represents himself 00:18:47.819 --> 00:18:48.699 in all of the gospels 00:18:48.699 --> 00:18:49.959 as the great physician 00:18:49.959 --> 00:18:52.199 who has come to heal humanity 00:18:52.199 --> 00:18:53.759 of this sickness. 00:18:55.119 --> 00:18:56.639 But the point he's making here 00:18:56.639 --> 00:18:57.619 is that only people 00:18:57.619 --> 00:18:58.879 who know they're sick 00:18:58.879 --> 00:19:01.019 are gonna come to the physician. 00:19:01.959 --> 00:19:03.359 Only people who know 00:19:03.359 --> 00:19:04.399 they need mercy 00:19:04.399 --> 00:19:05.779 are going to ask 00:19:05.779 --> 00:19:06.959 and cry out for forgiveness. 00:19:08.319 --> 00:19:09.699 And this is why we said 00:19:09.699 --> 00:19:10.179 at the beginning 00:19:10.179 --> 00:19:11.539 that Jesus came to subvert 00:19:11.539 --> 00:19:12.419 all religion. 00:19:13.059 --> 00:19:14.500 Religion divides people 00:19:14.500 --> 00:19:15.839 into good people 00:19:15.839 --> 00:19:16.799 and bad people 00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:18.460 based on what we do. 00:19:20.279 --> 00:19:21.279 Traditional religions 00:19:21.279 --> 00:19:22.339 have one way 00:19:22.339 --> 00:19:22.980 of doing this. 00:19:23.220 --> 00:19:24.599 The modern secular religion 00:19:24.599 --> 00:19:25.740 of political activism 00:19:25.740 --> 00:19:26.839 has other ways 00:19:26.839 --> 00:19:27.539 of doing this. 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:29.059 But down deep, 00:19:29.700 --> 00:19:31.160 the moral performance narrative, 00:19:31.900 --> 00:19:32.759 if you build your life 00:19:32.759 --> 00:19:33.420 on that foundation, 00:19:33.579 --> 00:19:34.579 one way or another, 00:19:34.680 --> 00:19:35.799 depending on your values, 00:19:36.180 --> 00:19:37.440 you're gonna be dividing 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:37.940 the world 00:19:37.940 --> 00:19:39.140 into the good people 00:19:39.140 --> 00:19:39.920 and the bad people. 00:19:39.920 --> 00:19:42.160 Jesus throws the entire paradigm 00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:43.019 of good and bad 00:19:43.019 --> 00:19:43.680 out the window. 00:19:45.539 --> 00:19:46.759 Jesus' community 00:19:46.759 --> 00:19:47.740 is not based 00:19:47.740 --> 00:19:48.900 on moral performance 00:19:48.900 --> 00:19:49.660 at all. 00:19:49.779 --> 00:19:51.279 It's based on mercy. 00:19:52.019 --> 00:19:53.380 It's based on mercy. 00:19:54.640 --> 00:19:57.019 It's a new spiritual foundation 00:19:57.019 --> 00:19:58.340 to build your life on. 00:19:58.740 --> 00:19:59.700 According to Jesus, 00:20:00.080 --> 00:20:01.360 the fundamental difference 00:20:01.360 --> 00:20:02.460 between human beings 00:20:02.460 --> 00:20:04.240 is not based on what we do. 00:20:05.220 --> 00:20:06.980 It's based on whether or not 00:20:06.980 --> 00:20:08.720 we know we need God's mercy. 00:20:10.120 --> 00:20:11.339 It's based on whether or not 00:20:11.339 --> 00:20:13.160 we know that fundamentally 00:20:13.160 --> 00:20:14.360 we're not okay. 00:20:15.500 --> 00:20:16.339 That there is something 00:20:16.339 --> 00:20:17.240 deeply wrong 00:20:17.240 --> 00:20:18.819 in the human condition. 00:20:19.700 --> 00:20:21.180 And that we need something 00:20:21.180 --> 00:20:22.559 outside of ourselves 00:20:22.559 --> 00:20:24.160 in order to fix it. 00:20:25.819 --> 00:20:25.980 Right? 00:20:26.039 --> 00:20:27.599 So at the heart of God's mercy 00:20:27.599 --> 00:20:28.640 is God's love. 00:20:28.740 --> 00:20:29.140 In fact, 00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:29.980 in the Old Testament, 00:20:30.420 --> 00:20:31.400 the word that is often 00:20:31.400 --> 00:20:32.599 translated as mercy 00:20:32.599 --> 00:20:34.920 can actually also be translated 00:20:34.920 --> 00:20:36.299 as steadfast love. 00:20:36.980 --> 00:20:38.059 Chesed. 00:20:38.240 --> 00:20:39.720 So the same word, 00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:41.440 God's steadfast love, 00:20:41.500 --> 00:20:42.700 means God's mercy. 00:20:42.819 --> 00:20:44.220 That's why God is merciful. 00:20:45.860 --> 00:20:47.160 And because of that, 00:20:47.860 --> 00:20:48.900 this offers a hope 00:20:48.900 --> 00:20:50.059 unlike anything else 00:20:50.059 --> 00:20:50.779 in the world. 00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:53.380 Because religious traditionalists 00:20:53.380 --> 00:20:53.759 will say, 00:20:53.920 --> 00:20:54.819 if you want to be accepted, 00:20:55.120 --> 00:20:56.360 you have to change. 00:20:56.700 --> 00:20:57.839 If you want to be accepted, 00:20:57.940 --> 00:20:58.759 you have to change. 00:20:58.980 --> 00:21:00.019 You have to get your life together. 00:21:00.120 --> 00:21:01.140 You have to start living 00:21:01.140 --> 00:21:01.940 by God's law. 00:21:03.099 --> 00:21:04.440 And then we will accept you 00:21:04.440 --> 00:21:05.059 into our community. 00:21:05.059 --> 00:21:06.960 And that's a kind of judgmentalism 00:21:06.960 --> 00:21:08.179 that offers no hope 00:21:08.179 --> 00:21:09.279 because it crushes people. 00:21:10.119 --> 00:21:11.039 It's like saying, 00:21:11.399 --> 00:21:12.679 in order to come to the physician, 00:21:12.839 --> 00:21:13.779 you have to be well. 00:21:14.940 --> 00:21:16.879 In order to be served 00:21:16.879 --> 00:21:17.720 at this restaurant, 00:21:17.839 --> 00:21:20.039 you have to have already eaten. 00:21:21.379 --> 00:21:21.559 Right? 00:21:21.659 --> 00:21:22.619 In order to come 00:21:22.619 --> 00:21:24.940 and wash in this shower, 00:21:25.099 --> 00:21:26.500 you have to already be clean. 00:21:27.619 --> 00:21:29.019 It offers no hope. 00:21:29.019 --> 00:21:31.720 On the other hand, 00:21:31.819 --> 00:21:33.779 the kind of secular progressive view says, 00:21:34.339 --> 00:21:35.920 we will accept you as you are, 00:21:36.019 --> 00:21:36.920 come one, come all. 00:21:36.980 --> 00:21:38.180 And how dare you say 00:21:38.180 --> 00:21:39.759 that anyone needs to change? 00:21:40.740 --> 00:21:42.039 How dare you suggest 00:21:42.039 --> 00:21:43.940 that anyone needs to change? 00:21:45.400 --> 00:21:46.599 But I think deep down, 00:21:46.700 --> 00:21:47.720 we know that that's a kind 00:21:47.720 --> 00:21:49.420 of shallow sentimentalism 00:21:49.420 --> 00:21:51.920 that really doesn't offer any hope 00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:52.680 because deep down, 00:21:52.759 --> 00:21:54.180 we all know we need to change. 00:21:54.460 --> 00:21:56.500 If human beings didn't need to change 00:21:56.500 --> 00:21:57.799 in some fundamental way, 00:21:57.859 --> 00:22:00.000 then why is society so broken? 00:22:00.920 --> 00:22:02.359 Why is there so much poverty 00:22:02.359 --> 00:22:04.319 and injustice and violence and racism 00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:06.299 if we don't need to change? 00:22:08.140 --> 00:22:09.339 And it's easy to think 00:22:09.339 --> 00:22:11.079 that the other person needs to change. 00:22:12.160 --> 00:22:13.160 But if we're honest, 00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:14.339 do we really believe that? 00:22:15.640 --> 00:22:17.140 And what we see with Jesus 00:22:17.140 --> 00:22:18.440 is that because of the love 00:22:18.440 --> 00:22:19.319 and mercy of Jesus, 00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:20.920 the gospel is able to say 00:22:20.920 --> 00:22:22.039 both of those things 00:22:22.039 --> 00:22:23.480 at the same time 00:22:23.480 --> 00:22:24.900 in a way that's only possible 00:22:24.900 --> 00:22:25.720 because of mercy. 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:28.559 Another way of putting it is this. 00:22:28.680 --> 00:22:30.240 Jesus loves us so much 00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:32.380 that he always takes us as we are, 00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:34.960 but he never leaves us as we are. 00:22:35.359 --> 00:22:37.539 He always takes us as we are, 00:22:37.660 --> 00:22:39.660 but he never leaves us as we are. 00:22:39.759 --> 00:22:41.319 And all of that is summed up 00:22:41.319 --> 00:22:42.960 in two words in this passage 00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:45.240 where we see mercy on full display. 00:22:46.660 --> 00:22:48.700 Follow me. 00:22:49.240 --> 00:22:50.779 Because at the same time, 00:22:50.779 --> 00:22:52.180 it is saying both. 00:22:52.680 --> 00:22:53.559 On the one hand, 00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:54.859 Jesus says to Matthew, 00:22:55.339 --> 00:22:56.160 follow me. 00:22:56.500 --> 00:22:58.180 And that is an invitation 00:22:58.180 --> 00:23:01.720 to be accepted as we are. 00:23:02.339 --> 00:23:04.220 You don't need to get your act together. 00:23:04.579 --> 00:23:06.259 You don't need to go spend a year 00:23:06.259 --> 00:23:07.359 pulling your life together 00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:09.200 and then apply to be my follower. 00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:11.519 I want you to stand up 00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:12.920 and come with me right now 00:23:12.920 --> 00:23:14.799 and from this moment forward 00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:16.500 before there's been any visible change 00:23:16.500 --> 00:23:17.059 in your life, 00:23:17.460 --> 00:23:20.080 you're one of mine. 00:23:20.660 --> 00:23:21.779 You belong to me. 00:23:23.039 --> 00:23:24.400 You'll no longer be known 00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:25.559 as a traitor to your people. 00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:26.720 You'll no longer be known 00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:28.380 as an exploiter of the poor. 00:23:28.620 --> 00:23:29.400 From now on, 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:31.259 you're gonna be known as my follower. 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:33.759 You're gonna be associated with me. 00:23:33.980 --> 00:23:35.319 You're gonna be defined entirely 00:23:35.319 --> 00:23:36.500 by your association 00:23:36.500 --> 00:23:38.119 with my new community 00:23:38.119 --> 00:23:39.099 as my disciple. 00:23:39.379 --> 00:23:40.519 It's a new identity for you. 00:23:40.579 --> 00:23:40.939 In fact, 00:23:41.740 --> 00:23:41.939 you know, 00:23:42.059 --> 00:23:42.919 he has two names 00:23:42.919 --> 00:23:44.419 and one theory is that 00:23:44.419 --> 00:23:45.599 Levi was his sort of 00:23:45.599 --> 00:23:46.679 pre-conversion name 00:23:46.679 --> 00:23:48.099 and that Jesus may have given him 00:23:48.099 --> 00:23:48.839 the name Matthew 00:23:48.839 --> 00:23:52.839 to clarify 00:23:52.839 --> 00:23:54.119 this new sense of identity. 00:23:54.119 --> 00:23:57.419 The Pharisees thought 00:23:57.419 --> 00:24:00.399 that uncleanness was contagious. 00:24:00.599 --> 00:24:01.239 They thought that 00:24:01.239 --> 00:24:02.919 to be spiritually dirty, 00:24:03.039 --> 00:24:03.879 that that was contagious 00:24:03.879 --> 00:24:05.359 and if I'm a clean person 00:24:05.359 --> 00:24:05.979 and I associate 00:24:05.979 --> 00:24:07.319 with an unclean person, 00:24:07.459 --> 00:24:08.559 I'm gonna catch it 00:24:08.559 --> 00:24:09.759 like catching COVID 00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:10.979 and so they practiced 00:24:10.979 --> 00:24:11.859 social distancing. 00:24:12.039 --> 00:24:12.659 They stayed away 00:24:12.659 --> 00:24:14.159 from all of the unclean people. 00:24:15.500 --> 00:24:15.679 Right? 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:16.919 But with Jesus, 00:24:17.059 --> 00:24:17.699 it's the opposite. 00:24:18.779 --> 00:24:19.459 With Jesus, 00:24:19.899 --> 00:24:21.519 holiness is contagious. 00:24:21.519 --> 00:24:21.720 contagious. 00:24:23.960 --> 00:24:25.579 Cleanness is contagious. 00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:28.660 The most sort of 00:24:28.660 --> 00:24:29.900 wretched person 00:24:29.900 --> 00:24:30.660 in the eyes 00:24:30.660 --> 00:24:32.079 of the Pharisees, 00:24:32.220 --> 00:24:33.619 the most unclean person 00:24:33.619 --> 00:24:34.180 imaginable, 00:24:34.379 --> 00:24:35.740 just by associating 00:24:35.740 --> 00:24:36.400 with Jesus 00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:37.240 by faith 00:24:37.240 --> 00:24:39.519 is made clean. 00:24:39.639 --> 00:24:40.440 Jesus' holiness, 00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:41.639 his righteousness, 00:24:41.819 --> 00:24:42.599 his cleanness 00:24:42.599 --> 00:24:43.980 is transferred 00:24:43.980 --> 00:24:45.039 onto that person 00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:47.500 simply by associating 00:24:47.500 --> 00:24:48.160 with Jesus 00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:49.539 in faith, 00:24:49.680 --> 00:24:50.639 believing that Jesus 00:24:50.639 --> 00:24:51.500 is who he says he is. 00:24:51.599 --> 00:24:52.460 Believing that Jesus 00:24:52.460 --> 00:24:53.519 can do what he says 00:24:53.519 --> 00:24:54.000 he can do. 00:24:55.039 --> 00:24:56.119 Holiness is contagious. 00:24:57.059 --> 00:24:57.799 So on the one hand, 00:24:57.879 --> 00:24:58.220 follow me. 00:24:58.299 --> 00:24:58.420 He says, 00:24:58.500 --> 00:24:59.119 come as you are. 00:24:59.200 --> 00:25:00.279 I accept you as you are 00:25:00.279 --> 00:25:01.879 and just by being with me, 00:25:01.960 --> 00:25:03.480 you're going to be made holy. 00:25:03.720 --> 00:25:04.900 But then on the other hand, 00:25:05.700 --> 00:25:06.579 Jesus loves us so much 00:25:06.579 --> 00:25:07.579 that he takes us as we are 00:25:07.579 --> 00:25:08.420 but he loves us so much 00:25:08.420 --> 00:25:09.240 that he doesn't leave us 00:25:09.240 --> 00:25:09.639 as we are. 00:25:09.720 --> 00:25:10.359 On the other hand, 00:25:10.579 --> 00:25:10.960 he says, 00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:11.700 follow me, 00:25:11.799 --> 00:25:13.099 which means a call 00:25:13.099 --> 00:25:14.259 to a radically different 00:25:14.259 --> 00:25:14.900 way of living. 00:25:15.980 --> 00:25:17.480 Leave your old life behind. 00:25:17.639 --> 00:25:18.420 He doesn't continue 00:25:18.420 --> 00:25:19.339 to collect taxes. 00:25:19.700 --> 00:25:20.579 He leaves his business. 00:25:22.339 --> 00:25:23.660 Make everything secondary 00:25:23.660 --> 00:25:24.299 to me. 00:25:24.619 --> 00:25:25.900 Hold fast to me. 00:25:26.379 --> 00:25:27.160 Make the focus 00:25:27.160 --> 00:25:28.700 of your daily life me. 00:25:28.879 --> 00:25:29.960 Walk with me. 00:25:30.079 --> 00:25:31.400 Become like me. 00:25:32.359 --> 00:25:33.000 It's a call 00:25:33.000 --> 00:25:33.839 to transformation. 00:25:34.859 --> 00:25:35.639 And he's not just saying, 00:25:35.680 --> 00:25:35.859 you know, 00:25:35.980 --> 00:25:37.220 these parts are okay 00:25:37.220 --> 00:25:37.980 but these parts 00:25:37.980 --> 00:25:38.579 need to change. 00:25:38.579 --> 00:25:39.200 He's saying, 00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:39.920 by follow me, 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:40.400 he's saying, 00:25:40.599 --> 00:25:41.799 everything about you 00:25:41.799 --> 00:25:42.680 needs to be rebuilt 00:25:42.680 --> 00:25:44.820 from the foundations up. 00:25:46.180 --> 00:25:47.320 But that's gonna happen 00:25:47.320 --> 00:25:48.240 by following me. 00:25:49.539 --> 00:25:51.080 So this is how Jesus 00:25:51.080 --> 00:25:53.160 establishes a new social order 00:25:53.160 --> 00:25:54.779 built on a new 00:25:54.779 --> 00:25:56.060 spiritual foundation. 00:25:57.320 --> 00:25:57.840 Right? 00:25:57.880 --> 00:25:58.500 When the foundation 00:25:58.500 --> 00:25:59.140 of your life 00:25:59.140 --> 00:26:00.240 is moral performance, 00:26:00.640 --> 00:26:01.740 you will always tend 00:26:01.740 --> 00:26:02.460 to divide the world 00:26:02.460 --> 00:26:03.160 into good people 00:26:03.160 --> 00:26:03.880 and bad people, 00:26:04.100 --> 00:26:05.080 insiders and outsiders. 00:26:05.700 --> 00:26:06.759 You will always tend 00:26:06.759 --> 00:26:07.500 to prefer the company 00:26:07.500 --> 00:26:08.460 of people like you 00:26:08.460 --> 00:26:09.920 and you will avoid 00:26:09.920 --> 00:26:10.920 and look down on 00:26:10.920 --> 00:26:12.240 and condemn people 00:26:12.240 --> 00:26:13.279 who are less like you. 00:26:14.279 --> 00:26:15.680 But when the foundation 00:26:15.680 --> 00:26:16.440 of your life 00:26:16.440 --> 00:26:17.140 is mercy, 00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:19.079 it changes the entire way 00:26:19.079 --> 00:26:19.519 that you see 00:26:19.519 --> 00:26:20.440 other human beings. 00:26:21.500 --> 00:26:22.600 You will become 00:26:22.600 --> 00:26:23.340 more and more 00:26:23.340 --> 00:26:24.539 the kind of person 00:26:24.539 --> 00:26:25.740 who is compelled 00:26:25.740 --> 00:26:26.880 not to avoid 00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:27.819 those unlike you 00:26:27.819 --> 00:26:28.759 but to move 00:26:28.759 --> 00:26:29.799 toward them 00:26:29.799 --> 00:26:31.000 intentionally. 00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:33.059 To move toward those 00:26:33.059 --> 00:26:34.279 who are outside the camp, 00:26:34.400 --> 00:26:35.620 who are outside the circle, 00:26:36.039 --> 00:26:37.140 who are on the margins. 00:26:37.140 --> 00:26:39.280 to move toward the people 00:26:39.280 --> 00:26:39.960 that other people 00:26:39.960 --> 00:26:40.840 in your group 00:26:40.840 --> 00:26:42.080 might want to avoid. 00:26:43.520 --> 00:26:44.280 And the reason is 00:26:44.280 --> 00:26:45.420 because you know 00:26:45.420 --> 00:26:46.780 that there was a time 00:26:46.780 --> 00:26:48.140 when you were that person 00:26:48.140 --> 00:26:50.720 and instead of avoiding you, 00:26:50.960 --> 00:26:52.500 Jesus came into your life 00:26:52.500 --> 00:26:54.759 and he called you 00:26:54.759 --> 00:26:56.080 and he said, 00:26:56.240 --> 00:26:56.780 follow me. 00:26:58.240 --> 00:26:59.420 And you've experienced 00:26:59.420 --> 00:27:00.440 that love that says, 00:27:00.520 --> 00:27:01.220 I'm going to accept you 00:27:01.220 --> 00:27:01.840 as you are 00:27:01.840 --> 00:27:03.520 but I'm not going to leave you 00:27:03.520 --> 00:27:04.000 as you are. 00:27:05.600 --> 00:27:06.440 You're going to become 00:27:06.440 --> 00:27:07.279 the kind of person 00:27:07.279 --> 00:27:08.440 who's able to both love 00:27:08.440 --> 00:27:09.100 and accept people 00:27:09.100 --> 00:27:09.820 as they are 00:27:09.820 --> 00:27:11.140 but also the kind of person 00:27:11.140 --> 00:27:12.720 who's able to strive 00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:14.700 to become more like Jesus 00:27:14.700 --> 00:27:15.519 and encourage others 00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:16.019 to do that. 00:27:16.080 --> 00:27:16.440 You're going to be able 00:27:16.440 --> 00:27:17.180 to talk honestly 00:27:17.180 --> 00:27:17.700 and openly 00:27:17.700 --> 00:27:19.200 about your moral failings. 00:27:19.799 --> 00:27:20.360 And you're going to be 00:27:20.360 --> 00:27:21.080 the kind of person 00:27:21.080 --> 00:27:21.759 that other people 00:27:21.759 --> 00:27:22.340 feel comfortable 00:27:22.340 --> 00:27:23.160 doing that with 00:27:23.160 --> 00:27:24.559 because your life 00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:25.480 is built on a foundation 00:27:25.480 --> 00:27:25.980 of mercy. 00:27:26.240 --> 00:27:27.320 And I know I can share 00:27:27.320 --> 00:27:28.340 that kind of thing with you 00:27:28.340 --> 00:27:29.200 and you're not going to 00:27:29.200 --> 00:27:30.440 sort me out of your group 00:27:30.440 --> 00:27:33.860 because we both recognize 00:27:33.859 --> 00:27:34.479 that we're sick 00:27:34.479 --> 00:27:35.779 and we're both going 00:27:35.779 --> 00:27:36.559 to the same doctor 00:27:36.559 --> 00:27:37.919 to get well. 00:27:39.079 --> 00:27:40.839 God's mercy makes it possible 00:27:40.839 --> 00:27:42.039 for there to be a community 00:27:42.039 --> 00:27:43.899 where anyone can belong 00:27:43.899 --> 00:27:44.679 as they are 00:27:44.679 --> 00:27:45.859 and yet everyone 00:27:45.859 --> 00:27:47.219 is striving to become 00:27:47.219 --> 00:27:48.919 what they were created to be. 00:27:50.079 --> 00:27:50.779 Let's pray. 00:27:54.240 --> 00:27:55.179 Our Heavenly Father, 00:27:55.279 --> 00:27:56.859 we thank you for your mercy. 00:27:56.859 --> 00:28:00.459 we pray that what now 00:28:00.459 --> 00:28:02.259 may just be words 00:28:02.259 --> 00:28:05.259 would become something else. 00:28:05.419 --> 00:28:06.000 They would become 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:07.000 that whatever of this 00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:08.000 is from you, 00:28:09.059 --> 00:28:09.919 that this would become 00:28:09.919 --> 00:28:11.019 flesh in us. 00:28:11.479 --> 00:28:12.240 That the soil 00:28:12.240 --> 00:28:13.599 that you have tilled up 00:28:13.599 --> 00:28:16.099 would receive the truth 00:28:16.099 --> 00:28:16.779 and the promise 00:28:16.779 --> 00:28:17.879 of your mercy. 00:28:18.779 --> 00:28:20.219 That whatever there is 00:28:20.219 --> 00:28:21.839 in our lives, 00:28:21.939 --> 00:28:22.679 whatever foundation 00:28:22.679 --> 00:28:23.419 we have built 00:28:23.419 --> 00:28:25.099 on our own morality, 00:28:25.259 --> 00:28:26.299 whatever that may be, 00:28:26.859 --> 00:28:28.359 I pray that that would be 00:28:28.359 --> 00:28:29.199 that you would use 00:28:29.199 --> 00:28:30.059 the jackhammer 00:28:30.059 --> 00:28:31.299 of the Holy Spirit 00:28:31.299 --> 00:28:32.299 to tear that out 00:28:32.299 --> 00:28:33.259 and that you would build 00:28:33.259 --> 00:28:34.939 a new foundation 00:28:34.939 --> 00:28:36.659 of mercy in us 00:28:36.659 --> 00:28:37.519 that we might become 00:28:37.519 --> 00:28:38.199 a people 00:28:38.199 --> 00:28:39.839 defined by your mercy. 00:28:41.139 --> 00:28:42.579 We pray this for our good 00:28:42.579 --> 00:28:43.319 and that we might be 00:28:43.319 --> 00:28:44.399 the kind of salt and light 00:28:44.399 --> 00:28:44.819 in the world 00:28:44.819 --> 00:28:45.699 that you call us to be. 00:28:46.459 --> 00:28:47.359 We pray your blessing 00:28:47.359 --> 00:28:48.219 on those in this room 00:28:48.219 --> 00:28:49.519 and all those outside 00:28:49.519 --> 00:28:50.500 these doors, Lord, 00:28:51.039 --> 00:28:52.379 that all would come 00:28:52.379 --> 00:28:53.659 to know your love 00:28:53.659 --> 00:28:54.139 and your mercy. 00:28:54.439 --> 00:28:54.959 We pray this 00:28:54.959 --> 00:28:56.079 in the name of your Son, 00:28:56.179 --> 00:28:56.759 Jesus Christ. 00:28:57.019 --> 00:28:57.199 Amen. 00:28:57.199 --> 00:28:57.299 Amen.