Okay, now we're looking at Matthew
chapter 9, and I'm taking the title for the message from what
is said in verse 13. Verse 13, our Lord said to those
Pharisees, go ye and learn what that means. I will have mercy. Notice he says, I will. I will
have mercy. He will have mercy on whom he
will, but he will show mercy. I will have mercy and not, I'm
not looking for your sacrifice because or for I'm not come to
call the righteous But sinners, he came to call sinners. Who
needs salvation? The righteous don't, but sinners
do. Sinners need salvation. The Lord
Jesus Christ, the title of the message will be the Lord Jesus
Christ came to call and to save sinners. sinners, to bring sinners
unto salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ plainly
tells us why He came into this world. He came to save His people
from their sins. You remember Matthew chapter
1 verse 1, where it says, Call His name Jesus, He shall save
His people from their sin. He came to save sinners. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
sinner's Savior. This is a faithful saying we
read just a moment ago, and worthy of all acceptation. The Lord
Jesus Christ came to save sinners. Can you come in there? Can you
identify with that word? Sinners? Paul said, I'm the chief
one. I'm the chief one. And then we
read in Matthew 20, 28. Where it says, the Son of Man
came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give His
life a ransom for many. He came to give His life to save
us from our sin. The Lord Jesus Christ suffered
once for our sin, the just for the unjust, that He might bring
us unto God. Our blessed Lord did not come.
to save the self-righteous, the holier-than-thou, the Pharisee
crowd. He came to seek and to save the
lost, the lost sheep. He's called, in Matthew chapter
11, he's called the friend of sinners, the friend of sinners. That's what the Pharisee said.
They criticized him by saying, well, you're the friend of sinners.
Thank God he is. The Lord Jesus Christ, we read
in Scripture, died for the ungodly. Paul writes in Romans 5, 5, when
we were yet without strength and due time, Christ died for
the ungodly. The Lord Jesus Christ died for
the ungodly. Can you identify with that word?
Guilty, ungodly, that's what we are by nature. Now be sure
you understand this in this story. of the calling and conversion
of Levi, he's known, also known as Matthew the Publican, the
son of Alphaeus. We know that Matthew was made
an object of the Lord's mercy from eternity. He was made a
new creature in Christ. The Lord loved him with an everlasting
love and therefore with love and kindness. He has drawn him
to himself. That is, Matthew was drawn to
the Lord. Matthew was raised up and made
a new creature in Christ, granted faith and repentance, was raised
up to serve the true and living God as the apostle, as a faithful
gospel preacher who gave his very life for the gospel. Now
you think our Lord said go, remember he said to his disciples when
he ascended, go into all the world and preach the gospel to
every creature. Matthew's still preaching to us. You have his
word right there in your hand. Matthew is still preaching the
gospel to us. And I love the way he writes
about himself. Turn over here to Matthew chapter
10. Matthew chapter 10, when he gives
the names of the apostles, look at verse 2. Now the names of
the twelve apostles are these, which are first Simon, who was
called Peter, and Andrew his brother, Matthew 10 verse 2,
James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, Philip and
Bartholomew, Thomas, and then Matthew. But notice what he adds. Matthew the publican, Matthew
the sinner, James the son of Alphaeus and Lebeus, whose surname
was Thutis or Thaddeus, and Simon the Canaanite and Judas Iscariot.
who also betrayed the Lord. But Matthew referred to himself
as not Matthew the servant, Matthew the apostle, Matthew the faithful
believer, Matthew the publican. Just like Paul said, I'm the
chief, I'm the chief sinner. You know, his name, Matthew,
actually means the gift of God. God gave us an apostle named
Matthew. Aren't you thankful? We have
all the words that God gave Him to write down for us. He was
a faithful scribe to write the Word of God. God's ministers
are the gift of God to His church. Did you know that? Ephesians
chapter 4 says He gave some apostles. When He ascended up on high,
He gave gifts unto men, and He gave some gifts, apostles, prophets,
evangelists, pastors, teachers for the perfecting of the saints,
for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body
of Christ. God gave to his church ministers of the gospel. We have
the book of his writing called the book of Matthew. The Lord
used him as a ready scribe to publish abroad the wonders of
his grace revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ. But here we see
today Matthew's beginning beginning of being called out of darkness
into His marvelous light. And it begins with the Lord crossing
His path. Look at verse 9, Matthew 9, 9.
And Jesus passed by. Now, you think this was just
a chance passing? No, everything God does, He does
on purpose. God decreed from all eternity
to meet Matthew on this day, at this time, at this place,
and save him by His mighty grace. And Jesus passed from thence,
and He saw this man Matthew. Now, this might sound strange
to some of you, but this is not the first time He saw Matthew.
He has always seen and viewed and loved Matthew as God chose
him in salvation, unto salvation, before the foundation of the
world. The foundation of God standing sure, having this seal,
the Lord knows them that are His. He's always known Matthew.
And one day he crossed his path and said, hello Matthew, I'm
your Lord, follow me. That's a pattern, as Paul said,
that's a pattern of how God saves sinners. Jesus passed forth from
thence and saw this man, this man who was a sinner, this man
who was guilty, this man who was a fallen son of Adam, just
like you and just like me. His name was Matthew. God gave
this man to the Lord Jesus Christ in that covenant of grace. And
he was about his business. His business was business of
receiving taxes. He collected taxes from the Jewish
people and was employed by the Romans. Now the Jews didn't like
the publicans. And it's probably the same way
that you think about the IRS. Have you invited them to your
house lately? Well, I mean, it's something
that we have to do because we're living under the laws of this
country. But the IRS agent's usually not our friend, usually
not our best friend. So these Jews, they didn't like
the publicans because they usually extorted more than what they
should have. But he was sitting at the receipt
of customs, taking in the taxes, and I'm sure he kept as most
accountants would do, he kept good books, like most accountants
do, and he was counting up all his money, and somebody showed
up in front of his table. Here he's sitting there, going
about his business, and someone walked up right in front of him,
and with the power and voice of Almighty God, he said, Matthew,
Matthew. He knew him intimately. He has
been acquainted with him from all eternity, and he said, Matthew,
follow me. Now, you reckon how did he say
that? Don't you know that he said it
with the voice of all authority? He said it with the voice of
all power? Matthew. follow me." He didn't
say, it might be a good idea that you closed up them books
and follow me. He didn't say, Matthew, I'm inviting
you to follow me. It was a command of Almighty
God. It was a command of Almighty
God. Where the word of the King is, there's power. This is what
we call the effectual call of God. So what's he going to do? There's God Almighty standing
in front of his table. He knows him by name. He calls
him by name. He identifies him by name and
says, follow me. And what did he do? He arose
and followed the Lord. It says in the book of Luke that
he left all, forsook all, and followed him. We see another
example of the Lord's effectual call and irresistible grace.
The Lord our God is not trying or attempting to save his people
or to call sinners out of darkness. He's calling them out of darkness
into his marvelous light. He's translating them out of
the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God, dear son.
He's commanding the light to shine out of darkness in their
dead heart. Peter writes about it this way,
you are our chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a purchased people, that you should show forth the praises
of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now you have obtained the mercy,
the mercy of God. We see in the calling and conversion
of this notable sinner named Matthew, the publican, We see
in his story a pattern, and we learn how God and why God saves
sinners. He does it on purpose, doesn't
he? He walked up right in front of Matthew, eye to eye. He looked at him eye to eye,
said, Matthew, you're mine. I bought you. I chose you. I bought you. You remember our
Lord writes this, no man can come to me except the Father
which sent me draw him. David writes, blessed is the
man whom thou choosest and causest to approach unto thee. Notice
the Lord went forth and found Matthew. Here we see the good
and great shepherd, the chief shepherd, seeking out his sheep. Christ came to save sinners,
didn't He? Matthew, like you, and me, you
and I were born in sin. having no interest in God or
in the gospel of Christ, living and going about our merry way
to eternal condemnation. But one day the Lord stopped
us. One day the Lord arrested us. One day the Lord called us
unto himself and said unto us, he knows us personally, intimately,
and he crosses our path with the gospel, and he says, follow
me. Remember what the Lord said about
His sheep? He said, My sheep, they hear My voice. I know them
and they follow Me. They follow Me. They hear His
voice. They know the voice of the Good
Shepherd. Had the Lord not come to us, we never would have come
to Him. Had the Lord not called us, we never would have called
upon Him. Had the Lord not turned us, we never would have been
turned to the Lord. Had the Lord not raised us up
from the dead, we never would have been quickened in Christ
Jesus and made a new creature in Christ. Had the Lord not granted
us faith and repentance, we never would have believed the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, this is the work of
God. Remember the Pharisee said, what shall we do that we might
work the works of God? This is the work of God that
you believe on him whom he sent. Being confident of this very
thing, that God, who has begun a good work in you, will perform
it, will perfect it. This call of God to God's people,
his sheep, is a personal call. like that of Lazarus. Remember,
he stepped in front of the dead man's grave, who'd been dead
four days. And they said to him, don't remove
that stone. His body's decaying. I mean,
he's rotting in the flesh. And the Lord Jesus Christ stepped
forth in front of that tomb and said, remove the stone. And then
he said, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth.
That's a personal call. It's an effectual call. He knows
his sheep by name and he leads them out as a call out of death
into life. He said, I'm the door. Remember
the story of Zacchaeus? Zacchaeus was also a publican,
found over in Luke chapter 19. Zacchaeus scattered up that sycamore
tree. Because it says in Scripture,
he was a little man, he couldn't see over the crowd, and he wanted
to see the Lord Jesus Christ. Maybe his publican friend Matthew
told him what the Lord had done for him. And maybe Zacchaeus
is up that tree that day, wanting to see the Lord Jesus Christ,
to meet Him, and the Lord is on His way, walks right underneath
that tree and stops. Zacchaeus! Make haste and come down. How
did the Lord know his name? Same way he knew Matthew's name.
Same way he knows your name. Come on down, Matthew. He said,
today I must abide in your house, for today is the day of salvation.
Salvation has come to your house. You see, it's a personal call.
It's a high call. It's a high calling. Wherefore,
holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, I press toward
the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ.
It's called a holy calling. God who saved us and called us
with a holy calling, Matthew left all and followed the Lord
Jesus Christ. And that's what happens when
God calls us to Christ. We forsake all of our false refuges,
we forsake all of our so-called creature righteousness, and we
look to the Lord Jesus Christ alone. As soon as the Lord called,
he forsook all, willingly left all behind and went after the
Lord. Matthew, like Zacchaeus, was absorbed with making money.
Now his interest is totally changed. Now he's absorbed and consumed
with the Lord Jesus Christ, and was used of the Lord to the benefit
and blessings of countless numbers of sinners. He was made like... Turn back to Matthew chapter
4. Remember, we've seen this statement before. And we see
the Lord calling out four of his other, turn back to Matthew
chapter four, verse 18. And Jesus walking by the Sea
of Galilee, Matthew 4, 18, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter
and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea. They were
fishermen. And he said unto them, follow
me and I'll make you the fishers of men. Well, wait a minute,
let me think about this now. You want me to forsake my livelihood
and follow you? Follow me, I'll make you fishers
of men." And he said to them, follow me, I'll make you fishers
of men. And they straightway left their nets and followed
him. And going on from thence, he saw two other brethren, James,
the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, in the ship with
Zebedee, their father, mending their nets. They too were fishermen.
And he called them, and immediately They immediately left the ship
and their father, and they followed the Lord Jesus Christ. It's an
effectual call, isn't it? This should teach us, we should
never despair of any sinner salvation. There's none too sinful, none
too wicked, none too ungodly, for the Lord Jesus Christ died
for the ungodly. There are some that are too good
to be saved, But there's none that are too bad for the Lord's
power to save. You see, my friend, it's not
your sin that keeps you from Christ. Did you know that? It's
your goodness. It's your goodness. It's your
own personal morality and self-righteousness that keeps you from trusting
the Lord Jesus Christ alone. If you know you're a sinner,
guilty, vile, or wretched, the Lord came to save just People
just like you. He has all power to save to the
uttermost all that come to God by Him. The Father had given
Him power over all flesh and He should give eternal life to
as many as the Father had given Him. Now, look back to Matthew
9 again. So, here we see the calling of
a sinner named Matthew. And we know that the Lord Jesus
Christ, Matthew, invited the Lord Jesus Christ home with him,
like Zacchaeus did. And it came to pass that Jesus
said at meet in the house, in the house of Matthew, behold,
many, many of his publican friends, many of his tax collecting friends,
and many who were sinful people, sinners, came and sat down with
him. But what sin? You know, I've
never read in scripture one time where the Lord turned a mercy
beggar away. Now, he had some very harsh words
for the self-righteous. He called them vipers and snakes
and you're of your father the devil. But the Lord always shows
mercy to sinners. If I can take my place before
him as a sinner, This sinner finds hope in Christ. Many publicans and sinners came
and sat down with him. And when the Pharisees saw it,
now you know who the Pharisees are? They were the religious
Jews, the most religious, religious Jews who always went about to
justify themselves before God. Our Lord said to those Pharisees,
you are they would justify yourself before man. But he said, God
knows your heart. That which is highly esteemed
among men is nothing but an abomination in the sight of God. The Pharisees
saw it and they said unto his disciples, why? Why? Why does he eat with people like
that? Why does he associate with people like that? These publicans,
these sinful people. He came to save sinners. Hold
your place there. Let me show you another Scripture.
Turn over here. It's not the first time this happened. Turn
to Luke chapter 15. You remember when we went through
the Gospel according to Luke? Luke 15 verse 1. Then drew near
unto him all publicans and sinners for to hear him. All the publicans
and sinners came together to hear him. And here's this same
crowd, the Pharisees and the scribes, saying, saying, this
man receives sinners and he even eats with them. He receives sinners
and eateth with them. I told you the story before about
the little girl who went to church with her mother. And on the way
going home, she said to her mother, you know, the preacher mentioned
my name. Her name was Edith. The preacher mentioned my name.
Mama said, oh, no, he didn't mention. Yes, he did. This man
received a sinner, then Edith with him. Every time I read that, I think
of that verse, Edith. He eats with sinners. He fellowships
with sinners. That will help you remember that
verse, won't it? He eats with them. Levi made a great feast
in his own house and invited all the public and the friends
to come and meet his new master, his new lord. As the public and
his business was taking from others, Now as a new creature
in Christ, his heart was made to give to others. Matthew wanted
all of his friends to hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
and be granted faith to believe. That's how faith comes, by hearing
the word of God. Matthew was truly rejoicing in
the Lord for the salvation of his soul. The salvation of a
sinner is cause and reason for joy and thanksgiving. When a
sinner is brought from death to life in the Lord Jesus Christ,
we rejoice. The God of hope fill you with
all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope and
thanksgiving through the Lord Jesus Christ. When the prisoner
is set free from his sins, we rejoice in that redemption, don't
we? When a sinner is made righteous in Christ, we rejoice in that
righteousness that's freely imputed. The sinners rejoiced, Matthew
rejoiced, but the publicans got upset. Verse 11. Pharisees saw
it and they said, hmm, why? Why does this man do this? There were some who did not rejoice
in the Lord. They were bitterly opposed, openly
complained against the Lord Jesus Christ. The scribes and the Pharisees,
the Sadducees, the Law of Moses were always seeking reason to
condemn Him. This man's a friend of publicans
and sinners. And it's no different today.
Those who go about to establish a righteousness of their own
will always condemn the way of free and sovereign grace in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord said, if they hated
me, they'll hate you too. Those who demanded the death
of the Lord Jesus Christ were the same self-righteous men here
who said, when Pilate said, Behold your King, you remember? The
Lord was brought forth by Pilate. He said, Behold your King. Remember
what they said? Away with Him. Crucify Him. We don't want Him as King. We want Caesar. We want Caesar
as King? Well, the whole Roman government
had oppressed those people and condemned those people and now
they hated the Lord Jesus Christ so bad. Man by nature is the
enmity against God. Man by nature said, away with
him, away with this God, crucify him. Get him out of here. The
believer says, Lord, have mercy on me. Now listen carefully to
the words of the Lord Jesus here in verse 12. What's He going
to say? He's listening to these Pharisees. He knows their hearts. He perceived their thoughts,
remember? What's He going to say? How's He going to react
to these people condemning the Lord for His ministry to sinners?
When the Lord heard that, He said to them, They that behold
don't need a doctor, but those who are sick. And then he said
to these know-it-alls, you go learn what that means. You go
learn what that means. The well don't need a doctor.
When I go to the doctor, it's usually because I'm sick. Last
time I went to the emergency room, it's because I couldn't
walk. I needed a doctor. I needed a
physician to help me. But as long as you're well and
good, you don't go to the hospital. You don't go to the doctor. But
go learn what that means. The Lord said, I will have mercy,
not sacrifice. For I did not come. I did not
come. I'm not come to call the righteous.
I came to call sinners. sinners to repentance. Sinners,
sinners to repentance. Oh, what a physician we have
in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
almighty wise physician, isn't he? Listen to how he describes
his ministry. The Spirit of the Lord is upon
me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has the right remedy for our problem. He has sent me to heal
the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captive, recovering
of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. We're accepted in
the beloved. He is our almighty wise physician. He's the doctor
I need. He's the doctor I want. Dr. Francis back there is my personal
physician. And I love his practice. I love
him taking care of me. And he's a good doctor. But the
doctor I need for the salvation of my soul is the Lord Jesus
Christ. I appreciate your physician. And I appreciate your taking
care of my physical needs. But the physician I need is the
physician of my soul, the doctor of my soul, the Lord Jesus Christ.
God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but
the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him
is not condemned, but he that believeth not, he that believeth
on Him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned
already, because they had not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God. Those who think themselves to
be whole and think themselves to be well, those who are not
sick with sin, who have no guilt, who have no transgression against
God and against the law, no iniquity to be purged, they don't need
a Savior, do they? Those who are sick do. Those
who are guilty do. The Almighty Lord and Savior
of sinners boldly says, I didn't come to call good people. Those
who think they are righteous by what they do or do not do. Those who are going about to
establish their own righteousness. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
save sinners. If I can find a sinner. If I
can find one. You know, they're hard to find.
As the old songwriter said, the sinner is a sacred thing the
Holy Ghost has made himself. Most folks don't think they're
sinners. Just ask them. Oh, that man over there, he might
be a sinner. Not me. If I can find a sinner,
I've got good news for him. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
save sinners. Our sin is a terminal disease
fatal to our soul. It's deforming, it's wasting,
it's killing. With no human merit can make
atonement. No human doctor can cure this
terminal disease called sin. S-I-N. What is the remedy? Christ. the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the faithful physician
to our soul. He is the wise doctor with the
perfect remedy, has the prescription and the cure for our sin, guilt,
problem. His blood atonement cures all
our diseases of sin. With His stripes we are healed. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses
us from all our sin. Now look carefully at verse 13. I'll wind this up. You go learn
what that means. That's a pretty good assignment
for each of us. You go learn what that means. The Lord didn't
come to save good folks. He came to save the lost. He
came to save the guilty. He came to save sinners. And
then He said, I will have mercy. He said, I'm going to show mercy.
I don't require for you to bring a sacrifice. You see, mercy is
not something we merit. Grace is not something we earn.
Grace is free grace. Mercy is free mercy. Merit is
mercy, not mercy at all. I will have mercy, not sacrifice,
not your works, for I am not come to call the righteous. Sinners. Sinners. Sinners to repentance. Sinners to repentance. Go learn
what that means. And the Lord Jesus Christ points
them right back to the very Word of God that they should have
known. Notice the reference there, Hosea
6.6. And here's what that Scripture says, For I desired mercy, not
sacrifice, and a knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
This is eternal life, that they might know thee the only true
God, Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. The Lord takes more
delight in showing mercy to guilty sinners than any sacrifice or
ritual under the law. When Moses asked God to show
him his glory, what did he say? I call all my goodness to pass
before you, and I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. God's
greatest glory is my greatest need. I need mercy. The Lord came to put away our
sin by the sacrifice of himself, and upon that sacrifice, the
Lord delights to show mercy to sinners, that he might be a just
God and Savior. And then he calls us out of darkness
into his marvelous light, and then he grants us repentance.
He said, I didn't come to call good folks sinners. He calls
us to repentance. Now, preacher, what is repentance? It's more than being sorry. It's
more than being caught in something. It's more than being sorry. True,
godly repentance acknowledges that God is God. True, godly
repentance is a change of mind, a change of heart, a change of
will, a change of thoughts about God, about ourselves, about the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. True repentance is taking God's
side against myself. When God says you're guilty,
a repentant heart says, Amen, you're right, I'm guilty. Lord,
have mercy on me, the sinner. Now it's interesting, in Luke
chapter 18, when the Lord gives that parable of the Pharisee
and the Publican, the Pharisee stood and bragged on himself,
Lord I've done this, I've done that, I've done all these other
things, I'm not like that wretched man over there. The Publican
wouldn't even lift up his eyes. Like Matthew, smote on his breast
and said, God be merciful to me, the sinner. And you know
what the Lord says about those two men? The man who justified
himself, the Pharisee, went home condemned. And the man who condemned
himself, the publican, God said he went down to his house justified
rather than the other. Salvation for sinners, my friend.
If I can find this sinner, I've got good news for him. Repentance. When God gives a repentant heart,
He also grants a believing heart. Repentance and faith is like
a sheet of paper. It has two sides. When God grants
repentance, He also gives us repentance toward God and faith
toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Saving faith and true repentance
both acknowledge that salvation is of the Lord. Grace is for
the guilty. Mercy is for the miserable. His
love is toward the lowest sinner. God commended His love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Redemption is for ruined sinners. Salvation is for the chief of
sinners. I'm a sinner. I'm the chief offender. Saul of Tarsus, after the Lord
saved Saul of Tarsus and made him an apostle named Paul, he
said, I am least than the least of the apostles. I'm not meet
to be called an apostle. And after a while he got older,
he said, I'm less than the least of the apostles. And then toward
the end of his life, he said, I'm the chief of sinners. And
then he said, oh, wretched man that I am. You see, that's growing
in grace. As we know more of the Lord Jesus
Christ, we think less and less and less of ourselves. That's
growing in grace. I've told you the story about
the farmer friend of mine, the pastor friend I have, who used
to raise cows on his farm. He told me one time, he said,
you know, growing in grace is like a cow's tail. I thought, what in the world
is he talking about? The longer and the more it grows,
the closer it gets to the ground. As we grow in grace, we make
our headquarters in the dust and cry out unto God, have mercy
on me, the sinner. That's growing in grace. Oh,
may God show us our need of Christ. May God teach us that we're sinners.
None but sinners will come to Christ. None but those who see
and know their need. And that's the key right there.
Seeing your need. I'm poor and needy, as David
said often in the psalm. I'm poor and needy. Yet, the
Lord thinks upon me.