The Pharisees Were Right

The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost--Matthew 9: 9--13


Well, folks, it turns out the Pharisees were right. Let me explain.

In the Gospel lesson today, the Pharisees confront Jesus’ disciples. They are worked up. They ask Jesus’ closest associates, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” That’s one of those questions that really isn’t a question. I’m guessing they didn’t really care to know why Jesus was doing what he was doing. They wanted to send the message that they were opposed to such irreverence. Filled with self-righteous indignation, they say to all who will listen, “Jesus eats with sinners!”

They’re right. He does.

In their eyes, Jesus’ dining practices—more specifically, his choices of whom he broke bread with—invalidated any claim he had on being a teacher of the people. How could somebody claim to speak for God and then wallow around with the scum of society? The people he shared a table with weren’t even trying to lead righteous lives. It was just not what respectable rabbis did. Doesn’t this young man—from Nazareth, of all places—realize how scandalous this all looks? Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners!

That is correct. That’s how He operates.

Yes, the Pharisees had this one pegged. Jesus did indeed lunch with the lowlifes and sup with the social misfits. He knew the tax collector’s methods of legal extortion and still spent time with them. He was well aware of the reputation of women selling their souls and bodies and he dared to honor them by sharing a meal! He had no problem hanging around those whose diseases made them ritually unclean. There was something seriously wrong here. And there was, but it wasn’t Jesus.

What was wrong (and what is wrong) is when religious people start patting themselves on the back a bit too often. What’s wrong is when people who really ought to know better take a look around and think to themselves, “Well, at least I’m not as bad as that pervert, or that murderer, or that drug abuser, or that fill-in-the-blank.” What’s wrong is when folks who like to come across as very devout also habitually categorize people based on their race or their economic standing or their education, as if slapping a label on them makes it OK to criticize them or hate them or ignore them. It’s not Jesus that’s the problem. The problem is the human tendency to invent traditions, regulations, and self-serving organizations that have nothing to do with Jesus, and everything to do with making ourselves look good compared to others. We are wired for “us versus them,” we are quick to say, “you know how THEY are,” and we can even dress it up in a way that seems to honor common sense. As long as we hang on to attitudes like these, we will never take a seat at the table with Jesus. Why would we? Jesus eats with sinners. If I believe deep down that I’m really a pretty upstanding person, with fewer flaws than the next guy, then why would I want a spot at the sinner’s table? I’m doing pretty well on my own!

Ah, but here’s the catch. The Pharisees were right when they said “Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners.” If you’re looking for Him, that’s where you’re going to find him. Hear Jesus say in response to his accusers: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come not to call the righteous, but sinners.” If you’re banking on your good performance to gain an audience with God, you’ve made a tragic error. If you’re hoping to get the Lord’s attention by saying, “Hey, Lord, look at how faithful and moral and good I am,” I have some alarming news for you. Jesus isn’t even looking your way. He’s looking for the sick. He’s looking for people who will admit their sickness; admit their selfishness; admit their anger; admit their inability to love anyone well; admit their disinterest in God; admit that I can not by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord or come to Him. He’s looking for those who have reached the point where they pray with a broken heart, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.” That’s who Jesus has come searching for—not the proud, but the humiliated. Not the self-righteous but the one who has given up on “self” as an avenue to God. It is precisely for that person who has made a mess of things and knows it and admits it that Jesus has come. If that’s the secret condition of your heart and life—there is fantastic news for you.

The Pharisees were right. Jesus eats with sinners.

Jesus will not shrink away from you because of what you’ve done. He will not exclude you because of who you are. When you come to Christ with “Lord, have mercy” welling up from deep inside, you are ready, finally ready to hear Jesus say with authority, “Your sins are forgiven. As far as the east is from the west, that how far away your sins are from you now because of me.” Your sins have been dealt with—not excused—but dealt with, paid for, the punishment they deserved has been meted out upon Jesus himself. In the court of God’s justice you are found “not guilty,” because Jesus volunteered to take your sentence. The Lord desires mercy and He is merciful to those who realize their spot at the table, their relationship to God, their life in His kingdom depends entirely on His mercy. It all depends on God not repaying us in proportion to what our sins deserve. That repayment fell on Jesus in His Passion and death. So come, you who have been brought low by your sin and failure, and have a seat. So that His forgiveness could be sent to you today, Jesus sets His Table in the Church. So that His pardon could reach you, He offers His body and pours out His blood for you to eat and drink. So that you could know the joy of fellowship with the Son of God, He brings you into His Holy Supper, where you are treated as an honored guest. More mercy could hardly be shown.

So score one for the Pharisees in Matthew 9. They were right. Jesus eats with sinners. This is our only hope, for life today and life with Christ that never ends. Amen.