Living Room Study

Matthew 9

“While He was reclining at the table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came as guests to eat with Jesus and His disciples.  When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does you teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”  But when He heard this, He said, “Those who are well don’t need a doctor, but the sick do.  Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice.  For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”   Matthew 9:10-13

A few days before I moved to California, I saw my new boss on Larry King Live. Just before a commercial break, Larry figured he’d catch Pastor Greg Laurie on a trick question. Larry asked, “Greg, isn’t religion just a crutch?”

Pastor Greg quickly retorted “Larry, for me it’s not just a crutch. It’s a whole hospital!”

What’s up with church that it lost its perception of being a hospital? Is it wrong to enter a hospital and admit you need care? So, why are people afraid to approach church in a similar way? We praise the hospital triage staff for quickly diagnosing our condition and immediately rushing us into treatment. So, why does the “church” have this stigma about diagnosing a sin issue, and promptly suggesting a proper course of discipleship?

The Pharisees were in denial. They ministered in the synagogue more than anyone, yet they denied their own need for inner healing. “How could the ‘doctors’ need medical attention?” was their attitude.

Doctors? They couldn’t heal others or themselves. Yet, they criticized Jesus for healing, and associating with patients they dismissed as untreatable!

Before the Great Physician can heal us, we must trust Him and submit to His diagnosis and treatment. I once had a doctor prescribe me medicine and say, “Take every pill.” The moment I felt better, I quit the prescription…only to get sick again.

In today’s passage, Jesus made a house call. Matthew risked his personal reputation to 1) show his friends how he was (spiritually) healed, and 2) introduce his spiritually ill friends to Messiah. Jesus honored that risk.

The church is supposed to be a hospital. Most of us are like paramedics. We’re called to seek and to serve the lost and needy. We exist to find the sick & dying, love them, and bring them back to the Hospital.

Blessings.

Steve Wiggins