Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

“When God bids a man, He bids him ‘come and die’.”  And Bonhoeffer did.  He came; and he died.  He recognized the hold of God over him as a disciple.  There really is no other legitimate way to respond to God.  We must recognize His hold over us. God’s call comes with consequences.

It’s not clear in our text (Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26) if Matthew fully understood what he was getting into.  But it became clearer the longer he stayed with Jesus.  In the ensuing conversations and events the consequences became crystal clear.

The consequence of following Jesus…

is to be pressed out of our comfort zone, relationally.  Soon we find ourselves with all those “undesirable” folks.  It’s hard for the Pharisee in us to think God cares about those “tax collectors and sinners,” but eventually we learn He does.

A few years back, when AIDS was more fearsome than today, I watched a man share his testimony in a room full of aspiring ministers.  As the story unfolded of bi-sexual behavior, infection, and repentance, you could see the visible attempts to move as far back in their seats as possible.  But not all—at the break, several came and embraced our guest and welcomed him to our class.  These men and women knew the calling of Jesus.

Someone wisely said, the church is not a sanctuary for saints but a hospital for sinners.  My friend and fellow-preacher wants to know, “why do we have to waste so much time ‘hand-holding’ the saints?”  It’s because we haven’t been close enough to Jesus to hear His call.  His call presses us out of our comfort zone.  He changes the nature of our relationships.  He changes the addresses in our guest book.

Jesus models for us a life of ministry.  Interrupted at the banquet and interrupted on the journey, He models that life is lived for others, not for self.  We are here to offer what God has given us, no matter how inconvenient that happens to be.

The consequence of following Jesus …

is to be pressed out of our comfortable plans, professionally.  The next thing we know, Jesus is calling us to consider the real focus of our lives.  Are we doing what He wants or what we want?

James Earl Massey calls it the Burdensome Joy of Preaching.  He describes the actual call in his book of the same name.  He heard the voice of God as a teenager sitting in worship studying a waltz by Chopin.  He heard God call, “I want you to preach.”  Massey was headed to Julliard’s to study music.  But, instead, he responded to God’s call and became one of America’s greatest preachers and teachers of preaching.