The Call of Matthew, How a Nobody Became a Somebody
Matthew 9.9-13
Sermon for the Second Sunday After Pentecost, June 7, 2026
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Mt. Olive, Illinois
Introduction
All human beings have a desire to be liked by their peers. This is why we care about our appearance, our clothing styles, our hair cuts, and our mannerisms. We care about our status in the community and try to find our place where we can be a somebody whether that be in academics, athletics, the arts, business, clubs, organizations, church, and governments. The internet and social media have added tremendous fuel to the fire of our desire to be liked. Teenages and adults are becoming obsessed with Youtube, Instagram, and Tiktok. And it isn't just knowledge or entertainment they are seeking. It is status. They are paying more and more attention to follower counts, likes and reactions, and algorithmic virality. This leads to constant self-monitorying, the pressure to respond instantly, and the fear of missing out (aka FOMO). Today one single uploaded video can turn a person into a viral star instantly. Is it evil to seek this kind of popularity? The Tenth Commandment tells us "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, or his donkey" (Exodus 20.17). Obviously this list is designed to be extended to whatever we might desire so much it might lead us into sin and away from God. Therefore it could include your neighbor's "views, likes, and subscriptions."
This week we are thinking about one of Jesus' disciples, Matthew. In a way, Jesus and the Bible have made him a person of very high status in the eyes of the world. Billions of people would recognize his name as the guy who wrote the first of the four Gospels. But I want to show you how his conversion to the Christian faith did much more than that. It took him, as it does for all Christians, from being a sad and lost nobody to being a very happy and holy somebody.
The Tax Collector
Matthew was a tax collector. The Bible and history both tell us that tax collectors were not popular people. This is because Israel had been taken over by the Roman empire, and the Romans wanted their percentage of everyone's income. To get this money they employed tax collectors or, "publicani." Every few years the Roman government would auction off "tax rights." The winners would pay the Romans a lump sum of money for the right to be a tax collector, a private contractor working for the government. They were to collect a certain amount of tax that was remitted to Rome, and anything else they collected over that they could keep for profit. Tax collectors were viewed as traitors and collaborators. They were often categorized right along with sinners and prostitutes. Although they were financially wealthy, they were extremely poor socially. They had sold their souls to what the King James Version famously called "filthy lucre" (1 Timothy 3.3).
Matthew's Conversion
Now let's take a look at Matthew's conversion:
(KJV) And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him. 10 And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? 12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. 13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Matthew 9.9-13)
Why in the world did Matthew drop everything to follow Jesus? Did Jesus put some sort of spiritual power upon him that drew him away from his former life to become a disciple. I don't think so. This never really happens in the Bible. In every conversion there is first the hearing of God's word, then faith, then following. Let's look carefully at what happened. If we go back to Matthew chapter eight Jesus had just cast out demons, and in chapter nine He came to His own town which would have been Capernaum. This was the town Jesus adopted as His own after He was rejected at Nazareth (Luke 4.28ff). There He healed the paralyzed man. Matthew most likely heard of this and probably was in the crowd of people that were gathered to listen to Jesus when this healing occured. No doubt Matthew really paid attention to what Jesus said just before He healed the paralyzed man: "Son, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee" (Matthew 9.2).
We would all like to "be of good cheer" wouldn't we? Isn't that really the goal of life? But how? This is where all the trouble starts. Matthew thought he could be of good cheer by becoming wealthy. Temporarily he found cheer as he went over his growing bank accounts and government contracting business. But something was missing. Something wasn't quite right. Others have tried to "be of good cheer" as I said at the beginning by finding success in some corner of life. They look for cheer in their accomplishments and popularity. But wise people know that this doesn't last forever. Our "viral popularity," whatever it is, can be here today and gone tomorrow.
It was the forgiveness of sins that called Matthew, and we know this by what happened after he began following Jesus. He tells us that "they sat at meat" with Jesus and "publicans and sinners." The pharisees complained about this, which prompted Jesus to lay down His core teaching and purpose of His life and ministry: "(KJV) But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. 13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (9.12-13). They are excellent words for us to memorize this week and to ponder every day. This is what transformed Matthew from a nobody tax collector on the road to perdition to a wonderful somebody in God's kingdom on the road to eternal significance and eternal life.
What This Means for You and Me?
You and I want to "be of good cheer." Isn't this really what life is all about? But how? How can we be of good cheer? Like Matthew we can pursue wealth, or like many people today we could pursue internet "virality" and everything in between. Some of the things that "cheer "us up are inherently sinful such as abusiveness (physical and verbal), manipulation, drugs, laziness, alcohol, sexual promiscuity and on and on. Even unbelievers have recognized how this is a sure path to unhappiness and destruction. Matthew tells us that there were people like this, the sinners and prostitutes, that Jesus cared about and wanted to help. Others may pursue good things such as hard work, family, hobbies, arts, or community improvement. These might cheer us up better than that previous list, but there is still something wrong with these goals by themselves. Hard work comes to an end when we grow older. Family members die. Creativity wanes. Communities face a never ending battle with people that make bad choices and ruin life for themselves and everyone else. This why an honest person finally has to ask themselves: "There's got to be more to life than this?" That is exactly the question that God wants us to ask ourselves.
Many people don't realize it, but what they are missing in their life is God and His mercy. Jesus quotes the prophet Hosea: "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice." When Hosea and Jesus said God does not desire "sacrifice," they were saying that God does not desire any work that we do, religious or nonreligious, as long as it is done without Him in mind, as long as we are just doing it for ourselves. Instead He desires mercy. Jesus then explains what this means when He said, "for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." God knows that the source of all our discontent is sin and a broken relationship between God and us. Isaiah said that when we pursue life without God it is like a hungry man who dreams that he is eating. Yet when he wakes "his soul is empty" (29.8). An in another place the Bible says, "He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow" (Proverbs 22.8). And, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6.23).
Our world does not want to admit it, but the real problem deep down inside of all of us is guilt. The world avoids guilt by denying it, projecting it on others, or covering it up. This is a mistake. It is good to have guilty feelings. It is true that some guilty feelings are false, and these need to be sorted out. This is one of the reasons the Lutheran church still practices private confession and absolution. But real guilty feelings are not a sign of evil, they are the sign of the work of the Holy Spirit in us. The Apostle Paul said, "For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death" (2 Corinthians 7.10). Jesus said that when the Spirit comes, "He will convict the world of sin" (John 16.8). This is the beginning of all healing, and this is why Jesus said, "I have come not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
Conclusion
When we choose sin or ignore it, we are on the path to become the ultimate "nobody." No matter how "viral" we think we might be, we are actually dying. Do you know where the word "viral" comes from? "Viral" comes from the word "virus." A virus is a rapidly growing infection that will destroy us if not checked and healed. Matthew figured this out. He knew that increasing wealth or earthly happiness was not the path to true joy but the path to death. He left that tax office to follow Jesus, to be healed by His mercy and forgiveness. That is how Matthew became a somebody who would be remembered forever. That is also how you and I become somebodies whose names are written in the Book of Life also to be remembered by God forever. Amen.
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