Matthew
I wonder if when he woke that morning, he knew that day would be different than the others, or perhaps he saw it as mundane as the days before. I wonder if, while he cheated and lied and stole, there was a nagging in the back of his heart. Did he wish that he could give it all up, or was he satisfied with who he was--a thief?
When I think of Jesus' love in approaching Matthew, I see it as the equivalent of me attempting to approach a mafia master mind or someone as godless as a pimp or porn star--the scorned, the condemned, the evil. He was a man whose life revolved around get-rich-quick schemes which consisted of preying on his own people: the Jews. Not only had he turned his back on godly living, he embraced a godless lifestyle that would enable him to acquire the luxury he so deceptively sought after. Matthew was, indeed, a turncoat.
However, his conversion story is summed up in three paragraphs. Jesus says simply, "Follow me," and what does the Bible say that Matthew did?
"Matthew got up and followed him."
The "godly" men of the day accused Jesus of being possessed with demons, because of stories like this. They couldn't imagine a Jewish rabbi lovingly interacting with a conniving Jewish traitor. Therefore, If I were a Jewish traitor who had been asked to join allegiances with a Jewish teacher, I believe I would enter with much hesitation, not because I was unsure of the teacher's motives but rather his acceptance. Would he always hold it against me that I had turned? Although he was willing to take me in, would the rest of his followers have the same open heart?
To top things off, Matthew (a traitor, thief, sellout, hypocrite, liar, turncoat, hoarder, conniving "UnJew") was called by Jesus, a Jewish revolutionary, to join His inner sanctum which included who else, but a Jewish Zealot. (Simon)
Do you ever feel like Matthew did when you attend Church--a tax collector among zealots? Do you ever suddenly feel out of your element, or that you come from somewhere else, you have a different story, you aren't as genuine a child of God as all the other Jesus followers around you?
Ah...community...
http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/tax-collector-faq.htm
When I think of Jesus' love in approaching Matthew, I see it as the equivalent of me attempting to approach a mafia master mind or someone as godless as a pimp or porn star--the scorned, the condemned, the evil. He was a man whose life revolved around get-rich-quick schemes which consisted of preying on his own people: the Jews. Not only had he turned his back on godly living, he embraced a godless lifestyle that would enable him to acquire the luxury he so deceptively sought after. Matthew was, indeed, a turncoat.
However, his conversion story is summed up in three paragraphs. Jesus says simply, "Follow me," and what does the Bible say that Matthew did?
"Matthew got up and followed him."
The "godly" men of the day accused Jesus of being possessed with demons, because of stories like this. They couldn't imagine a Jewish rabbi lovingly interacting with a conniving Jewish traitor. Therefore, If I were a Jewish traitor who had been asked to join allegiances with a Jewish teacher, I believe I would enter with much hesitation, not because I was unsure of the teacher's motives but rather his acceptance. Would he always hold it against me that I had turned? Although he was willing to take me in, would the rest of his followers have the same open heart?
To top things off, Matthew (a traitor, thief, sellout, hypocrite, liar, turncoat, hoarder, conniving "UnJew") was called by Jesus, a Jewish revolutionary, to join His inner sanctum which included who else, but a Jewish Zealot. (Simon)
Do you ever feel like Matthew did when you attend Church--a tax collector among zealots? Do you ever suddenly feel out of your element, or that you come from somewhere else, you have a different story, you aren't as genuine a child of God as all the other Jesus followers around you?
Ah...community...
http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/tax-collector-faq.htm
posted by Taylor @ 2:45 PM
2 Comments:
At 6:08 PM,
bill said…
sorry about my comments on your previous post. i won't continue to be a jerk on your blog...i just thought it was fitting that i be one on your first post. it made sense to me.
but i do like your writing. its good. i mean that.
At 10:27 AM,
Anonymous said…
anyway, you can delete my comment. we'll stop using this as a way to humor you. We just miss you of course.
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