Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?
A Communion Address

Matthew 9:9-13 "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. (verse 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. (verse 11 )And when the Pharisees saw [it], they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? (verse 12 )But when Jesus heard [that], he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. (verse 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."

We as a Church have now come once again to the wonderful celebration of the Lord's Table. In a few moments we are going to partake of Bread, and Wine, in celebration of the wonderful blessings of what Jesus has provided for us. Before we take of this Table, let's be reminded of several very important things:

As our Lord Jesus walked down the streets of Capernaum, He saw a man who was, the Scripture says, "sitting at the receipt of custom". This man was called Matthew, and the Gospel of Mark also tells us:

Mark 2:14  "And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him."

that he was also called "Levi, the son of Alphaeus". Many theologians have questioned why the Lord called this person "Matthew", which means "Gift of God", in one Gospel, and yet "Levi, the son of Alphaeus" in another. Some liberal theologians have blithely stated that this is proof of error in the Perfect Scripture, but I maintain that this is the coward's way out. Error in God's Word? No, no way! Though it is well known that the Jews, just as we today, often had more than one name - I myself believe that our Lord renamed Levi, just as He renamed Peter, (the Rock), and earlier renamed Abram to Abraham. This is God's Way, this is Christ's Way to give a new name to the new life. But more on this in a minute.

Levi was a man despised of all men. In ancient times the Roman Empire demanded taxes from its citizens and residents, and in order to collect these taxes a band of men rose up, making this into a business. The "Tax Collectors" were independent contractors, citizens of Israel, who had literally "made a deal with the devil". These tax collectors gathered duty from the citizens of Rome and, in return, they were allowed to keep a portion or a percentage of what they collected for their services. Yet this was not the complete story, not all that there was to it, for most tax collectors "added" a certain amount to the taxes that were due "for their services". In other words, these collectors "padded" the amount that was due, and made the citizen pay more than he needed to pay in order to line their own pockets. Because of this, tax collectors were the most DESPISED of all people. Matthew was no exception to this.

One day Levi was sitting in his customary place, on a major business road on the outskirts of that great and shining city Capernaum. He situated himself in a perfect position: on the border between the jurisdictions of Philip and Herod Antipas. Levi was used to the cursing and spitting of the people, but, as they well knew - they had to pay their taxes. Unless they paid what Levi ordered he could report them to the local authorities who would, in turn, cast them into prison - a certain death sentence. As Levi sat, reviled of men, he was comforted in his greed, knowing that his bank account was growing by leaps and bounds. "Look at the money I've collected!" Levi looked up to make sure that none passed without paying their taxes, and as his eyes left the money on the table ....

he looked up into the eyes of Messiah.

These eyes were not like the other eyes that had looked with contempt on him. This face, these lips were not curled in a snarl of hatred for the traitor to Israel. No, these eyes were deep, compassionate, and they seemed to tear into Levi's very soul. There was nothing hidden from Messiah, no area that He had not seen. In an instant He saw into Levi's soul, saw the greed, saw the god that he followed, and said:

Jesus did not waste His time arguing theology with Levi, nor did He publicly berate him as a traitor to Israel. No, He just told Levi "Follow Me". But He told him more than this, for "follow" in the Greek text is a PRESENT IMPERATIVE, and would be be rendered:

Jesus called Levi, and Levi was offered a choice: stay with the god of money that he worshipped as a tax collector, or follow those deep, compassionate Eyes. The tax collector sat down to his table that morning as Levi, but he got up from that table as Matthew, the Gift of God. He who was despised but rich walked away from the riches, but found greater riches in Jesus.

You see, Levi - while he was sitting at his tax collector's table, was just Levi, the son of Alphaeus. Levi was an unimportant man, a despised man, a weak and yet greed filled man. Yet when Levi stood up and followed Jesus from his table to His Table, he ceased being Levi, but became Matthew - the Gift of God. Yes, Levi was still the son of Alphaeus, but more importantly, now he was a Son of God by Grace:

1 John 3:1-2 "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. (verse 2)  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."

Levi changed, but only when he followed Jesus. Levi became Matthew, but only when he followed Jesus. Levi left riches to follow Jesus, but in following Jesus - in leaving his collection table for the Lord's Table - Matthew inherited the riches of Heaven.

We who know our precious Lord Jesus Christ by faith have an inheritance, reserved for us in Heaven. We have a glorified body, without corruption, waiting for us. We have life eternal, in that great and beautiful city beyond our skies. The lights of Capernaum may have been beautiful to Levi, sitting at his table, but they are nothing compared to the wonders we shall receive.

For we have left our table, and sit now at the Table of God!

Matthew 9:10-12 "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. (verse 11 )And when the Pharisees saw [it], they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? (verse 12 )But when Jesus heard [that], he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick."

Matthew got up from his table and followed Jesus to His Table. What became of the money that was collected? The Scripture does not say, but again, I believe that Matthew forgot all about it and left it behind. Who needs riches (little "r") when you can have Riches (big "R")? As Matthew followed Jesus to the evening, the past life he had left was quickly receding into history. But when he sat down to the Table that night Matthew looked around and saw that three groups of people were at supper. There were:

The "publicans", or (Greek) telones {pronounced tel-o'-nace}. Thayer notes that these were, can you believe it, OTHER TAX COLLECTORS. As Matthew looked around the Table he saw, perhaps, other friends that he had known while he was in the business of public extortion. This may have surprised Matthew, that our Lord Jesus did not cast away others who were like him. No, our Jesus had enough Grace not only to save Matthew, but to offer salvation to others who were in the same predicament that Matthew had been in.

The second group of people who gathered around the Table were called "sinners", (Greek) hamartolos {pronounced ham-ar-to-los'} , those who were "exceedingly wicked". The Scripture uses this word to describe those who are tied to greed, like the tax collectors, as well as for those who are tied to other vices. The Pharisees condemned Jesus for going to supper with the sinner (hamartolos) Zacchaeus:

Luke 19:7  "And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner."

And thought ill of our Messiah for allowing a sinner (hamartolos) to wash His feet with her tears, and dry his feet with her hair:

Luke 7:39  "Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner."

Yes, sinners sat down to eat with Jesus, as did Tax Collectors, and those the Scripture calls "disciples", mathetes {pronounced math-ay-tes'} those like Matthew who had decided to follow Jesus. Though there were three different groups of people at the Table with Jesus, all three groups had one thing in common:

They sat with Jesus, and they were, one and all, imperfect!

Now, I certainly don't want to underemphasize sin, nor do I want you to think that I believe it perfectly acceptable to ignore the wishes of Jesus in order to gratify your flesh. No, God despises sin. In fact, He despises it so much that He offered up Jesus for our salvation. If God could "wink" at sin, would Jesus have had to bear such a bitter cup for us? Is God could overlook our estate, would the Son have to agonize on the Cross for us?

No, we do not belittle sin, for God our Father does not belittle it, yet we must always remember that WE SIT AT HIS TABLE BY GRACE! The Table that we take of today, we have because of Christ's Grace. The life that we live in Him, we live in Him by Grace.

Galatians 2:20-21 "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (verse 21)  I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

No, each of these groups had one thing in common. Whether it was Tax Collector, or Sinner, or Disciple, they were - one and all - unworthy to sit at His Table. They did not earn nor deserve to eat with the King of Glory. None were perfect. And you know what?

None needed to be perfect! The only ones who were excluded from the Table were those who excluded themselves, who felt themselves too good to sit down "with such riff raff". The Pharisees stood away from the Table and condemned Jesus for Whom He ate with. The Pharisees stood away from the Presence of God in order to bask in the glow of their own self rightness, their own self righteousness.

The Pharisees did as all self righteous, "I know I'm best" people do. They didn't come to Jesus and speak to Him face to face. Instead, they back bit the Savior, going to the Disciples, and asking them "don't Jesus know better than to eat with these low brow people?".

Self righteous cowards back bite. Petty people back bite. Foolish and lost people back bite the Savior. Yet our Lord overheard their snide, whispered, petty remarks, and said:

A self righteous person should not sit at the Lord's Table. The Great Physician came and offered Himself for the sick, the ill, those who were under the spell of sin and were willing to admit they needed a cure. When you partake of the Bread, you acknowledge a Body, broken for you. When you drink of the Wine, you acknowledge Blood shed for you. No, we are not perfect. No, we are not sinless. The Table reminds us that we still rely on the Grace of broken Body and poured out Blood. The Table reminds us that we still rely on Jesus Christ, just as much now as we did, so long ago, when He called out, "Come, follow Me".

Matthew 9:13 "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."

When Jesus addressed the Pharisees, He ordered them - much as a Master Rabbi would order a student - to "Go and learn". The Pharisees were the master of ritual. They prayed at the exact, proper time every day. They gave the exact, proper tithe to the Temple of God. They spoke in the exact, perfect Theological terms that all the masters of theology required.

And yet they were like whitewashed tombs, outwardly clean but inwardly dead.

They needed the Savior every bit as much as the Tax Collectors, the Sinners, and the Disciples did, but their strict regimentation precluded them from fellowshipping with "such people".

Go and learn.

Our Lord Jesus quoted Hosea 6:6 at this point, which states:

Hosea 6:6  "For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."

What does God desire of the Pharisees, no, of each and every one of us? Does He desire that the "ritual of the Table" be perfectly assumed? No, for God does not want ritualized sacrifice. He doesn't want the animal laid on the altar, nor the automatic genuflection toward the wooden Cross on your bedroom wall. He does not want ritualized muttering of "Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee ...". No, our Lord wants a relationship. He died for us to bring us to where we could have a relationship with Him. He wants more than just the ritual.

He wants the relationship. He wants communion with you. Jesus wants to talk to you, not just this afternoon during the Table, but after you leave the Table. He wants to talk to you while you talk to Him.

Each of us who sit at this Table today sit here because Jesus said to us, like He said to Matthew,

"Come, follow Me".

We sit at the Table by Grace. We partake of the Table by Grace. We praise the relationship we have with Jesus because of Grace.

Focus your hearts and minds now on the Host of this Table, Jesus Christ our Lord.

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