Matt 9:9 And as Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man sitting at the tax office, called Matthew, and He said to him, Follow Me. And he rose and followed Him. (10) And as He was reclining at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and reclined together with Jesus and His disciples.
The house spoken of in this verse [10] was Matthew's house. Luke 5:29 says clearly that Levi, that is, Matthew, "made a great reception for Him in his house." Thus, Matthew opened his house and prepared a great feast for the Lord and His disciples. Verse 10 . . . reveals the kind of person Matthew was. He was a sinful, despised tax collector who had many sinners as his friends. If he had not been such a low person, why were only tax collectors and sinners and not those of a higher rank feasting in Matthew's house with the Lord Jesus? Although Matthew was such a low person, he was made not only a disciple, but one of the twelve apostles. A tax collector was a despised person. Nearly all tax collectors abused their office by demanding more than they should by false accusation. To pay taxes to the Romans was very bitter to the Jews. Those engaged in collecting them were despised by the people and counted unworthy of any respect. Hence, they were classed with sinners. How we must worship the Lord that even a person of such a low rank as Matthew, under God's mercy and by His grace, could become an apostle! After being saved, Matthew was so grateful to the Lord that he opened his house and prepared a feast for Him and His disciples. Thus, this section of the Word opens in such a sweet, intimate way. [continued monday]
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Matthew, pp. 328-329. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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