Today’s Podcast
Today’s Bible reading plan:
Read it in a year – Judges 7-11
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Matthew 9:12-13
Jesus (overhearing this): Look, who needs a doctor—healthy people or sick people? I am not here to attend to people who are already right with God; I am here to attend to sinners. In the book of the prophet Hosea, we read, “It is not sacrifice I want, but mercy.” Go and meditate on that for a while—maybe you’ll come to understand it.
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
I like these words from Jesus. In fact, I use them whenever I hear anyone talk about the church. You might think that’s a little crazy, but let me explain a little. Let’s look at the story.
Jesus goes to the home of one of His disciples to have a meal with them. And this disciple, maybe it was Matthew, since it talks about the character of the others who came, invited a host of his friends to join with them to meet Jesus. This turned out to be a pretty good sized dinner party. First, we need to consider that this disciple must have been fairly wealthy, so that might fit Matthew at the time of his calling. He was a tax collector, hated by the rest of the Jews because he worked for the Roman government. His pay came from the excess he collected above what the Romans required as their part from each citizen.
So Matthew fills his house with his friends.
Needless to say, his friends were not church goers. They didn’t frequent the temple regularly. They were fellow tax collectors and prostitutes. They were the dregs of society. They were the outcasts. They were the people the religious leaders called the scum of the earth. But they were Matthew’s friends. So he invited them to meet the Man who called him away from his life of sin and showed him a new life. He invited them to meet the One who could forgive and bring new life to the downtrodden.
But the pious leaders saw the crowd and were appalled that Jesus would associate with such vile people. “How can you be in the same room with such trash!”
And then we have Jesus’ words. “Look, who needs a doctor—healthy people or sick people? I am not here to attend to people who are already right with God; I am here to attend to sinners.”
So what does that have to do with talking about church? Usually, normally, most of the time, whenever someone talks about the church, they talk about the hypocrisy in the church. Sister so-and-so does this, Brother so-and-so does that. How can the church put up with such hypocrisy? Do you know what Pastor whats-his-name did? The gossip is alive and active and sharp. It cuts deep.
But I usually address the person with Jesus’ thoughts. You know, it’s great there are hypocrites in the church. I’m glad they are there. I’m glad the church has tax collectors and prostitutes and thieves and liars and all sorts of outcasts in it. I’m glad to see the pews filled with unrighteous people. I’m happy to see crowds come in that don’t fit the mold of the solid Christian character. Why?
Because for at least that thirty minutes or so that the gospel is preached from the pulpit, they will hear the message of Christ. At least for those few minutes, the world’s message will be shut out and they will know they will be in the presence of at least a few saints of God and hear from His holy word and maybe, just maybe their hearts will be softened enough to open the door for Jesus to come into their heart. For those few minutes, there is an opportunity to introduce them to the One who can change their life forever and pick them up out of their world of sin and make them a new creation in Christ, the Creator of the universe.
We come together in the church building to worship, but if we ever begin to shut out the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the drug addicts, the thieves, the liars, the name the sinner you might think of, we have missed the boat. Our churches must be spiritual hospitals for the sin sick of our world. And you know what else, sometimes the staff in hospitals need help, too. Sometimes, doctors and nurses get the flu. Sometimes, those in leadership positions need prayer and support.
Maybe instead of going home and having the pastor for lunch, we ought to take the pastor to lunch. Lift him up, pray for him, support him, tell him how much you love him, let him know how much you care, do something to lighten his load, volunteer to assist in carrying the burdens of the church, pray, pray, pray! You’ll be amazed at what a note of kindness will do for your pastor. They don’t get many of those. They get a lot of the other kind.
Do our churches have sin sick people in them? I hope so. God, may it always be so. How else can we help them see Jesus! How else can we teach them to find and grow in Christ? May we always be a spiritual hospital where people can find grace and mercy and hope in Christ through our love for all people.
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