Matthew 9:9-13
The Calling of Matthew
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Acts 4:12
Our Salvation Depends on Jesus
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
Matthew 7:1-6
Judging Others
1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
Luke 7:36-50
Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman
36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Luke 18:9-14
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
When Jesus called on Matthew to be one of His Disciples, He tells us as part of that story that He did not come for those who thought they were righteous...He came to earth to call on sinners...We have to know this...We must know that Jesus came for sinners...If we think we are righteous, then He did not come for us, and we then cannot be saved...Therefore, we must realize that we do and have sinned...Our salvation depends on Him, and no other man...
And in another story, Jesus teaches us not to judge...And I think we often judge others sometimes knowingly and sometimes not knowing...How we judge others, is how we are going to be judged...He says we are hypocrites when we do judge others...Jesus when He spoke about judging others, He teaches us and says, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged...For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you...“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?...How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?...You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye...
When Jesus was in a Pharisee's home once eating dinner, He was anointed by a sinful woman...The Pharisee saw the woman, and knew immediately she was a sinner...He even thought about Jesus and said, “If this Man were a prophet, He would know who is touching Him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”...Jesus answered him about these comments, because He knew she was a sinner, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”...“Tell me, Teacher,” he said...“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender...One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty...Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both...Now which of them will love him more?”...Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”...“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said...Then Jesus turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house....You did not give Me any water for My feet, but she wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair...You did not give Me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing My feet...You did not put oil on My head, but she has poured perfume on My feet...Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown...But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”...Jesus then forgives the woman and tells her that her faith has saved her...
Later Jesus gives us a parable about another Pharisee and a tax collector...The two men went up to the temple and prayed...One a Pharisee and the other a tax collector...The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector...I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’...The Pharisee was judging others as well as the tax collector he saw standing at a distance...Sometimes we may just inadvertently judge others without realizing it or thinking about it...Now the tax collector stood away and at a distance...He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’...The tax collector admitted and confessed to God that he was a sinner...The tax collector and the Pharisee in this parable are both sinners...
We are all sinners, and we all share that as being a part of mankind...We are born to sin...Simon, the Pharisee, forgot this or did not recognize that he was a sinner...He may just have inadvertently knew her and said what he did, as a matter of fact...Yet, Jesus story teaches us that Simon did judge the anointing woman...Nor did Simon recognize that Jesus was a great prophet, because he said that if Jesus were a prophet He would know that the woman in his home was a sinner...We are all sinners...But Simon does call Jesus, Teacher...Both the debtors in His parable are sinners...Both Simon and the woman who anointed Jesus are sinners...And the one judging his brother in the story about judging is a sinner, as well as the one being judged...We are all sinners, and are broken...All the characters and people in these stories are around Jesus...And it is Jesus who mends us...And the way He goes about mending our lives is by His Grace...He is the Savior for our sins...He is the Savior for all of us, and is the one who saved the anointing woman, in the house of Simon...She, in a sense had in a way by seeking out Jesus, had admitted to her wrongdoings...And by His Grace, He forgave her...
In these three stories, Jesus gives us something to ponder...Even the Pharisee and tax collector are sinners in the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector...But Jesus makes this great distinction among all the characters in these stories...The tax collector confessed (and in a way the anointing woman) to God that he was, in fact, a sinner...We have to know and then confess that we are sinners...And Jesus tells us that this man, this tax collector rather than the other, went home justified before God...For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted...