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."
John 8:2-11
Throwing the First Stone
2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
One of the reasons people have for not believing in God is the evil, wickedness, and corruption that is around us...If God exists why does He remain silent and allow this evil, wickedness, and corruption to happen, so it seems each day...If God exists He certainly could take all the corruption out of this world...
During Jesus' time a tax collector was not liked by most people...The tax collector could come up to an individual and tax what he was carrying or had in his possession...They could tax an extra amount to their fellow countrymen and keep the extra amount...They were fellow Jews, but worked for the Roman Empire...And the Pharisee, as well as others, did not like the lifestyle, and the way they lived, because some could become wealthy for collecting taxes on their countrymen and be in the upper class...This maybe did not seem right to them...
The Pharisees had their own reasons for their non-belief in Jesus...When Matthew, a tax collector was recruited, Jesus went to his house to eat with him...At Matthew's house that night were many other tax collectors and "sinners" who sat down and ate with Jesus and Matthew...No doubt Matthew had friends that were other tax collectors...The Pharisees conversation revolves around why would someone like Jesus be eating with other tax collectors and sinners...The Pharisees seemed to be offended by Jesus eating with this group...The question that comes to mind is (from the Pharisees point of view), "Doesn't this Teacher Jesus know better than to eat with these people?"...The Pharisees must be assuming He doesn't know much about the Old Testament Scripture and the Law, and are implying by eating with these people, He is becoming unclean or is becoming something away from Scripture teachings...And maybe the Pharisees did not hear any criticism or repentance talk to them...He seemed to just be sitting down with these two groups and eating and talking about God...They had not heard Him say give up your jobs and your evil ways...Jesus was including the tax collectors and the sinners in His company and His dining out, and offering them the Kingdom of God that He talked so much about...
There is corruption in this world today...A question Jesus did not ask, but comes to my mind is “Since corruption bothers you so much among this group of tax collector and sinners, I would be curious to know what you have done with any sins or evil that you find in yourself?"...And would we be offended today, if He came and ate with people of different lifestyles (not like our own), and different people that we disagree with?...