He came to call sinners.

“But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

In the last passage we studied how we can overcome the storms of life. When we have faith in Jesus, we are not afraid in the midst of the storm. Instead, we can overcome the situation and experience the power of Jesus. May God help us to overcome the storms of our lives through faith in Jesus.

As today’s title implies, Jesus clearly tells us his purpose in coming to this world. Did Jesus come to pass judgments on us as sinners? Or did he come to find able and perfect men and women for his ministry? That might be one of his reasons for coming. However, Jesus came to call sinners. Since everyone has sin and has no solution for the sin problem, everyone must welcome Jesus by whom everyone can be forgiven of sin. Most of all, Jesus has the authority to forgive our sins through his word. May God help us to accept Jesus’ forgiveness and to live dynamic and powerful lives.

I. "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven" (1-8).

Look at verse 1. “Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town.” Here his own town refers to Capernaum. Though Jesus was born in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth, he made Capernaum his own town and his messianic mission field. Once he and his disciples arrived there, crowds of people packed the house where he was staying. They came to Jesus for help. Look at verse 2a. “Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat.” According to Mark's Gospel, "some men" are four friends of the paralytic (Mk 2:3,4). We don’t know how he became a paralytic. He might have been injured seriously by a terrible accident. From that time on, his body was paralyzed from the neck down for life. By himself, he could not move at all. Because of the illness, he could neither enjoy playing tennis nor swimming. Lying on the mat, he had to spend his whole life miserably. It was because paralysis was an incurable illness. He was hopeless. His parent lost hope for his son. There was no hope for him anywhere in the world. However, the sunlight of hope fell upon him. His friends heard that Jesus had healed many and that he was now in their town. In their hurry, they brought the paralyzed man to Jesus.

Let's see how Jesus saw their action. Verse 2b says, "When Jesus saw their faith.” Jesus saw their faith. They had faith that Jesus could heal the paralyzed man. It is not easy for anybody to bring a paralytic person to Jesus. True friends are ones who help us in need. True friends are ones who help us to Jesus. Sister Yuri once was with her sick friend at the hospital even if she was tired after a whole day at work. Because she loves her friend, he overcame his physical conditions. She also helps her to come to Jesus. The friends of the paralytic brought their friend to Jesus to be healed. Jesus was pleased by their faith. Jesus was willing to help them. Jesus blesses the helpless through those who have faith. We also need faith to overcome all kinds of obstacles when we bring our fridens UCSD students. Then Jesus will bless our faith.

Look at verse 2c. “…he said to the paralytic, ‘Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.’" Jesus said to him, “Take heart”. Why? In fact, this man had lost heart; he had fallen into depression over his situation. So Jesus ministered to this man’s depressed heart first. When Jesus said, “Take heart”, his powerful and loving words melted the man’s depression and despair, and planted new and living hope. Not only that, Jesus also expressed great affection for the man by calling him son. Even though he had lived a miserable life left on the mat for a long time, Jesus considered him a precious son. Whoever comes to Jesus by faith, Jesus accepts as his sons and daughters. Jn 1:12 says, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

Most of all, Jesus said to the paralytic, "your sins are forgiven." Everybody expected Jesus to say, “Your paralysis is healed.”, because the man’s problem was paralysis. Yet, Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven.” Jesus did not think that paralysis was his fundamental problem; Jesus knew it was sin that made him paralyzed and powerless. Jesus wanted to solve his root problem, that is, his sin problem. As we know, a precise diagnosis of illness leads into the perfect medical treatment. A good doctor seldom fails in his diagnosis. So he can deal with the root problem of his patient and heal his patient completely. Ezra once got sick with a high fever. Msn Crystal and I constantly let him take Tylenol to reduce his high fever. However, he didn’t get well. So we brought him to Urgent Care where a doctor saw him and gave us a medicine for ear infection. The medicine acted immediately and his fever has completely gone. Likewise, when the paralytic came to Jesus by faith, Jesus wanted to solve his root problem, that is, his sin problem in order to heal him completely. That is why Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven.”

Why did Jesus point out the man’s sin problem? It was not to make more troubled. It was to forgive him. Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven.” At that very moment, the man’s burden of sin was taken away. He became a child of God. From then on, he would not despair again in his life. He would not complain to others and God. He would not lie on the mat begging others for help. He would not despise his life any longer. He would live a new life full of hope and great joy. When his sins were forgiven, he changed into a great and powerful man. He was restored to life for the glory of God. God created us in his image and wants us to live as conquers. If we don’t have these kind desires in our hearts, we have been paralyzed by sin. In other words, though we are not paralyzed physically, we often experience spiritual paralysis and become too powerless to do anything. These kinds of persons are called powerless sinners.

Powerless sinners seem rather harmless. They seem to have quite reasonable excuses to live powerless lives. Powerless sinners say to themselves, “Look at me! Look at my situation! What can I do? How can I serve God or others?” There is a saying, “The grass looks greener on the other side.” Likewise, powerless sinners think that other’s circumstances are always better than theirs. So they complain to God and others, saying, “You just don’t understand my situation.” They live powerlessly with a senses of utter helplessness and self-condemnation. Accordingly they will stand condemned due to sin-sickness, spiritual paralysis. To avoid this condemnation, we must fix our eyes on Jesus and come to him by faith just as we are. When we come to Jesus in our circumstances, Jesus enables us to overcome our situations and reveal God's glory through our powerful and dynamic lives.

At the last USA/CANADA conference, a shepherd named David Brogi from Chicago UBF shared his life testimony. He encouraged us with his personal testimony of Jesus’ grace. To him, graduating from college was impossible, like being healed from paralysis. But through Dr. Samuel Lee’s faith and encouragement, David began to take one class per semester and has done so for 20 years. At last, he finished his undergraduate study. To him, failures in school study had made him live the life of spiritual paralysis. However, he had accepted the forgiveness of his sins and then Jesus freely forgave his sins. Now he became a powerful man of God who has wife, children, and job incluing a college degree. Similarly, Jesus changed us from powerless sinners to powerful servants of God. Jesus' declaration, “Your sins are forgiven” is good news of great joy for the paralytic as well as for all mankind.

Jesus words of forgiveness brought new life to a paralyzed man. The same words however, evoked a very different response from the teachers of the law. Some teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!" (3) In other words, they said to Jesus, “You are not God, so you cannot forgive sins.” Jesus said to them, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'?" (4,5) In order to demonstrate to them that he had the authority on earth to forgive sins, Jesus said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." And the man got up and went home (6,7). Jesus’ point in these verses is crystal clear. Jesus has authority on earth to forgive sins. If Jesus says that our sins are forgiven, they are forgiven. Jesus heals paralysis in our souls and enables us to serve God. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe and praised God(8). I also praise God for giving his Son Jesus authority to forgive my sins.

II. “Follow me.” (9-11).

Look at verse 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." Jesus was always busying teaching the word of God and fishing sheep even on the road. Jesus saw a man named Matthew and wanted to do some one on one Bible study with him. In fact, other gospels do not call him Matthew, but Levi the tax collector. However, here he does not like himself to be called Levi, the tax collector; instead, he wanted to be called Matthew.

Why? At that time, tax collectors were known as public sinners. They collaborated with the Romans to collect taxes from the Jews. Jews hated this. Tax collectors were utterly despised, regarded as traitors, and branded as unclean. However, regardless of the public opinion, Matthew had decided to be a tax collector; thinking that money would make him happy. He studied hard, passed the CPA exam and became a tax collector. He made a lot of money and his dream seemed to come true. However, he had already become a different person. Pursuing money had made him selfish. Though he had money, nobody invited him for dinner. Nobody wanted to associate with him. Nobody wanted to be his friend. Worst of all, his wife and children despised him. Money did not make him happy. All of his relationships with other people were broken. Matthew became a lonely man, as lonely as a man with leprosy. His life was not much better than the previous paralyzed man who had very close friends.

In people's eyes, Matthew looked like a leper whom they had to avoid. Yet Jesus was not at all fatalistic about Matthew. Rather Jesus saw him with great hope. How did Jesus help him? Jesus invited him by saying, "Follow me." This means “Come and learn of me and be my disciple. I will be your friend.” Jesus called him to be one of his disciples and friends. People saw Matthew as a selfish tax collector. Matthew saw himself as one of the most hopeless, useless, and lonely men like a leper. But Jesus had the hope of God that Matthew could be changed from a selfish man to a sacrificial man of God. Jesus had the hope of God that Matthew would be a source of blessing to all mankind. As we know, it is very hard for us to accept a selfish person and to make friends with him. For selfish man does not care about others; instead he only thinks about his money, his health and his pleasure. Though he received a lot of thanks and blessing from God and others, he never says “thank you!” In addition to that, a selfish person does not have a learning mind. Because of that, he does not grow well spiritually. We feel burdened by the kinds of selfish people and don’t have much hope for them. However, Jesus accepted a selfish man, Matthew as he was and had hope that would grow to be a sacrificial shepherd and friend for others. Before meeting Jesus, I had a lot of the same characteristics with a selfish man like the tax collector. I had a great dream to be a good professor, for myself. I studied hard and worked hard for myself. I made money and saved the money preparing for the future for myself. I was happy and fast to receive something from others; however, I was very stingy about giving something to others. Accordingly my life was very serious and I had few friends. However, Jesus had hope for me and called me for his ministry that I would change a selfish man to a sacrificial man of God. Praise Jesus who had the great hope for such selfish sinners as Matthew and me and called him to be his disciple and friend.

How did Matthew respond to his calling? As soon as Matthew heard the voice of God through Jesus, he abandoned everything and followed him (9). It seems that Matthew was simply moved by the grace of Jesus. At the moment Matthew met Jesus, his spiritual eyes were opened. When he heard Jesus saying “Follow me.’ , Jesus’ hope, faith and love poured into Matthew’s heart. He was so happy that he felt new life overflowing in him. As he stepped away from the tax booth, his burden of sins was taken away. Instead, freedom and peace came into his soul. He was so happy that he could not keep silent nor close his heart toward others any longer. In the past, Matthew was a penny-pincher. But now, money did not matter to him. He did not know what he was doing, but he went to a nearby grocery store, bought a huge amount of food and was preparing a great feast(10). First, he invited Jesus and his disciples. Next, he invited many tax collectors and those who were branded as public sinners. Soon the house was full and laughter from inside was spilling out into the streets. The joy of the feast was great. The taste of the food was great. Everything was so great that the feast was like a jubilant ???????????, heavenly banquet. Jesus was there who is truly Immanuel, God with us. Likewise, Jesus brings the joy of heaven to the hearts and houses of sinners. Matthew wrote this Jesus in his book the Gospel of Matthew 1:21, “They will call him Immanuel”-which means “God with us.” His sin of selfishness cut him out of God and got him to live a lonely, stingy and unhappy life. However, after meeting Jesus and deciding to follow Jesus, his life was changed into a most joyful and fruitful life. There was great joy in his house and in his heart as well. Jesus was also there. Likewise, when our sins are forgiven and Jesus is in our heart, we can feel great joy in our hearts, in our houses and in our campus.

III. “I have come to call sinners" (11-13).

When the Pharisees heard the sound of joyful laughter[???????, they immediately thought something was wrong: someone was having too much fun. These were some unhappy fellows. They said, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" (11) These religious men despised and rejected tax collectors and “sinners.” When they saw Jesus associating with these people, they despised and rejected Jesus as one of the public sinners, labeling him “a friend of tax collectors and ‘sinners.’” Because of their self-righteous and legalistic ideas, they only knew how to condemn and criticize others. Out of their jealousy, legalism and anger, they criticized Jesus harshly. The religious leaders were, in essence, shepherds of God's people. They had to take care of those lost in sin. But they did not have God’s shepherd’s heart. They thought they were righteous, and that others were unrighteous sinners.

How did Jesus answer the Pharisees? Look at verse 12. "On hearing this, Jesus said, 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.’” What’s the point of the word of Jesus? Sick people need a doctor. Sinners need a Savior. Healthy people do not need to see doctors. But sick people are in need of medical help from a doctor. As a Savior, Jesus came to save those who are sick spiritually due to their sins. He came as the spiritual doctor to heal them of their sin-sicknesses, whether it may be spiritual paralysis or selfishness. To do so, Jesus had to die on the cross to save men from their sins. Jesus hated sin more than anyone else did. But Jesus loved sinners. Jesus accepted sinners as they were and had fellowship with them. Jesus ate with sinners and laughed with sinners. It was because sinners are saved from sin and death. Jesus came to the world to save sinners.

Look at verse 13. “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners’." Based upon Hoses 6:6, Jesus taught them the heart of God. God desires mercy. God wants men to acknowledge him as God and to acknowledge themselves as sinners and receive his mercy. Here “sacrifice” refers to ritualistic animal sacrifice. In modern terms, it refers to going through religious rituals, hoping that it will be sufficient for getting people to heaven. However, Jesus point out that God did not practice justice toward sinners. If he did, all mankind would be judged and condemned. Instead, God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son Jesus as the ransom sacrifice for our sins. The only thing for us to do is to acknowledge sinners who are in need and ask God for his mercy. God’s heart is set on saving sinners and restoring their broken relationship with him. For this, Jesus came to call sinners to repentance and to a new life in Jesus.

In conclusion, I praise and thank Jesus who bore with our sins of paralysis and selfishness with the mercy of God. Thank you for your great mercy and hope toward this sinner. “Lord I pray that we may not remain in the paralysis of sin and the selfishness of sin. We may come to Jesus for forgiveness of our sins.” Jesus came to this world to call sinners and save them in his great grace and mercy. May God help us to find Jesus’ great mercy and hope toward us. Help us to accept and follow the word of Jesus and practice mercy toward others.