NO. 2493<\/b><\/p>\n
A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD\u2019S-DAY, NOVEMBER 29TH, 1896,<\/b><\/p>\n
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,<\/i><\/p>\n
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON,<\/b><\/p>\n
ON LORD\u2019S-DAY EVENING, APRIL 12TH, 1885.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man named Matthew, setting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.\u201d \u2014 Matthew 9:9.<\/i><\/p>\n
This is a little bit of autobiography. Matthew wrote this verse about himself. I can fancy him, with his pen in his hand, writing all the rest of this Gospel; but I can imagine that, when he came to this very personal passage, he laid the pen down a minute, and wiped his eyes. He was coming to a most memorable and pathetic incident in his own life, and he recorded it with tremulous emotion. \u201cAs Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew.\u201d The Evangelist could not have said much less about himself than this. \u201cHe saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.\u201d I do not think there is any part of Matthew\u2019s Gospel that touched him more than this portion in which he was writing down the story of divine love to himself, and of how he himself was called to be a disciple of Christ.<\/p>\n
I notice a very grave distinction between Matthew\u2019s way of recording his call, and the very general style of converts relating their experience nowadays. The man seems to come boldly forth, with a springing step and a boastful air, and shouts out that he was the biggest blackguard who ever lived, and he tells with great gusto how he used to curse and to swear, and he talks as if there was something to be proud of in all that evil. Sit down, sir; sit down, and give us the story in this style, \u201cAs Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew,\u201d \u2014 that is about as much as we care to know. Tell us as briefly as you can how the Lord called you, and enabled you to follow him. There is a modesty about this narrative, \u2014 not a mock modesty, by any means; there is no concealment of the facts of the case, there is no obscuration of the grace of Christ, but there is a concealment of Matthew himself. He mentions that he was a publican; in the list that he gives of the apostles he calls himself \u201cMatthew the Publican.\u201d The other Evangelists hardly ever call him a publican; they do not even call him \u201cMatthew,\u201d as a rule; they give his more respectable name, \u201cLevi,\u201d and they have more to say of him than he says of himself. It is always best for us, if there is anything to be said in our praise, not to say it ourselves, but to let somebody else say it. Brother, if your trumpeter is dead, put the trumpet away. When that trumpet needs to be blown, there will be a trumpeter found to use it; but you need never blow it yourself.<\/p>\n
This verse reads to me so tenderly that I do not know how to communicate to you just how I feel about it. I have tried to imagine myself to be Matthew, and to have to write this story; and I am sure that, if I had not been inspired as Matthew was, I should never have done it so beautifully as he has done it, for it is so full of everything that is touching, tender, timid, true, and gracious: \u201cAs Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Please notice \u2014 perhaps you did notice in our reading \u2014 whereabouts Matthew has put this story: it is placed immediately after a miracle. Some question has been raised, in a Harmony of the Gospels, as to the exact position of this fact; whether it did occur just where Matthew tells it or whether he rather studied effect than chronology. Sometimes the Evangelists seem to overlook the chronological position of a statement, and put it out of its proper place that it may be more in its place for some other purpose. Well, I do not know about the chronology of this event; but it seems to me very beautiful on Matthew\u2019s part to record his call just here. \u201cThere,\u201d said he, \u201cI will tell them one miracle about the Savior having made the palsied man take up his bed and walk, and then I will tell them of another miracle, \u2014 a greater miracle still, \u2014 how there was another man who was more than palsied, chained to his gains and to an injurious traffic, yet who, nevertheless, at the command of Christ, quitted that occupation and all his gains, that he might follow his Divine Master.\u201d Whenever you think about your own conversion, dear friend, regard it as a miracle, and always say within yourself, \u201cIt was a wonder of grace. If the conversion of anybody was ever a miracle of mercy, it was my conversion; it was extraordinary condescension on Christ\u2019s part to look on such a sinner as I was, and nothing but a miracle of grace could have saved me.\u201d<\/p>\n
So Matthew tells his own story very tenderly, but he tells it very suggestively, putting it just after a most notable miracle; and I think that the Evangelist thought there was some similarity between the miracle and his own conversion, for there is nothing that palsies a man towards spiritual things like the lust of gold. Let a man be engaged in oppression and extortion, as the publicans were, and the conscience becomes seared as with a hot iron, and the extortioner is not likely to feel or desire that which is right. Yet here was a man, up to his neck in an evil occupation, but in a moment, at the divine call, he is made to part with all his hopes of gain that he may follow Christ. It was a miracle similar and equal to the raising of the palsied man who took up his bed and walked. You, too, dear friend, can trace a parallel, perhaps, between your conversion and some mairacle of the Master. Was it, in your case, the casting out of devils? Was it the opening of the eyes of the blind? Was it the unstopping of deaf ears, and the loosing of a silent tongue? Was it the raising of the dead, or even more than that, was it the calling forth of corruption itself out of the grave, as when Jesus cried, \u201cLazarus, come forth,\u201d and Lazarus came forth. In any case, I invite you who know the Lord, in the silence of your souls just to sit down, and think, not about Matthew, but about ourselves. I shall think about \u201ca man named Spurgeon\u201d and you can think about \u201ca man named John Smith,\u201d or \u201cThomas Jones,\u201d or whatever your name may happen to be. If the Lord has looked upon you in love, you can just put your own name into the text, and say, \u201cAs Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man named James,\u201d or \u201cJohn,\u201d or \u201cThomas,\u201d and you women may put in your names, too, you Maries and Janes, and so forth. Just sit and think how Jesus said to each one of you, \u201cFollow me,\u201d and how in that happy moment you did arise and follow him, and from that hour you could truly sing, as you have often sung since, \u2014 <\/p>\n
\u201c\u2019Tis done! the great transaction\u2019s done:
I am my Lord\u2019s, and He is mine:
He drew me, and I follow\u2019d on,
Charm\u2019d to confess the voice divine.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cHigh heaven, that heard the solemn vow,
That vow renew shall daily hear:
Till in life\u2019s latest hour I bow,
And bless in death a bond so dear.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
With some degree of rapidity, I will try to conduct your thoughts to various points of this interesting and instructive narrative.<\/p>\n
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I. <\/b>The first is, that This Call Of The Man Named Matthew Seemed Accidental And Unlikely.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs Jesus passed forth from thence,\u201d just as he was going about some work or other, going away from Capernaum, perhaps, or merely going down one of its streets, it was as he \u201cpassed forth\u201d that this event happened. As he passed, \u201che saw a man, named Matthew.\u201d That is the way we talk when we speak of things that, as we say, \u201chappen\u201d we scarcely know why. Now, dear friend, was that how you were converted? I do not know how long ago it was; but it did so happen, did it not? Yet it did not seem to you to be a very likely event ever to occur.<\/p>\n
Looking back at the case of Matthew, it does seem now to have been a very unlikely thing that he should become a follower of Jesus. Capernaum was Christ\u2019s own city, so he had often been there, yet Matthew remained unsaved<\/i>. Christ had not seen that \u201cman, named Matthew,\u201d in the special way in which he saw him on this particular occasion; and you, dear friend, went to a place of worship a great many times before you were converted; perhaps you had been there regularly since you were a child. Yet it was not till that one particular day of grace that anything special happened to you, even as it was not till the time recorded in our text that something very special happened to the man named Matthew.<\/p>\n
Further, at that time, Jesus seemed as if he was about other business<\/i>; for, we read, \u201cas Jesus passed forth from thence.\u201d And perhaps it seemed to you that the preacher was aiming at something else when his word was blessed to you. He was, may be, comforting believers, yet God sent the message home to you, a poor unconverted sinner. Strange, was it not, both in Matthew\u2019s case, and your own?<\/p>\n
At that time, also, there are many other people in Capernaum, yet Christ did not call them<\/i>. He saw them, but not in the particular way in which he saw the man named Matthew. And; in like manner, on that day of mercy when you received the blessing of salvation, perhaps there was a crowded congregation, but, as far as you know, the blessing did not reach anybody but yourself. Why, then, did it come to you? You do not know, unless you have learnt to look behind the curtains in the holy place, and to see by the light of the lamp within the veil. If you have looked there, you know that, when Jesus Christ is passing by, what men call his accidents are all intentional, the glances of his eye are all ordained from eternity; and when he looks upon anyone, he does it according to the everlasting purpose and the foreknowledge of God. The Lord had looked long before on that man named Matthew, so, in the fullness of time, Jesus Christ must needs pass that way, and he must look in love and mercy upon that man named Matthew He saw him then because, long before, he foresaw him.<\/p>\n
I cannot tell how you happen to be here, my dear friend, \u2014 a stranger in London, perhaps, and a total stranger to this Tabernacle; yet I believe you are brought here that my Lord and Master may see you, \u2014 you,<\/i> \u201ca man, named Matthew,\u201d or \u201cJohn,\u201d or \u201cJames,\u201d or \u201cThomas,\u201d or whatever your name may be. And, oh! I pray that this may be the time when you shall see him, and hear him say, \u201cFollow me,\u201d and you shall feel a blessed constraint to follow him without question, or hesitancy, but at once leave whatever your sinful life may have been, and become a follower of Christ.<\/p>\n
So, in the first place, this call of Matthew seemed accidental and unlikely, yet it was according to the purpose of God, and therefore it was duly given and answered.<\/p>\n
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II. <\/b>In the second place, This Call Of The Man Named Matthew Was Altogether Unthought Of And Unsought.<\/p>\n
Matthew was not engaged in prayer when Christ called him. He was in a degrading business<\/i>: \u201csitting at the receipt of custom.\u201d He was not listening to the Savior\u2019s preaching; he was taking from the people, against their will, the taxes for their Roman conqueror. As far as I can see, he had not even thought about Christ. I do not believe that he had been called before to be a disciple of Christ, and that he was on this occasion called to be an apostle; for I cannot imagine one who had been saved by Christ, returning to the publican business. It was an extortioner\u2019s occupation all through, and he who is called to be Christ\u2019s follower does not practice extortion from his fellow-men. If that is his employment before his conversion, he quits it when he comes to Christ.<\/p>\n
Matthew was, further, in an ensnaring business<\/i>. Nothing is more likely to hold a men fast then the love of gain. Sticky stuff is that gold and silver of which many are so fond; it has bird-limed many a soul for the best fowler, the devil, and many have been destroyed by it. The publicans usually made a personal profit by extorting more than was due; and, at this time, Matthew was not paying away money, but \u201csitting at the receipt of custom.\u201d<\/p>\n
I do not know that, even if Matthew has wished to follow Christ, he would have dared to do so<\/i>. He must have thought that he was too unworthy to follow Christ; and if he had dared to attempt it, I should suppose that he would have been repulsed by the other apostles<\/i>. They would have snubbed him, and asked, \u201cWho are you, to come amongst us?\u201d They dared not do so after Christ himself had said to Matthew, \u201cFollow me,\u201d but certainly there is no indication that this man named Matthew was seeking Christ, or even thinking about him; yet, while he sat taking his tolls and customs, Jesus came to him, and said, \u201cFollow me.\u201d<\/p>\n
O my dear hearer, if you have been converted, it may be that something like this was true in your case! At any rate, this I know is true; you were not the first to seek Christ, but Christ was the first to seek you. You were a wandering sheep, and did not love the fold; but his sweet mercy went out after you. His grace made you thoughtful, and led you to pray; the Holy Spirit breathed in you your first breath of spiritual life, and so you came to Christ. It was so, I am sure; you did not first seek Christ, but he first sought you. Let us who are saved present the prayer to God now, that many here who have never sought the Lord may nevertheless find him; for it is written, \u201cI am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.\u201d See, then, the freeness of the grace of God, the sovereignty of his choice. Admire it in the man named Matthew; admire it still more in yourself, whatever your name may be.<\/p>\n
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III. <\/b>Thirdly, This Call Of Matthew Was Given By The Lord Jesus With Full Knowledge Of Him.<\/p>\n
It is not said that Matthew first saw the Lord; but, \u201cas Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew.\u201d I like to dwell upon those words, \u201cHe saw a man, named Matthew,\u201d because they seem to me to have a great deal of instruction in them.<\/p>\n
Christ probably stopped opposite where Matthew was sitting, and looking at him, He saw all the sin that had been in him, and all the evil that still remained in him<\/i>. \u201cHe saw<\/i> a man, named Matthew.\u201d Christ has a searching look, a discerning look, a detecting look. He looked Matthew up and down, and he saw all that was in him. All that was secret to others was manifest before his piercing eyes. \u201cHe saw a man, named Matthew,\u201d and I believe that Jesus saw more in Matthew than was really in Matthew; I mean, that his love looked goodness into Matthew, and thee saw it; his love looked grace into Matthew, and then saw it.<\/p>\n
I do not know, but as far as I can see, Matthew had always been called \u201cLevi\u201d before. The Lord Jesus Christ did not see \u201ca man named Levi.\u201d That was his old name; but, He saw Matthew as he was to be<\/i>: \u201cHe saw a man, named Matthew.\u201d O beloved, when the Lord looked upon you even while you were a sinner, he saw a saint in you; though it was only his own eyes that could see so much as that. What he meant to make of you, he already saw in you, and he loved you as one who should yet be one of his redeemed servants.<\/p>\n
I believe also that when the Lord Jesus Christ saw Matthew with the pen in his hand, he said to himself, \u201cSee what a nimble pen he has; he is the man to write the first of the four Gospels<\/i>.\u201d Jesus saw Matthew figuring away, as he put down the people\u2019s names, and how much they paid, and he said to himself, \u201cThat is the man to write one of the most regular and orderly of the Gospels; there is a clerkly habit about him, he is a good account-keeper, that is the man for my service.\u201d<\/p>\n
I do not know, dear friend, what the Lord may happen to see in you. I do not know all that he saw when he looked upon me, I fear that he saw nothing in me but sin, and evil, and vanity; but I believe that he did say to himself concerning me, \u201cI see one to whom I can teach my truth, and who, when he gets a hold of it, will grip it fast, and never let it go, and one who will not be afraid to speak it wherever he is.\u201d So the Lord saw what use he could make of me, and I wonder what use he can make of you. Sit still, dear child of God, and wonder that the Lord should have made such use of you as he has made. And you who are just beginning to think of the Lord Jesus Christ, sit still, and each one of you say, \u201cI wonder what use he can make of me.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is an adaptation in men, even while they are unconverted, which God has put into them for their future service. Luke, you know, was qualified to write his Gospel because he had been a physician; and Matthew was qualified to write the particular Gospel which he has left us, because he had been a publican. There may be a something about your habits of life, and about your constitution, and your condition, that will qualify you for some special niche in the Church of God in years to come. Oh, happy day, when Jesus shall look upon you, and call you to follow him! Happy day, when he did look upon some of us, and saw in us what his love meant to put there, that he might make of us vessels of mercy meet for the Master\u2019s use!<\/p>\n
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IV. <\/b>Pressing on a little further, I want you to notice, in the fourth place, that Matthew\u2019s Call Was Graciously Condescending: \u201cAs Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Christ had the choice of his followers, but how came he to choose a publican?<\/i> The Roman yoke was so detestable to the free-born son of Abraham that he could not bear the fact that the Roman, the idolater, should be lord in the Holy Land; so, if the Romans wanted Jews to collect the taxes, they could only get persons who had lost all care about public repute. They might be no worse than other people; perhaps they were not, but they were esteemed as being the very off-scouring and pariahs of their race. But the Lord Jesus Christ sees this publican, and says to him, \u201cFollow me.\u201d Not much of a credit will he be to his Master; so at least those around him will say. \u201cSee how this Man, Jesus Christ, goes about, and picks up the scum of the people, the residuum. He is taking a publican as his follower, \u2014 the man who has given himself up to be the servant of the oppressors, and who has been himself an oppressor, he is going to have him<\/i>. Now, if the Nazarene had passed by, and seen a learned-Rabbi, or a Pharisee with his phylacteries, one who had made broad the borders of his garment, if Jesus had called him<\/i>, it would have given a respectability to the community.\u201d Yes, but it so happens that the Lord Jesus Christ does not care about that sort of respectability at all. He is so respectable himself, in the highest sense of being respected, that he has honor enough and to spare for all his people, and he can condescend, without hazard, to call into his immediate company, to be one of his personal followers, \u201ca man, named Matthew,\u201d even though he is a collector of the Roman taxes.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh!\u201d says one, \u201cbut I cannot think that he will ever call me.\u201d Ay, but I can think that he will! You remember John Newton, who had been a slave-dealer, and more, who had been himself a slave, literally a slave, as well as a slave to the worst passions. Yet, let the church of St. Mary Woolnoth tell how from its pulpit there sounded through long years the glorious gospel of the blessed God from one who had been an African blasphemer, but who became a minister of Christ of the highest and noblest kind. Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ loves to look out for the publicani<\/i>, the very lowest of the low, and to say to them, \u201cFollow me. Come into my company. Walk behind me. Become my servant. Be entrusted with my gospel. I will make use of you.\u201d He still takes such as these to become the proclaimers of his Word; oh, that he may thus call some of you!<\/p>\n
\u201cWell,\u201d say you, \u201cit was great condescension when the Lord called Matthew, the publican.\u201d Yes, but was it not equal condescension when he called you and me? O man or woman, whatever your name, sit, and wonder, and adore the condescending love that chose even you to be Christ\u2019s follower!<\/p>\n
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V. <\/b>Again, dear friends, \u2014 I hope I do not weary you while I try to bring this case of Matthew fully before you, wishing always that you may see yourself in it, \u2014 observe next, that This Call Of Matthew Was Sublimely Simple. Here it is in a nutshell: \u201cHe<\/i> saith.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was not John who said it, or James, or any of the apostles; but, \u201cHe<\/i> saith.\u201d And it is not my preaching, or your preaching, or an archbishop\u2019s preaching, that can save souls; it is, \u201cHe<\/i> saith,\u201d and it is when the Lord Jesus Christ, by the Divine Spirit, says to a man, \u201cFollow me<\/i>,\u201d that then the decisive work is done. Did he not say to the primeval darkness, \u201cLight be!\u201d and light was; and God, the Omnipotent and Eternal, has but to speak to man, and a like result will follow. \u201cHe saith unto him, Follow me;\u201d and then immediately, just as simply as possible, the record says, \u201che arose, and followed him.<\/i>\u201c There is no palaver, no priestcraft, no sacramentarianism. \u201cHe saith, Follow me; and he arose, and followed him.\u201d That is the way of salvation; Christ bids thee, whilst thou art at thy sin, leave it, and thou leavest it. He bids thee trust him, and thou dost trust him; and trusting him, thou art saved, for \u201che that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Is that how you were saved, dear friend? I know it is; yet you used to fuss, and fret, and fume, and say to yourself, \u201cI want to feet I want to see, I want to experience.\u201d Now you have got clear of all those mistakes, I hope there is nothing more sublime than your conversion, but there is nothing more simple. And as for you, dear friends, who are looking for signs and wonders, or else you will not believe, I wish you would give up that foolish notion, for there is no sign and no wonder which is equal to this, that Christ should say to the dead heart, \u201cLive,\u201d and it lives; that he should say to the unbelieving heart, \u201cBelieve,\u201d and it believes. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I say to thee, sinner, \u201cBelieve on the Lord Jesus Christ;\u201d and if he is really speaking by me, thou wilt believe in him, and thou wilt arise and follow him.<\/p>\n
So, Matthew\u2019s call to follow Christ was sublimely simple.<\/p>\n
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VI. <\/b>Notice, also, that It Was Immediately Effectual. The Lord Jesus Christ said to him, \u201cFollow me,\u201d and \u201che arose, and followed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew followed at once<\/i>. Some might have waited, and put the coins away; but it does not appear that Matthew did so: \u201che arose and followed him.\u201d He did not say to Christ, \u201cI must enter the amounts to the end of this page; here is a lot of people with fish-baskets, I must just see how much I can get out of them, and so finish up my reckoning.\u201d No, \u201che arose and followed him.\u201d I believe that, when a man is converted, he is converted outright, and he will come right out from whatever wrong thing he has been doing. I have heard of a publican (I mean the other sort of publican, not a tax-gatherer) who was very fond of drink, and he had by means of the drink sent many to perdition; but, the day he was converted, he smashed his signboard, and had done with the evil traffic for ever. When there is anything else that is wrong, whatever it is, I like to see men smash it up, and have done with it. Clear every trace of it out of your house; do not try to keep even a little piece of it, or to do a wrong thing, and say, \u201cI will give the profits to the Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d He will not take the money that is stained with the blood of souls. Quit the evil trade, and have done with it. Every kind of sin, and every sort of evil, whatever it may be, will be left as soon as effectual grace comes to a man. I do not believe that anyone ever repents a little bit at a time; it is once for all that he does it, he turns straight round immediately, and obeys the Lord\u2019s call, \u201cFollow me.\u201d Jesus said to Matthew, \u201cFollow me,\u201d \u201cand he arose and followed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh!\u201d says one, \u201cwas it so?\u201d Yes, it was; I am not talking about things that are matters of question, I am speaking about facts. \u201cAs Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom, and he saith unto him, Follow me; and he arose, and followed him.\u201d I know another man, not named \u201cMatthew,\u201d but \u201cCharles,\u201d and the Lord said to him, \u201cFollow me;\u201d and he also arose, and followed him. If I were to ask all the Christian men here now \u2014 John, James, Samuel or whatever their names, who heard Jesus Christ say, \u201cFollow me,\u201d and who followed him, \u2014 to stand up, there would not be many of you left sitting, I hope. And you godly women, too, know that it was just the call of the Lord Jesus Christ to you that brought you to him there and then.<\/p>\n
The call to Matthew was the call of effectual grace. \u201cWhere the word of a king is, there is power;\u201d and Jesus Christ spoke to Matthew the word of the<\/i> King. He said, \u201cFollow me;\u201d and Matthew did follow him. I have heard that when the Queen sends to anybody to come and see her, she does not \u201crequest the pleasure of his company,\u201d but she sends her command to him to come. That is the way kings and queens talk; and that is just the way with the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings, and Lord of lords. He says, \u201cFollow me.\u201d And preaching to you in his name, we do not say, \u201cDear friend, do be converted, if you will;\u201d but we say, \u201cThus saith the Lord: believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved;\u201d and with that command goes the power of the word of a King, and so sinners are saved. Jesus said to Matthew, \u201cFollow me; and he arose, and followed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
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VII. <\/b>Now, lastly, Matthew\u2019s Call Was A Door Of Hope For Other Sinners.<\/p>\n
I have been speaking mostly about personal conversion, and perhaps somebody says, \u201cYou know, sir, we are to think about other people as well as ourselves.\u201d Precisely so, and there is never a man who is saved who wants to go to heaven alone. So, when the Lord Jesus Christ saw \u201ca man, named Matthew,\u201d and bade the publican follow him, his salvation encouraged other publicans to come to Jesus<\/i>. Christ saw a great many other publicans and sinners whom he intended to draw to himself by means of that \u201cman, named Matthew.\u201d He was to become a decoy-duck for a great multitude of others like himself.<\/p>\n
Next, his open house gave opportunity to his friends to hear Jesus.<\/i> No sooner was Matthew called, and led to follow the Lord Jesus, than he said to himself, \u201cNow, what can I do for my new Master? I have a good big room, where I have been accustomed to lock up the people\u2019s goods till they have paid their dues, \u2014 the douane<\/i>, the custom-house, where I put away their goods in bond. Here, John, Thomas, Mary, come and clean out this room! Put a long table right down the middle. I am going to have in all my old friends; they have known what kind of man I have been, I am going to invite them all to supper; and it will not be a mean supper, either; it shall be the best supper they have ever had.\u201d Levi made a great feast in his own house, and he said to the Lord Jesus, \u201cThou hast bidden me follow thee, and I am trying to do so; and one way in which I am following thee is that I am going to have a great feast in my house to-night, and to fetch in all my old companions. Wilt thou, my Lord, be so good as to come and sit at the head of the table, and talk with them? They will be in a better humor for listening after I have fed them well. Wilt thou come; and when they are all happy around my table, wilt thou do for them what thou hast done for me? Mayhap, Lord, if thou wilt say that Matthew has become thy follower, they will say, \u2019What! Matthew? Does he follow Christ? Well, then, who must this Christ be, that he will have such a follower as Matthew? Surely, he will have us, too, for we are like Matthew, and we will come to him as Matthew has come to him, if he will but speak the word of power to us as he did to Matthew?\u2019\u201d So the call of Matthew was Christ\u2019s way of bringing numbers of lost ones to a knowledge of the truth and to eternal salvation.<\/p>\n
Now, has it been as with you, dear friend? Man, named John, Thomas, Samuel, \u2014 woman, named Mary, Jane, or whatever it may be, \u2014 have you<\/i> brought any others to Jesus? Have you brought your children to Jesus? Have your prayers brought your husband to Jesus? Have your entreaties brought your brethren to Jesus? If not, you have failed as yet in accomplishing that which should be your life-work. Ask the Lord to help you now to begin with somebody or other of your own circle and your own standing, to whom you will be most likely to speak with the largest measure of influence and power of any man. The day you are converted, try to talk with those who were your schoolmates. Were you converted in a factory? Do not hesitate to speak to your fellow-workmen. Are you a person of position? Do you occupy a high station in the fashionable world? Do not be ashamed of your Master, but introduce Christ into the drawing-room, and let him have a footing among the highest of the land. Let each man, according to his calling, feel, \u201cHe who bade me follow him, has bidden me do so that others may, through my instrumentality, be led to follow him, too.\u201d God bless you in this holy service!<\/p>\n
I feel as if I must close my discourse by just saying that, as the Lord saw \u201ca man, named Matthew,\u201d and as he saw you, try now to return that look of love, and see him, consider how great this Man was; and, as Christ came to Matthew\u2019s table, I now invite you who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ to come to his table; and though you are not now numbered with publicans and sinners, but with his redeemed people, still it shall be your great joy to wonder as you sit here that your Master does still condescend to eat with publicans and sinners<\/p>\n
God bless you, and save the whole of this great company, for his dear name\u2019s sake! Amen.<\/p>\n
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON.<\/p>\n
MATTHEW 9:1-13.<\/b><\/p>\n
Verses 1, 2. And he (that is, Jesus) entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed<\/i>:<\/p>\n
\u201cBehold,\u201d for it is something worth looking at. Wherever this word, \u201cBehold,\u201d is put in Scripture, it calls for deep and earnest attention. There is nothing wonderful in the sight of a man sick of the palsy, for there have been many such; but there is something wonderful in his friends having faith enough in Christ to bring the palsied man to the Savior. \u201cBehold\u201d this, that you may imitate it, and bring your friends, palsied with sin, and lay them down at the feet of Jesus. \u201cBehold\u201d it till you feel that you must copy it. \u201cBehold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed.\u201d<\/p>\n
2. And Jesus seeing their faith \u2014 <\/i><\/p>\n
Our Lord Jesus has a very quick eye; if there is faith anywhere, he can see it. He can even see faith in you when you cannot see any in yourself; when unbelief covered up the faith you have, he can see it: \u201cJesus seeing their faith\u201d \u2014 <\/p>\n
2. Said unto the sick of the palsy: Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.<\/i><\/p>\n
Probably this was not the blessing that the man was first seeking; but it is our Lord\u2019s custom to lay the axe at the root of the tree of evil, and he did so here. Sin was in the man\u2019s heart. It is sin that lies at the bottom of all sorrow, and if the sin be but taken away, we need not mind if we do not lose the palsy. If sin be forgiven, we may be content to keep our bed. The Savior often gives gold to those who only ask for silver; he grants the forgiveness of sin to those who only seek relief from sickness. He \u201cis able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,\u201d so he said to this palsied man, \u201cSon be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.\u201d<\/p>\n
3. And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.<\/i><\/p>\n
They did not dare to say it out loud, it was whispered in the chamber of their souls; but the Lord heard it, and he can hear your thou-gluts, my friend, though you would not dare to put them into words. He knows all that you are thinking of, just as he read the thoughts of these murmuring scribes.<\/p>\n
4, 5. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?<\/i><\/p>\n
Why, of course, it is much easier to say, \u201cThy sins be forgiven thee\u201d! There are thousands of so-called \u201cpriests\u201d who say that, but who is to know whether sins are forgiven or not? But if a man shall say, \u201cArise, and walk,\u201d that is a thing that we can easily put to the test. You can see whether the man does arise, and walk; so that, of the two, the command to arise and walk would seem to be the more difficult; and if these scribes had asked Christ, \u2014 as they had tacitly done, \u2014 to make this man arise and walk, if he had not done that, but had done a lesser thing, why should they say that he blasphemed?<\/p>\n
6, 7. But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose, and departed to his house.<\/i><\/p>\n
Now, since there was power in this word of Christ for the healing of the sick, the onlookers might well conclude that there was also power in the word of Christ for the forgiveness of sin. If it was no blasphemy on his part to bid the man arise, and walk, for God seconded the command, and the miracle was wrought, it could be no blasphemy for that same Divine Person to say to the palsied man, \u201cThy sins be forgiven thee.\u201d<\/p>\n
8. But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, \u2014 <\/i><\/p>\n
The scribes cavilled, but the multitudes marveled; and they did more, \u2014 <\/p>\n
8. And glorified God, which had given such power unto men.<\/i><\/p>\n
They did not yet perceive that Christ was more than man, but they went as far as they could see, and they blessed God that a man had been raised up who had such power over sickness and sin.<\/p>\n
9. And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom:<\/i><\/p>\n
Matthew was at the toll-booth; perhaps, taking money for fish caught in the Sea of Galilee; whatever the \u201ccustom\u201d was, he was receiving from the people the usual tax on behalf of the Roman government.<\/p>\n
9. And he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.<\/i><\/p>\n
This was a very wonderful thing, and it is recorded as an instance of divine power equal to that which was seen when Jesus bade the palsied man take up his bed and walk.<\/p>\n
10. And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.<\/i><\/p>\n
Whose house? Matthew\u2019s house. Then, why did not Matthew say so? Because he did not like to say anything in his own praise. Luke says that Matthew made Christ\u201d a great feast in his own house,\u201d but Matthew himself simply puts it, \u201cAs Jesus sat at meat in the house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBehold, many publicans and sinners came.\u201d I want you to notice this further \u201cBehold.\u201d \u201cBehold<\/i>, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy.\u201d Now again, \u201cBehold<\/i>, many publicans and sinners came and eat down with him and his disciples.\u201d It is worth your noticing, it is worth your thinking upon; for, may be, you feel yourself to be guilty, unworthy to come to Christ, unfit to be in communion with him. If so, listen: \u201cBehold<\/i>, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.\u201d Jesus loves to feast the famished; and if they come where he is, seeking for food, he will give them himself, the Bread of Life, to eat, and the Water of Life, to drink.<\/p>\n
11. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?<\/i><\/p>\n
Oh, these wretched Pharisees! These men with the green eyes, who cannot see anything but they must be jealous of it and find fault with it, are not all dead yet. Possibly there are some of them in our midst just now, for they are usually in every congregation where the gospel is preached. You may know them by their sanctimonious appearance and their sneering countenance, as they look down on the common people and the sinful people, the publicans and sinners by whom they are surrounded.<\/p>\n
12. But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.<\/i><\/p>\n
I do not find that the disciples answered these Pharisees, but Jesus replied for them. Very often the best thing to do with cavillers is to leave them to the Master; you might make a muddle of answering them, so turn them over to your Lord. \u201cHe said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.\u201d \u201cYou supremely good people \u2014 in your own esteem, \u2014 do not want me; why should I come and eat bread with Pharisees? But these publicans whom you despise, these sinners whom you loathe, are spiritually sick, and ought not I, the good Physician, to be found among them?\u201d<\/p>\n
13. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not chosen to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.<\/i><\/p>\n
It must have galled these Pharisees to be sent to learn anything, for they thought they knew everything that could be known.<\/p>\n
May the Lord Jesus come into this assembly, and find out just those people who most need a blessing, for to them he will freely give it!<\/p>\n
HYMNS FROM \u201cOUR OWN HYMN BOOK\u201d \u2014 231, 660.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NO. 2493 A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD\u2019S-DAY, NOVEMBER 29TH, 1896, DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD\u2019S-DAY EVENING, APRIL 12TH, 1885. \u201cAs Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man named Matthew, setting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he … Continue reading “\u201cA MAN NAMED MATTHEW\u201d.”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3823\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}