Sermon Tone Analysis

TITLE:   Winning with A Loser         SCRIPTURE:    Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 \\   \\ SERMON:     \\ \\ Jesus had a special place in his heart for losers.

It was winners, after \\ all, who put him on the cross.

\\ \\ Do you remember what Jesus said when a scribe promised to follow him.

\\ Keep in mind that scribes were winners -- not losers.

Scribes were \\ bright, dedicated men -- leaders.

\\ \\ You would think that Jesus would welcome such men.

After all, the scribes \\ were well-educated overachievers who could be expected to contribute \\ significantly to Jesus' fledgling ministry.

But do you remember how Jesus \\ responded to this scribe who wanted to be his disciple?

Jesus said, \\ "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has \\ nowhere to lay his head" (Matt.

8:20).

Instead of welcoming this \\ attractive candidate, Jesus pushed him away.

\\ \\ Only a short time later, Jesus saw a tax collector sitting at his tax \\ booth.

Jesus said, "Follow me" -- and the man, Matthew, followed him.

\\ \\ Now there is one sense in which a tax collector was a winner -- not a \\ loser.

Tax collectors worked for Rome, so the person who argued with a \\ tax collector risked finding a Roman soldier knocking at his door.

Tax \\ collectors enjoyed power and status because of their ties to Rome.

And \\ they made lots of money too! \\ \\ But there was another sense in which a tax collector was a loser.

People \\ hated tax collectors.

I suppose people will always hate paying taxes -- \\ and will sometimes hate those who enforce payment.

But it was even more \\ complicated for tax collectors in Jesus' day.

They worked for Rome, and \\ the people of Israel hated Rome.

They hated having Roman soldiers \\ garrisoned on their soil.

They hated paying taxes to Rome.

They hated \\ having the likeness of the emperor emblazoned on their coins.

They hated \\ Rome's insistence that they acknowledge the emperor as Lord.

\\ \\ The tax collectors were not Romans.

That would have been bad enough.

The tax collectors were Jews working for Romans, and that was even worse.

They were Quislings -- traitors -- men who did the Romans' dirty work for a \\ price.

\\ \\ So Jesus turned away the scribe who offered to follow him, but called \\ Matthew, the tax collector, to become his disciple.

He rejected the \\ winner and called the loser.

Why would he do that?

\\ \\ I think that he rejected the scribe because he knew that the scribe would \\ never really be his disciple.

The word "disciple" in Greek means \\ "learner," and Jesus was looking for people who would follow him and learn \\ from him.

The scribe promised to follow him, but Jesus knew better.

\\ Scribes were at least half-again too smart for their own good.

They had \\ studied Torah and knew all the answers.

They might look to Jesus for new \\ insights, but were not likely to acknowledge him as Lord.

Ultimately they \\ became Jesus' bitterest enemies.

I believe that Jesus pushed this scribe \\ away because he knew that the man was too proud to be his disciple.

\\ \\ But what about Matthew?

Why invite a scoundrel like Matthew to become his disciple.

If a scribe was not a perfect candidate for discipleship, a tax \\ collector was worse.

But Jesus said, "Follow me!" -- and Matthew \\ followed.

\\ \\ I believe that Jesus invited Matthew to make a point.

The point was \\ simply that nobody is so bad as to be outside the circle of God's love.

\\ That doesn't mean that God approved of Matthew as he was, but it does mean that God had not written him off.

\\ \\ I believe that God had been loving Matthew -- wooing Matthew -- for all of \\ Matthew's life -- but I doubt that Matthew realized it.

Matthew must have \\ felt as far from God as he could be -- like a gang member or a drug \\ dealer.

His fellow Israelites certainly thought of him that way.

They \\ thought of him as the scum of the earth, and Matthew probably agreed.

He \\ lived in a nice house and dressed well, but he knew that his gains were \\ ill gotten.

He could see the way that people looked at him.

He knew what \\ they thought.

One cannot live as a pariah year after year without being \\ affected.

\\ \\ But Jesus, knowing Matthew's reputation and seeing the depths of his \\ heart, said, "Follow me!" -- and Matthew left his tax booth and followed \\ Jesus.

\\ \\ Jesus' invitation to Matthew should give us hope.

Paul says that we have \\ all sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom.

3:23), and that is \\ true.

If someone had a videotape of your life -- your whole life -- how \\ would you feel about having the tape aired publicly?

Would you be \\ embarrassed?

Would you be ashamed?

Would you be humiliated?

Paul said that we are all sinners.

Unfortunately he was right.

\\ \\ To be honest, I wouldn't want to view such videotapes.

Most of our lives \\ are pretty ordinary, and ordinary starts to look boring after the first \\ hour.

But I don't want to view your embarrassment either -- and I don't \\ want you to view my embarrassment.

We have all done things that we are \\ not proud of.

We are all sinners.

\\ \\ But when Jesus called Matthew to be his disciple, he was acting out a \\ parable of grace -- a parable that tells us not to be afraid -- a parable \\ that assures us that we are never hopeless -- a parable that assures us \\ that God loves us regardless.

Regardless!

If Jesus had room in his heart \\ for Matthew, he has room there for you -- and for me.

\\ \\ You might imagine that you are unworthy of Jesus, and you would be right \\ -- none of us is worthy of Jesus.

But that is not the way that Jesus sees \\ us.

Jesus uses his X-ray vision to reveal, not our unworthiness, but our \\ possibilities.

He is like a friend of mine who has an old Ford Model T in \\ his garage.

That old car doesn't look like much, but my friend is so \\ proud of it.

That car sat for decades in someone's barn.

Then someone \\ began to restore it.

Then he died and my friend bought the car.

It will \\ take lots of money and midnight oil to bring that car back to life, but my \\ friend sees it all shiny and beautiful in his mind.

It is fun to see his \\ excitement when he talks about it.

\\ \\ That is how Jesus sees us.

He doesn't see rust and worn paint.

He \\ doesn't see rotten gaskets and flat tires.

He sees beautiful lines and \\ wonderful possibilities.

It isn't that Jesus is naive.

It isn't that we \\ have him fooled.

But Jesus knows that God created us right, and Jesus can \\ hardly wait to begin the restoration.

\\ \\ When Jesus saw Matthew sitting at his tax booth, he knew that Matthew was \\ a scoundrel.

He knew that Matthew had cheated people.

He knew that \\ Matthew hardly had a friend to his name.

But he also knew that Matthew \\ was sick of the life he had been living.

He knew that Matthew was sick of \\ himself.

He knew that Matthew was ready for change.

And so he said, \\ "Follow me!" -- and Matthew followed.

\\ \\ That was quite a decision for Matthew to make.

When Matthew walked away from his tax booth, he left his old way of life behind.

He cut his \\ bridges behind him.

He knew that his fellow Israelites would hate him for \\ having been a tax collector.