Daily Blast - The Book of Matthew: Chapter 9
Scripture
“As Jesus left Capernaum he came upon a tax-collecting station, where a traitorous Jew was busy at his work, collecting taxes for the Romans. His name was Matthew. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said to him. Immediately Matthew jumped up and began to follow Jesus.”
Reflection
So, this chapter of Matthew is just a super long list of times Jesus messed with the heads of the establishment. He’s the first punk-rocker, the original rebel, the ultimate thorn in the side of ‘the man’. The Pharisees and teachers of the law have been working hard for years building rules, on top of rules, on top of rules, all to safeguard the commandments that God gave to Moses 1500 years before. They wanted to keep all of God’s commands, but were so obsessed with being holy and perfect, and forcing everybody else to try to meet the same high standards, that it made life with God seem completely impossible. Jesus – who was God (spoiler alert!) – knew that God’s intention when He gave the Israelites those commandments back in the day, was that He wanted them to live life in the best way possible – full of God’s love and close to Him. What we see all the way through this chapter is Jesus showing people God’s real intentions, and at the same time ripping up the rulebooks the Pharisees had created.
He forgives a guy’s sins, then He hangs out with sinners and tax collectors, He doesn’t fast the way the Pharisees do, and then He lets an unclean woman touch Him, and heals her. Next, He raises a girl from the dead, before healing a couple of blind blokes and casting a demon out of a passer-by. Just your average day with God! But it upsets the Pharisees so much, like so much! Because really, He’s pointing out that the way they are leading the people is not the way God ever wanted it. In the end, it says He looked at the people and they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd, they’ve been led by these people who are more worried about keeping the rules than helping the people, so far from God’s plan for His family.
About halfway through the chapter, Jesus makes a comment about wineskins – not really relevant imagery in the 21st century – but basically, He’s saying that you can’t shake up a can of coke and then pour it into a super-old balloon because it will explode. His point is – life with God is like a life full of bubbles, you can’t fit it into a strict old rulebook, you have to live it. And as well as saying it, he’s showing people the kind of adventure it can be
Challenge
Does your life with God feel like a list of rules? Do you ever feel like getting it right is the most important thing? Try asking Jesus to fill you up with some more of the bubble-filled life he shows us in this chapter and take you on an adventure today. Find someone who needs some healing and pray for them today, go on, I dare you!