1 And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.
2 And, behold, they broui^ht to him a man sick of the palsy, lying: on a bed : and Jesus seeiufj their faith said nnto the sick of the palsy ; Son, be of good cheer ; thy sins be forgiven thee.
3 And, behold, certain of the Scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.
4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts ?
5 For whether is easier, to say. Thy sins be forgiven thee ; or to say, Arise, and walk ?
6 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.
7 And he arose, and departed to his house.
8 But when the multitudes saw it.
they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.
9 And as 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.
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 11 And when the Pharisees saw it^ I they said unto his disciples, Why j eateth your Master with Publicans I and sinners ?
j 12 But when Jesus heard tTiaf, he I said unto them. They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
13 But go ye and learn what tliat meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice : for I am not come to caH the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Let us notice in the first part of this passage our Lord's Ixnowlcdge of men's tlioughts.
There were certain of the scribes, who found fault with the words which Jesus S23olve to a man sick of the palsy. They said secretly among themselves, " this man blasphemeth.'' They probably supposed that no one knew what was going on in their minds. They had yet to learn that the Son of God could read hearts, and discern spirits. Their malicious thought was publicly exposed. They were put to an open shame.
There is an important lesson for us in this. "All things are naked and' opened unto the eyes of Him with
84 EXPOSITORY TnOUGIITS.
whom wo have to do." (Heb. iv. 13.) Nothing can be concealed from Christ. What do we think of, in private, when no man sees us .^ What do we think of, in church, when we seem so grave and serious ? Wha,t are we think- ing of at this moment, while these words pass under our eyes ? Jesus knows. Jesus sees. Jesus records. Jesus will one day call us to give account. It is written that " God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my Gospel." (Rom. ii. 16.) Surely we ought to be very humble when we consider these things. We ought to thank God daily that the blood of Christ can cleanse from all sin. We ought often to cry, " Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart be accejDtable in thy sight." (Psalm xix. 14.)
Let us notice in the second place, the tvonderful call of the apostle Mattheio to he Christ's disciple.
We find the man, who afterwards was the first to write a Gospel, sitting at the receipt of custom. We see him absorbed in his worldly calling, and possibly thinking of nothing but money and gain. But suddenly the Lord Jesus calls on him to follow Him, and become His disciple. At once Matthew obeys. He '^ makes haste, and delays not" to keep Christ's commandment. (Psal. cxix. 60.) He arises and follows Him.
Let it be a fixed principle in our religion, that tvith Christ nothing is impossible. He can take a tax-gatherer, and make him an apostle. He can change any heart, and make all things new. Let us never despair of any one's salvation. Let us pray on, and speak on, and work on to do good to souls, even to the souls of the worst. " The voice of the Lord is mighty in operation." (Psal.
MATTHEW; CIIAr. IX. 85
xxix. 4.) When He says by the power of the Spirit, " follow me/' He can make the hardest and most sinful obey.
Let us observe Matthew's decision. He waited for nothing. He did not tarry for " a convenient season." (Acts xxiv. 25.) And he reaped in consequence a great reward. He wrote a book, which is known all over the earth. He became a blessing to others, as well as blessed in his own soul. He left a name behind him, which is better known than the names of princes and kings. The richest man of the world is soon forgotten when he dies. But as long as the world stands, millions will know the name of Matthew the publican.
Let us notice, in the last place, our Lord's precious declaration about His own mission.
The Pharisees found fault v/ith Him, because He al- lowed publicans and sinners to be in His company. In their proud blindness they fancied, that a teacher sent from heaven ought to have no dealings with such j)eople. They were wholly ignorant of the grand design for which the Messiah was to come into the world, to be a Saviour, a Physician, a healer of sin-sick souls. And they drew from our Lord's lips a rebuke, accompanied by the blessed words, '^ I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
Let us make sure that we thoroughly understand the doctrine that these words contain. The fii-st thing need- ful, in order to have an interest in Christ, is to feel deeply our own corruption, and to be willing to come to Him for deHverance. We are not to keep away from Christ, as many ignorantly do, because we feel bad, and