Matthew 9:9-17
Matthew's Table
Read the passage
9As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Matthew got up and followed Him.
10Later, as Jesus was dining at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples.
11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
13But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
14Then John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast so often, but Your disciples do not fast?”
15Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
16No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. For the patch will pull away from the garment, and a worse tear will result.
17Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Jesus sees Matthew sitting at the tax booth and says, “Follow me.” Matthew rises and follows him. Soon Jesus is eating at Matthew’s house with many tax collectors and sinners. The meal makes Jesus' welcome visible, and it also creates a question for the Pharisees: why would a teacher share a table with people they regard as outsiders?
Jesus answers that those who are well do not need a physician, but those who are sick do. He tells the Pharisees to learn what “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” means. Jesus is not praising sin or dismissing worship. He is exposing a religious posture that can honor rituals while refusing compassion toward people who need mercy.
When John's disciples ask why Jesus' disciples do not fast, Jesus compares his presence to a bridegroom's presence at a wedding. There will be a time for fasting when the bridegroom is taken away, but the present moment calls for joy. He then uses new cloth and new wine to show that his kingdom cannot simply be patched into an old framework without changing how people understand God's work.
The passage is not a celebration of vague acceptance. Matthew is called to follow Jesus, and Jesus' table is a place where mercy leads to a new life. Jesus’ call comes to Matthew while he is still sitting at the tax booth.
The new cloth would pull away from the old garment and make a worse tear; new wine would burst old skins and ruin both. Jesus’ coming cannot be accommodated without change. The disciples’ response must fit the bridegroom who is present with them, while taking seriously His warning that He will be taken away.
How We Know
Hosea confronts loyalty that vanishes like morning mist and declares God’s desire for mercy and knowledge of Him rather than sacrifice. Jesus quotes that passage to people questioning His meal with sinners. He does not set mercy against faithfulness; He exposes religious practice that has lost the merciful, faithful love God requires.
Questions
1 What happens when Jesus calls Matthew from the tax booth?
AnswerMatthew gets up and follows Him. Later, Jesus eats at Matthew’s house with His disciples and many tax collectors and sinners.
2 Why does Jesus eat with tax collectors and sinners?
AnswerHe has come to call sinners, as a doctor comes to people who are sick. His fellowship expresses the mercy they need.
3 Why are Jesus’ disciples not fasting while He is with them?
AnswerHis presence is like the bridegroom’s presence with wedding guests. A time for fasting will come when the bridegroom is taken from them.
4 Which person has our household reduced to a label?
AnswerIdentify one person your household has reduced to a label. Learn something truthful about their situation, offer a respectful welcome, and ask what kind of honest support would help rather than assuming you already know.
What This Means for Us
Jesus' table is a place where people are received as needy, not where the respectable prove that they are superior. The Pharisees' question exposes how easily religious identity becomes a reason to keep mercy at a distance. Matthew's call reminds us that following Jesus changes the people with whom we are willing to share life.
Mercy does not mean pretending that wrongdoing is harmless. A physician treats sickness truthfully, and Jesus calls sinners to a new direction. A household can welcome a person, tell the truth, set boundaries, and seek accountability without confusing any of those actions with contempt.
Choose one person or group your family tends to avoid through easy labels. Take a step toward understanding and practical kindness while keeping wise boundaries where they are needed.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for calling Matthew and welcoming people who know their need. Make our household rich in mercy, honest about sin, and willing to share life with people we have kept at a distance. Amen.