PROSTITUTES & TAX COLLECTORS WELCOME
There are certain people who are despised in almost any society: murderers, traitors of their country, rapists, prostitutes… People that fit into these categories are rarely looked upon with approval by the rest of civilization. Of course, there are and always will be murderers and traitors and rapists and prostitutes in any culture, but the rest of the population usually tries its best to separate themselves from this special breed of “sinners” as much as possible. They are never welcomed by any other group. When you drive down the road you may see various signs on businesses that say “Hunters Welcome!” or “Bikers Welcome!” or “Tour Buses Welcome!” but you’ll never see a sign on any business that says “Murderers Welcome! Traitors Welcome! Rapists Welcome! Prostitutes Welcome!” You’ll never see any of those signs because no one wants to be associated with the repulsive people of those infamous groups. No one wants to be seen around the “dregs” of society. And most of the time, no one wants to even be remotely close these individuals because there’s almost of a sense that they are somehow unclean and possibly contagious.
The disciple Matthew understood this kind of a mindset very well. Because he was included in that notorious group of the Despised. He wasn’t a murderer or a rapist or a prostitute of course, but he was a traitor to his own countrymen. He was tax collector - a man whose job it was to force his own people to hand over their money in the name of the Roman government. Tax collectors were not well-received to say the least. They were hated. They were considered just as bad, if not worse, than the murderers and the rapists and the prostitutes of the day. And that was Matthew’s profession. That is who he was. He had, in a very real way, defected from the Jewish nation and had taken the side of their Roman enemies. I would guess that Matthew didn’t have many friends outside the circle of his fellow tax collectors. I would imagine Matthew didn’t have a very relaxed life as he walked among the people from whom he extracted unwelcomed taxes and then even a little more on the top of that for his own paycheck. Matthew was scorned by the people of Israel - not just socially, but spiritually as well. Because of the fact that he was a tax collector, it was probably assumed that salvation was out of reach for a sinner of his magnitude. There was no hope for him. He had reached the point of no return. He and the murderers and the rapists and the prostitutes were already lost. If anyone would end up in hell, they would be the first. And no one else would really lose that much sleep over it at all.
This was even the mindset of the religious leaders during Jesus’ time. And so Jesus told them this parable: 28"What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' 29 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 30Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. 31"Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.” It’s no wonder that out of the four gospel writers it was the tax collector Matthew who remembered these words of Christ and wrote them down! It changed his life to hear that the kingdom of God was not just open to the outwardly upright and visibly moral like the chief priests and elders that it was. In fact, to their disbelief and shock, Jesus says that tax collectors (tax collectors!) and prostitutes (prostitutes!) were entering the kingdom of God ahead of them! “How could that be? How could such wicked sinners be welcomed into the kingdoms of Paradise?” they must have wondered. “How is it possible that the dirtiest and most contemptible of people are allowed into God’s holy family and we are not?”
It’s easy for us to imagine them thinking that way because it’s easy for us to think of heaven as some sort of elite club - a club in which if you don’t live your life a certain way, your application is going to be denied or even revoked. And the murderers and the traitors and the rapists and the prostitutes in this world don’t even have a chance. They are too sinful to even be considered. They are too far gone to ever be brought back. They are automatically written off because of who they are and what they have done. We like to make those judgment calls, don’t we? We like to place “those people” in a class all by themselves, far removed from people like us. We aren’t perfect, but we aren’t anywhere near as terrible as they are, right?
My friends, we are included in that group we so despise. We are the murderers. We are the traitors. We are the rapists. We are the prostitutes. And not just theoretically. We are murderers and traitors and rapists and prostitutes in fact. “But I haven’t murdered anyone!” you might say. Really? The Lord says that whoever hates someone is guilty of murder (1 John 3:15). So you have never hated anyone for anything no matter how much you think they deserved it? “But I’m not a traitor at least - I’ve always been loyal to my country and to my people!” Really? Your true home is in heaven according to Scripture (Philippians 3:20) and your most important family is your brothers and sisters in Christ. Do you mean to tell me that you have never turned your back on the glories and joys of your future fatherland to do something on this earth that you knew was a sin but just didn’t care? Do you mean to tell me that you have never disregarded the wants and needs of your brothers and sisters so that you could selfishly do the things you wanted to do? “Well I am certainly not a rapist! That is the last thing I would ever be!” Really? The Bible clearly says that if you have one inappropriate or impure thought about anyone who is not your spouse, you are an adulterer (Matthew 5:27-28). You have committed adultery with that person without their consent. Would you claim to have never let your eyes or your thoughts wander in any way about any person at any time in your life? “Well, if there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that I’m not a prostitute. I would never even think about doing such a thing.” Really? This is probably the most common sin of them all. Because the Lord says in numerous places that anyone who places anything above God in their lives has “prostituted” themselves with other gods (Hosea 2:2-8). Money, respect, health, retirement, children… anything that takes the place of your Groom - Christ himself - is that with which you have become a prostitute. You have given yourself to something or someone who is not spiritual husband.
We are the murderers. We are the traitors. We are the rapists. We are the prostitutes. We are no better than those we usually despise. We are no more naturally holy than those we normally look down upon. We are no less guilty than those we consider the grossest of sinners. We should be counted out. We should too far gone to ever have a chance. We should be automatically excluded from God’s kingdom because of who we are and what we have done. And yet we are saved.
We are accepted into God’s kingdom nevertheless. We are forgiven. We are saved. Just like Matthew was, we are saved and for the very same reason. Both Matthew and every one of us are saved by God’s grace alone. Matthew had done nothing to earn himself that favor. He was sitting at a tax collectors booth, in the middle of a job that publically demonstrated that he was a traitor, when Jesus called him to be one of his own. And there were no initiation tests Matthew had to pass. There was no probationary period he had to go through before he was fully accepted as one of Christ’s disciples. Jesus called him from a life of sin into a life of grace instantly. Because Jesus wanted to. He loved this sinner so much that he wanted this sinner to be saved. That’s grace. A love so deep that you can never find the end of it. That’s grace. A love so strong that nothing can ever break it. That’s grace. A love so pure that nothing can ever change it. That’s grace. That was Christ’s love for Matthew and that is Christ’s love for you.
When we were sitting at the tax collectors booth as traitors to our heavenly fatherland, that’s when the Lord came to us. When we were standing on the street corner as a prostitute - loving the things of this world more than our God, that’s when the Lord pulled us away and into his arms. When we were waiting on death row guilty of murder because of the hate in our hearts, that’s when the Lord died in our place. The Lord took the initiative. The Lord went out of his way for our sake. The Lord planned for and committed himself to and accomplished our salvation because that’s who he is: a gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness. You are saved, I am saved, and the tax collector Matthew was saved by this grace. And that is the only reason we are saved: because of God’s grace for sinners. Thank the Lord that he cared for people like us who should be despised for what we have done.
And so the kingdom of heaven really is like an elite club in a way. Many people apply, most are denied. And there is a requirement to get in. But the members of this exclusive group are not admitted because of what they have done, but because of whom they believe. Faith in Jesus as their Savior is the membership requirement, and even that is given as a gift by God himself. And so you are honorary members of this club. And so am I. Despite what we have done in our lives, regardless of how little we deserve it, we are given entrance into God’s kingdom because tax collectors and prostitutes are welcome there! Sinners who believe in Jesus are welcome in the Lord’s house. In fact, God’s heavenly home is prepared for sinners. It is made for murderers who know that their death sentence has already been satisfied. It is made for tax collectors who know that their debts have been paid in full. It is made for rapists who know that their guilt is completely taken away. It is made for prostitutes who know that their impurities have been washed clean. Heaven is waiting for sinners who know that they are no longer sinners through the blood of Christ.
Right now the tax collector Matthew is there. He went from sitting at a tax collectors booth to sitting beside the throne of God himself. The prostitute Rahab is there. She went from standing on the street corner to standing in the streets of Paradise. The murderer Paul the apostle is there. He went from standing in approval at Stephen’s stoning to standing shoulder to shoulder with Stephen praising their Savior together. And there are many more. Many other past sinners are there in heaven whose crimes on this earth were unspeakable, whose crimes were unimaginable, but whose crimes no longer count against them. Because their crimes were counted against Christ when he hung at that cross. Heaven is filled with such former sinners. In fact, apart from the Triune God himself and his holy angels, there is no one in heaven but former sinners. And one day you will be there too as a former sinner, a forever saint. A criminal exonerated by God. A low-life given the highest life there is. A lost child found. A soul saved. Through faith. By grace.
Amen.
“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ… to him be the power forever and ever. Amen.” - 1 Peter 5:10,11
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