Photo by James Coleman on Unsplash

Audio: iTunes | Spotify

“I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

᛭ INI ᛭

St. Matthew was one of Jesus’ 12 Apostles. He was called from being a Tax Collector to an Apostle. The Spirit also used him to write one of the Four canonical Gospels. Today’s red to mark both that the Spirit used Matthew and that he finally shed his blood, too, since, at Jesus’ Word, **“he arose and followed Him.”**

Matthew teaches us what it means to be a student of Jesus. After all, that’s part of what Jesus wants, as “Christ our Lord says in the last chapter of Matthew: ‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, [by] baptizing them … and [by] teaching them…”

So we learn Hosea, 6:6: “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” We learn it from the Lord who says in Exodus 34, that He’s “merciful and gracious … forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” This means the Lord’s default nature, even though He judges sinners, is that He “forgives all your iniquities… The LORD is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.” (Ps 103) In fact,

CHRIST’S REPENTANCE IS ONLY FOR SINNERS!

As He says, “I didn’t come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

II. What does such a thing mean?

But what does it mean that CHRIST’S MERCY IS ONLY FOR SINNERS? What’s “mercy” mean, or “righteous”, or “sinners,” or even “repentance”? What these things all mean is important for how it’s good news that CHRIST’S REPENTANCE IS ONLY FOR SINNERS.

The Lord says He desires mercy for sinners and not sacrifice from them. He does this because He “is merciful and gracious … forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” This lets us know what mercy is. Mercy is to withhold punishment or wrath that’s well deserved. (Grace is to give what is undeserved.) The Lord is merciful, He forgives instead of condemns. He dies instead of working eternal death. He is the sacrifice instead of requiring it. He goes to the cross, not you. That’s mercy.

To be righteous in God’s sight is to have no sins, to be holy and without blemish, to be spotless and clean. It’s sinners who need to be cleaned up, healed, forgiven. Those who have sins need repentance. So, it seems like Jesus means if you’re righteous you don’t need Him, but then He says He didn’t come to call the righteous to repentance, at all.

Jesus is hinting that the self-righteous will see no need for Him, or when they say “I need Jesus,” it’s just empty words. Only sinners, people with actual sins, who know their sins, are actually bothered by them and want to be better for the Lord’s sake and their neighbor’s sake, will actually be sought out by Jesus and will be found gathered around Him not only in words but actions.

That’s what the Bible says. Would you believe it? “As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.’” (Rom 3) ”If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1Jn 1) “All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.”

Jesus brings those kinds of people to “repentance.” As “[Lutherans] [we say there are] two parts to repentance: contrition and faith… We separate from contrition those useless and endless discussions regarding grief from loving God and from fearing punishment. We say that contrition is the true terror of conscience, which feels that God is angry with sin and grieves that it has sinned. This contrition takes place when sins are condemned by God’s Word.” (AP XIIa(V).28–29)

“As the second part of repentance we add faith in Christ. The Gospel, in which the forgiveness of sins is freely promised concerning Christ, should be presented to consciences in these terrors. They should believe that, for Christ’s sake, their sins are freely forgiven. This faith cheers, sustains, and enlivens the contrite, according to Romans 5:1, “Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God.” This faith obtains the forgiveness of sins. … This faith shows the distinction between the contrition of Judas and Peter, of Saul and David. The contrition of Judas or Saul is useless because faith is not added. Faith grasps the forgiveness of sins, given as a gift for Christ’s sake. So the contrition of David or Peter helps because faith, which takes hold of the forgiveness of sins granted for Christ’s sake, is added to it. (AP XIIa(V).35–36)

(Trans.)

CHRIST’S REPENTANCE IS ONLY FOR SINNERS means what He says elsewhere, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” (Jn 5) You have been “called out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1Pet 2)

(II. Repentented sinners, even though they have sins, are not their sins anymore.)

This is all good news for you who have been brought to repentance by the Word of God, brought to contrition and faith, by the powerful working of the Holy Spirit. Sinners are brought to faith in God’s mercy in Christ. You are brought to faith by the Spirit working through the Word and the Sacraments. He did it. His free gift! “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ.” (Rom 10) Being baptized at Jesus’ Word “gives the forgiveness of sins and the Gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2) Christ’s repentance, that’s only for sinners, is made yours! This is the importance of the 3rd Commandant: “We should fear and love God so that we do not despise [sermons] and His Word.”

With faith in Jesus you’re not only sinner, nor are you only righteous. No, you’re righteous and sinner at the same time! You are completely righteous before God by faith in Christ, and you are completely sinner before God by your flesh. “The flesh wars against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh.” (Gal 5) “Christ does not stop being our Mediator after we have been renewed. … Christ remains Mediator, and we should always be confident that for His sake we have a reconciled God, even though we are unworthy.” (AP V(III).41–42) “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, [Christ] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1Jn 1)

And yet this is not the end. The Lord cleanses you and His Spirit bears His fruit in your life. For, “if anyone desires to add a third—fruit worthy of repentance, that is, a change of the entire life and character for the better—we will not oppose it.” (AP XIIa(V).28) The Spirit works this. By His Work alone in the Word and Absolution and the Lord’s Supper “faith grows gradually and throughout the entire life, struggles with sin, in order to overcome sin and death. Love follows faith.” (AP XIIa(V).37)

So we have a Matthew no longer a tax collector, no longer a traitor to God’s people to being a minister for His people, to longer stealing taxes from God’s people but delivering God’s free forgiveness in Christ to them in Preaching, Absolution, and Supper. Zacchaeus, too, after Christ’s forgiveness goes full on love for neighbor. The woman caught in adultery is no longer adulteress, but absolved, set free “to sin no more.” Mercy isn’t a means to keep sinning, free forgiveness and the continued need for that free forgiveness isn’t license for free full on sinning. That life is to “crucify the Lord anew, bringing Him to open shame.” (Heb 6)

(Conc.)

“The sum of the preaching of the Gospel is this: to convict of sin; to offer for Christ’s sake the forgiveness of sins and righteousness, the Holy Spirit, and eternal life; and that as reborn people we should do good works. (AP XIIa(V).29)

And because of this CHRIST’S REPENTANCE IS FOR SINNERS ONLY. And because our lives are daily and much stained with sin, because of our flesh, you are still in need of Christ and His forgiveness, His “FOR SINNERS ONLY” repentance. Those who claim discipleship but rather have their sins instead of Christ are like Judas who craved the money purse and unlike Matthew who forsook the wealth of the tax booth.

By virtue of Christ’s call and eating with Him at His table, even the Altar of His body and blood, His disciples are no longer tax collectors and sinners but apostles and disciples, who remain so, you remain so, only by His mercy toward you rather than your sacrifice for Him or your forsaking of sin.

Thanks be to God!

᛭ INI ᛭